Eleanor's Tropical Bohemian Nursery

 Hello my beautiful friends! 

Can you believe it's already March? I personally can't wait for Spring, and on a whim bought 7 new  houseplants to bring a little more greenery into our home. Have you ever ordered live plants over the internet? I purchased mine from Lowes, and was pleasantly surprised with how they were delivered! This may or may not be a good discovery. #plantmom

Along with bringing in botanical life, we also recently brought home our newest family member! Eleanor Kay Wellman was born Tuesday, February 16th and she is practically perfect in every way. And even though she'll be sleeping in our room for the next month or so, we wanted her nursery to be the first room completed in the new house. 

So let me introduce you to Elle's tropical bohemian bedroom! 

You may recall in this post, I shared my inspiration for the nursery. I wanted bright colors to accent a soft pink, all tied together with wood textures, plants, and additional jewel tones. 

The final product ended up slightly different than the plan, but I am still overjoyed with the transformation of this little room! The pink is Mellow Coral by Sherwin Williams and it's perfect. Not too bright, not too "Pepto", just perfect. The accent wall was created with removable wallpaper from Target, and overall wasn't too difficult to install. For the price compared to actual wallpaper, I love the result. 

The dresser and crib were found on Facebook Marketplace, and the rocker was a Wayfair purchase. After the countless nights of awkwardly bouncing on a bed with Harrison, I wanted a legit rocking chair for baby #2. No questions asked. 

The rest of the decor was curated from items we already had. Picture shelves last used in our bedroom, frames and paintings from the gallery wall, the mirror from our small bathroom, and the rattan plant stand previously used in the dining room. There are a few new things sprinkled throughout, like that gorgeous hand-stitched embroidery hoop from CivilThreadsCo (be sure to check her shop out!), that macrame plant hanger which is giving me total 70's vibes, and Elle's baby book! Which I HIGHLY recommend to every mom, and Lucy Darling is my favorite since purchasing one for Harrison. They're beautifully designed and feature plenty of room for pictures and writing. 

I also DIY'd Eleanor's name sign from a bunch of random supplies on hand. An old poster frame, butcher paper, watercolors, and some faux flowers that were lying around. For a days' worth of work, I'm overjoyed with the result. 

The last major detail we changed was the baseboards and molding. Originally the plan was to remove the old, prime and paint it all white, then reinstall. But after Eric started analyzing how much work that would be...we pivoted. Especially since neither of us actually liked the builder-grade tim in the first place, it would be 100% worth tossing out the old and purchasing the thick beautiful style we wanted. So now our plan is to slowly update the trim in each room as we redecorate. 

Something else I wanted was craftsman molding on top of the doors. That was a detail I absolutely adored about our old house, and jumped at the chance to recreate it here. Eric nailed the install, and the look and feel of the space has now been elevated to a whole new level. We are still finalizing the style we want around the windows, but once that's ready we can dress those poor naked sills! 

I could keep gushing about Eleanor's nursery for a while, but I'll wrap things up. Jumping back into decorating and creating a fresh space alongside Eric has felt fantastic! I can't wait for our kids to run the halls and grow up in rooms we personally touched and transformed. Not to mention the satisfaction of a classic "before" and "after" will never get old, and I hope you agree! Especially after laying eyes on the journey this room took from boring beige to beautiful bohemian! 

Check out all of our home improvements, by visiting the OUR NEST page.

"Oh Baby it's a Wild One" Nursery Reveal

What is happening my friends and followers!? 
Today marks 38 weeks of growing a tiny human of our own, and we are READY TO GO! Bags are packed, car seat is installed, clothes are washed, and the nursery is complete. 

That's right. 

I said the nursery is DONE! 

Too bad he won't get to lay his cute little noggin in there for some time. But even if it's only purpose is for me to walk in, look around, and just be happy, I consider it a success. 

As talked about in a previous posts, we decided to convert our guest bedroom into the nursery. Or really transform it into a coexisting space so we wouldn't completely lose the ability to have people spend the night. Overall I think it's really worked, we've had a few people stay the night since getting the daybed, and no one's complained yet. 

One of the questions I was asked most while preparing Baby W's room was "What's the theme going to be!?" and I honestly didn't have one. The color remained dark blue from it's original paint job, and I just kept adding bright colors, bold prints, and plants. Top it off with a couple giraffes, and the vibe of Wild Jungalow Safari kind of just happened. 

Not mad about it though. I'm beyond tickled with the final result. 

With that said I won't waste any more time gabbing, and instead get straight to the pictures. I know that's really the reason everyone is here anyhow.

Behold, Baby W's "Oh baby it's a wild one" jungle nursery. 

A few notes.
Yes there is a giant empty space above his crib. About three years ago I brought home an old green painted pallet from work, convinced I could make something cool out of it. Well the thing sat in our backyard for a looong while. Until I got the idea to build one of those adorable baby name signs out of it! Eric executed, and the final product was exactly what I envisioned. The problem? This sucker is HEAVY. Like, makes my heart flutter a little at the thought of it hanging over baby's crib heavy. Even though we bought the intense hardware, and Eric assures me it'll be fine if we find a stud to work with, I'm still not 100% convinced. 

So right now it sits off to the side; because A) I think we'll end up swapping signs and putting it above the day bed, and B) we don't have his name picked out anyhow! Until that happens it's going to remain un-hung. 

I also can't end this post without talking about the rocking chair. This rocker is 184 years old, it was bought for Lusana Brinker in 1835, given to her granddaughter Edith Allen in 1980, given to her granddaughter Frances Allen in 1939, given to her granddaughters Anna McGraw in 2002 and myself in 2019. So if my family tree terminology is correct, it's original owner was my great-great-great-great-grandmother, has rocked numerous of my relatives to sleep, and now sits in the room beside me waiting the arrival of the next generation.

Every time I look at it, the amount of history (as well as pressure to keep this incredible tradition alive) covers me like the blanket currently draped over it's back will soon cover my son. 

Only a few more weeks until little man is scheduled to enter the world! Bring it on baby.

Bring. It. On.

------------------------------------------

SOURCES:
Daybed with Trundle (similar) - Wayfair
Faux Sheepskin Runner - Rugs USA
Red and Blue Area Rug - TJMaxx 
Crib - Wayfair
Metal Brass Frames - Target
"Wellman Tools" Artwork - gift from a very talented friend
Book Shelf Ledges - Target
Baby Camera - Arlo 
Blue Pillows (similar) - IKEA
Blue Bed Sheets - Target
Peacock Bed Sheets - Target 
Tropical Quilt - Bargains and Buyouts (original full set can be found on Amazon)
Faux Hanging Plant - Marshalls
Changing Table / Dresser - Target
Drawer Hardware - Hobby Lobby
Mirror - Antique Mall (originally from Pier1)
Gazelle Wall Decor - TJ Maxx 
Wall Shelves - Amazon
Letterboard - Hobby Lobby 
Brass Giraffe - Antique Mall 
"Let me love you a little..." Artwork - Altered Style
Jungle Animal Blanket - Designs by Di Blankets 


Check out all of our home improvements, by visiting the OUR NEST page.

New Year, New Nursery, and a New Table!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 
It is 2019 and I find that insane. Another year has yet again come and gone in no time at all. Maybe because I've been so focused on finishing our 2017 yearbook, everything that happened in 2018 hasn't really hit me yet. Or maybe it's because 2019 is the year this little monster makes his debut.

For real though, isn't that face-front left pic some Harry Potter dark mark stuff? I mean he's my son and adorable, but c'mon, that's nuts. I about died during the ultrasound, then immediately started giggling uncontrollably.

Hand-in-hand with the wonderful yet daunting task of bringing a human child into this world and being responsible for it's well being, comes the more exciting part of designing the nursery! We decided the room that would best suit our little bundle of joy would be the guest bedroom. It seemed like the most logical choice since we JUST finished the office and use it quite frequently.

Because it hasn't been that long since painting the space, I really wanted to make the dark blue work. (Click HERE to read about the makeover and paint color). We got lucky with the baby being a boy, although I think there are some stunning navy + blush color schemes out there that a little girl would just adore. 

It's definitely a work in progress, but as of this week we bid adieu to the original guest bedroom and welcomed Baby W's nursery! 

We're not writing off having visitors spend the night completely, because we actually have a decent amount of friends and family stay over, we just knew it wouldn't be nearly as often as us needing to use our computers at night. To keep it functional still for guests, our solution was to remove the giant queen bed and replace it with a twin sized trundle bed. I found this gold beauty on Wayfair and knew it would be perfect. 

That way we don't lose as much floor space but also have the option for two adults to sleep comfortably. We're still messing around with the final arrangement of furniture, plus hunting for a decent dresser/changing table since this room only has one tiny closet which is currently 85% filled. So yea, in need of more storage. 

But it's coming along! Either way, Baby is going to adore it because he's my son and will be born with incredible taste in design...obviously. 

In other news, we FINALLY upgraded our dining room table! WOOO!!!!! Our original table belonged to my grandmother, who gave it to us for free and I am forever grateful, BUT it just never worked in our space. The legs were at odd places so the chairs sat awkwardly far part, and since the two long ends folded down, you couldn't sit at the head of the table without a table leg stuck between your human legs. 

With it just the two of us, we hardly ever ate in our dining room, so it never seemed worth dropping a lot of money to replace. That and Grandma told me it was made from a tree found in Valley Forge and if I ever got rid of it I'd need to donate it to " The Daughters of the Revolution"...or something like that. 

With a kid on the way though, I realized our living room eating habits would probably have to end, and the hunt for a more functional table to begin. Sorry Grandma, but it's for your great-grandbaby, and the table isn't leaving the family, just leaving that specific room. Miss you!

So onto Craigslist we went! A few days went by with nothing spectacular to report, but our patience soon paid off and we stumbled upon a Pulaski Alekto Rectangular table with the asking price of $400. A quick google search told us that was a GREAT DEAL.

Eric was thrilled with the price, and I was thrilled with the mirrored detailing! It's heavy as all get out, easily sits six, comes with an expandable middle leaf to seat up to eight, and already loves its new home. 

 Another project I've wanted to complete for a LONG time, is painting our chairs white and reupholstering them. Eric painted one over the summer and it looks AMAZING. It'll be so sharp having all white to go with the darker tones of the table. 

Overall, CRAZY happy with our purchase. Who wouldn't love a table you can also check your reflection in? Am I right?!? 


 Check out all of our home improvements, by visiting the OUR NEST page.