Nursery

We've recovered from the flood and the guests have gone home, so this weekend we took a day to get Hushpuppy's room (formerly the guest room) in order. The biggest priority was to get her crib ("cot" in Australian) set up so that she could move out of her torture device port-a-cot, but I've been dreaming of a pretty nursery since I found out I was pregnant, so finally put all the touches together with the odds and ends I've been collecting. 

Since we are renting, I'm married to the wall colors, which mercifully are not terrible, and have mostly used existing hooks, rather than making new holes in the wall. The light fixture and curtains also belong to the apartment, but again, they really could be worse. Quirks aside, I'm happy with how it came out and hope it's a room that our girl can love for a few years to come.

My original inspiration was actually a long time in the making. When we were just dating, Partner-in-Crime had a calendar of images by the Canadian First Nations artist Roy Thomas. I said, "these would be great for a kid's room." He said, "I was thinking the same thing." And so, for years, I've known how I would decorate our baby's room.

I used the pictures as a jumping off point, going with bright colors and animals.

The great thing about the room is that it's nice and spacious with plenty of room for our little monkey to move around. The downside is that there's no closet, or built-in, as they say here. I'm making do with lots of drawer space.

Dresser. Lamp is from IKEA, Bookshelf is from the op shop.
The little ornaments are all gifts we've received.
Runner is a piece of fabric I picked up at Lincraft.

When we moved, we debated whether to keep our futon, which was at long last being replaced as our sofa, seeing as how we graduated from college, oh, more than a decade ago. We decided to test it out in Hushpuppy's room before trashing it since it would be nice to have a place to sit, and I'm glad we did. It works pretty well and the room is plenty big enough for it.

The little owls were the very first baby thing I bought. I just loved them. And the zebra was meant to compliment them in this funky little triptych.
Blanket is a gorgeous hand made one from a dear friend.
Thank you Martha Stewart for the bunting. I can never have enough bunting in my life. 

Our change table is a repurposed set of drawers that our beloved Mimi and Joe had built for their bathroom. I bought if from them when they moved with the secret intention of using it as a change table. I love this table so much. 

Wall cling was a Groupon find ages ago.
Baskets from the discount store, full of toys.

Martha Stewart provided not only the bunting, but the paper flowers and pinwheels, which add a nice feminine touch.

One last wall hanging I love. I saw this quote somewhere and went to hunt it down as a print on Etsy. I luckily found a seller in the UK making this beauty. I adore the sentiment and the design. I hope it will mean something to her when she gets older.

The room has been a joy. After 8-1/2 months, I must admit that, though I miss my little girl being near me at night, I am more overjoyed with the ability to put on my pajamas with a light on and read my book in bed. During the day, it's become a welcoming space for all of us to hang out - Mom and Dad on the futon and Hushpuppy busy on the floor or, these days, pulling herself up on any piece of furniture or leg she can find. Her absolute favorite so far is to pull the baskets out and take every single toy out of them, spreading them all over the room.

Happy kid. Comfortable space. Works for me.