DIY Nursery

Immediately upon returning home from Australia I was ready to prepare the nursery for Sebastian.  Our builder-grade wall color is a terrible off-white cream color, so a fresh coat of paint was step one.  We decided to do a shiplap feature wall and paint the remainder of the room white.  (Sherman Williams Pure White)  We found that the ready-made shiplap wood slats were cheaper at Home Depot when compared to (our fave) Lowes.  We rented a truck to drive the materials home, and I am certain I was a wreck the entire drive.  What we neglected to buy was the trim, which necessitated a second trip to the home improvement store (can't remember which one).  This resulted in an equally nerve wracking drive home- this time with my car trunk ajar.  However, as with all home DIY projects, the marriage is tested a bit, you swear you'll never collaborate on another project, and the finished result is stunning.  (Thus encouraging you to do the DIY cycle all over again! ha!)

 

So shiplap is an animal of a project; do you want to know why? Well, walls aren’t always straight, flat and square... nor is every piece of wood. The installation required a lot of patience, stepping away moments and liquid nails- all the liquid nails. Then you need to paint the shiplap; we chose Latitude by HGTV for Sherman Williams. It was an absolute pain- even though the boards are pre primes it’s just not a desirable texture to paint. You must first paint the groove, then the slats. I believe we painted three coats and could probably have used another, at least in some areas. Next we applied trim- we thought we were getting a killer deal on the 12ft  trim pieces, until we got to the checkout and realized we were paying more like $3/ft. I’ll say the trim was about $80.  Not exactly cheap, but in the end it really does look nice. We did promise ourselves that once we do this nursery there would be no redos for future children. Overall, I’m super happy we included the shiplap wall, and I really like that we chose to paint it any color other than white. It’s just a little unexpected, and that’s refreshing. (Also read: we have white shiplap elsewhere in our home.) In the end, I would recommend this project, but that said.... I don’t think we will be adding any more shiplap to our home. 

Next up was to refinish a found dresser.  I had searched the Internets for dressers only to conclude that I would be damned before I spent so much money on a dresser.  Even Ikea seemed a little pricey for clothing storage.  So, I found a dresser on Facebook Marketplace for $40.  It was ugly- I mean, ugly and Micha was so against it.  Really he was, but he and our buddy helped me pick it up and obliged me anyway. Micha dared me ever tell anyone that I spent $40 on this dresser, as the primer (which I ALL TOO LATE learned wasn't necessary) and his protective garb was not easy on the wallet.  I also replaced the hardware, which I swear I will never do again (painting, drilling, filling, repainting, and re-drilling holes about cost us our marriage on this project too. grins) Not only are they a costly addition to a refinishing project, but filling and re-drilling holes and securing washers and screws to meet the needs of the furniture piece was quite a headache.

 

I used chalk paint to refinish the dresser, and had this not been my first project and the fact I was too excited to REALLY research all the pros and cons, I would have realized that priming was totally not needed.  Except, I didn't and we (really he) primed anyway.  Anyone else use kilz spraypaint to prime projects?  While I have always used it, the German in the house read the hazard warnings and decided this outfit was most suiting for HIM (I wasn't allowed in the garage for days- hello fumes) to prime the dresser.  Of course, despite wanting to do the project on my own, and Micha insisting that he had to do the priming, he was still begrudged about it all.  Perhaps next time he will let me do my own projects. I believe the paint color for the chalk paint (I used Valspar) was called denim. Also, I used poly instead of wax to seal the dresser.  It was easy to apply and can be wiped down, and in my opinion creates a more longer lasting finish. I did need to apply about 4-5 coats of poly to get the finish to my liking.

One more thing worth mentioning about this dresser overhaul is that the previous owner (a young little girl) referred to the most central drawer as the "secret drawer."  It was unique in that it was lined with a hideous green velvet.  I ripped it out, and scraped the glue as best I could before deciding that I needed to make a liner for the drawer.  I found this scrap fabric from Hobby Lobby for pretty cheap (less than $5) and just cut to size and "hemmed" the edges using hemming tape, because I don't have a clue how to sew. 

                                                            

So, here's a quick before and after of the dresser along with my (pinterest) inspiration photo. 

        

As if I hadn't had enough fun with projects I was faced with another "I'll just make that," situation when it came to finding a mobile I liked for the nursery.  While I did find one I liked alright, the price tag seemed wildly unreasonable thus triggering my "I'll just make that," response.. as I do.  I will attach my inspiration photo and my final product.  I got the felt balls from a small shop I follow on instagram called HelloMaypole.  I chose the "boy" colorway set of 50.  For the whales I found a craftsman on Esty to cut out several whales at about $0.70/each; I bought seven. I used an embroidery ring for the anchor of the mobile from Hobby Lobby, and I already had the gray and white bakers twine left over from our DIY wedding decor (again, another DIY project that I'll share about another time... you may need to remind me).  Again, lesson learned.... I probably can't remake it for a whole lot cheaper than the original purchase price, but at least I have the satisfaction of creating something for my child, right?

  

The remaining decor was purchased from a variety of small shops while we stuck to the usual suspects for the larger furnishings and the tepee.  We found the crib and reclining swivel chair on Wayfair.  I found the small chair and side table from Home Goods, and the tepee came from amazon.  I got pillows from The Home Store and Ikea, and of course the faux fur came from Ikea.  We also got the blackout curtains and ombre cubbies from Ikea.  The little red rocking horse came from a consignment sale for $4. The artwork in the room was from a variety of places including Hobby Lobby, Wayfair, Jane.com, and local artists from our recent trips to New York and Australia this year. A local maker, The Adorned Fox, also created the custom door hanger for Sebastian's nursery.  If you refer to my instagram post I have linked all my small shop finds for the nursery. If I forgot something, please let me know and I'll share where we got it, if you're interested.

The local artist in Sydney Australia creates these beautiful animal prints using just small splatters of color on his computer.  He allows buyers to "adopt" the animals that are previously named and numbered.  Meet Madeline, our koala from Australia.

This room is arguably my favorite room in the house, and has encouraged us (mostly me) to finish decorating the remainder of our house with as much thoughtfulness as we did this room.  Perhaps we will forego the DIY projects, but knowing us... we never learn. <grin>  So, without further adieu here's Sebastian's nursery...

  

 

 

 

 

 

Please consider leaving a comment if you enjoyed this post and would like to see more of our DIY projects and home decor.  I'd love to continue sharing with you.  Also, leave a comment because they give me all the feel good feelings in my heart.  You know you want to.