Nursery Design

I've been contemplating nursery ideas pretty much since I found out I was pregnant -- it's only natural, right? Decorating our home is a fun hobby (and I consider decorating on a budget as a special challenge), so I've been Pinterest-ing left and right for stylish nursery ideas. I didn't want to settle on anything, though, until we found out the sex of the baby. Now that we know it's a BOY (hooray!), I've got lots of ideas to work with! Here are two that seem to be the top-runners:

Blue & White Nautical Nursery

Navy Plaid Nursery

The biggest determining factors are really cost and color. The top mood board is primarily Pottery Barn furniture and decor (=pricey!); and the bottom board is all Target and World Market items (about half the price). I love the look and feel of both boards, and both cribs are convertible so the goal would be that they last many years! The other questions is color: do I want white wood or dark wood? White definitely feels very suited to a nursery, and I love the light, bright feel of it. But I also feel like it might show more wear and tear. The dark wood feels more "boy-friendly" to me (and I especially love that pop of color with the little red nightstand). Both have a somewhat nautical theme going on (ships, anchors, sealife, etc.), which is a nod to DH's love of deep-sea fishing, pirates and ocean life.

I'm also learning a lot about what's considered "safe" in the world of baby products. Low VOC paints, BPA-free products, all-natural fabrics -- we've come a long way from lead-based paint on cribs! But why don't we care so much about this stuff for adults? I mean, babies turn into adults too, right? Of course I know it can be more harmful to a developing little immune system, but it's certainly making me more aware of the harmful chemicals or products that could be lurking in my own home at this very second! Scary! Best book purchase on the subject so far has been Baby Bargains, plenty of reviews and straight-up advice about which products are best and which to skip!

So, I guess I'm taking votes at this point: which nursery style do you prefer?

Evolution of a Dining Room

Well, last weekend's closet "makeover" was a quickie. We were in and out of that one in a matter of hours. This next project has been a long time coming. I spend at least a couple of hours each week envisioning how I could improve the appearance of our living space... whether it be new linens for the master bedroom, a clean rug for the bathroom, or just a re-arrangement of furniture to freshen things up.

The dining room table we used since we got married was one DH has had since college, a great Kmart pick-up by my wonderful MiL (aka mother-in-law; and "DH" is for dear husband, for those who don't know). It's worked pretty well for the past several years, but I've been yearning to fill the dining space we acquired ever since moving into a new apartment in 2009. Here is what it looked like for pretty much the first 1 1/2 years of living here...

Around the beginning of this summer, I decided it was time to spruce things up a bit, even if we could make major changes (like painting). I did put some paint samples on the wall for a couple weeks, but DH was adamantly against it (even though he wouldn't be the one painting). But there were certainly other things I could do.... shifting the furniture and a few great purchases made all the difference.


The rug, from World Market, was a steal coming in at $35! The other new purchases include the two throw pillow on the chairs ($7 apiece), some fake apples (in the bowl on the green hutch), and a few other knick knacks. The mirror and candle-holders (un-hung in this photo) were pieces we already owned that were sitting around elsewhere. So the room sat like this for a little while... until today! We are regular World Market shoppers and during our closet-makeover shopping trip last weekend, we happened to stop in for a little look-see. There we saw a dining set that fit our various specifications (style, size, color, wood-grain, etc.) and was 50% off! Well, we didn't buy it that day (you can never be too hasty about an investment like this), but we had been considering a new dining set for a while so it wasn't a discussion we hadn't had before. That being said, after a week of consideration.... we decided to go for it! And here are the lovely results:

DH was not so happy about getting this thing home from the store and assembled from the six very heavy boxes it came in, but it only took about 4 hours start to finish (with a lunch break in between) and I think the results are pretty perfect. It's a set that will last us a lifetime, and I really think it fits our dining space well. It seats 6 (or even up to 8) in this setting, but it also came with extensions for each end that would seat up to 10! And did you notice that the hideous old hanging lighting is gone? I just wasn't feeling the stained glass lanterns, so the building engineer was kind enough to replace those with a less obtrusive fixture.

So, all I have to say now is... dinner party at our house, anyone?