The Never Ending Nursery Project

Our current residence is a rental so my decorating options have been very limited, but one thing that I insisted on doing was giving C the nursery that I had been planning in my mind since before we even knew that we were having a boy.  After 2 girls I was tired of pink and ready for a change.  The color scheme was set (orange and aqua), I had chosen a paint color (Swimming by Sherwin Williams), purchased bedding (a total fiasco) and some small accessories and decorative items, and had even chosen a shower curtain for his bathroom.  Then we found out that we were moving.  Crap.  I refused to let that ruin my plans.

A few months after we moved my parents came to visit and my dad painted the room the very color that I had chosen so many months before (it felt like an eternity to me as I hate to wait to execute a plan once I have one in place).  Since this house is a rental we chose not to paint any of the other rooms but I felt that it was necessary to achieve the full affect of my nursery decor plan (how could I have an orange and aqua room with NO aqua?).  I also enlisted my dad to hang the big orange frame that I had painted (and painted and painted) along with the letters to spell C's name.

We also hung the curtain rod and orange window panel (of course I had purchased 2 b/c his room at the old house had 2 windows so now I'm stuck with an extra one) and a few of the decorative items that I had purchased on Etsy - a handmade felt banner that spelled out "Hooray" and a small cuckoo clock wall hanging.  So the room was coming together nicely but was still missing some of the original pieces that I had imagined and hoped for.  The layout of this room was different too and there is no bathroom, so some minor adjustments had to be made, but the general plan was still the same.

Unfortunately, due to budget constraints some of the ideas had to be put on the back burner and most of the great little accessories that I had accumulated had to be stored b/c there was simply no place to display them.  Until a few days ago!  I purchased a white shelving unit (intended for closet storage) for a bargain price at Target, and even though it is smaller than the Ikea unit that I have been holding out for I hoped that it would do the trick - and it did!  I was able to pull all of the fun stuff out of storage and there's still some open space on the unit for more goodies.  So that completed Nursery Update #1.

Nursery Update #2 was a bit unexpected.  As I mentioned, finding the perfect crib bedding was a fiasco to say the least.  I fell in love with a set that I saw on a blog and I knew that I had to have it.  Aqua and orange is a tough color scheme to work with so my choices were limited.  I was able to get all of the information about the bedding that I had seen but found out that it had been discontinued, so I was beyond excited when the owner of a local boutique tracked it down for me.  I was also beyond devastated when she called to tell me that the set had arrived with stains in multiple places and smelling like mold and mildew.  I immediately drove to the store and when I saw (and smelled) it for myself I knew that no matter how much I loved it I couldn't possibly pay money for such a mess and then allow my baby to sleep on it.  UGH!  After more searching I found another set made by the same designer and the price was lower on this one, so even though I didn't love it quite as much as the stinky set I still bought it b/c the colors were right and I honestly couldn't find anything else.  This fiasco had been dragging on for a few months and I was over it.  I had no idea that working with aqua and orange would be so challenging.

So my stressful bedding fiasco came to an end and what I ended up with was perfect.  Until recently.  I had noticed that the crib sheets were stretching a bit and one even had a small hole in it but I didn't think much of it b/c they had been washed and dried at least 100 times.  Then one night when I went to check on C I discovered that the sheet had come off of the mattress completely and he was wrapped in it.  Thankfully it wasn't covering his face and he was sound asleep without a care but it scared me to death.  I removed the sheet immediately (waking him in the process of course) and threw it away along with the spare one.  My first thought was obviously - "thank God he is okay" but that was closely followed by - "how on earth am I going to find new sheets that match the room?"  Finding the existing set was a huge struggle so I just knew that it would be impossible to find new sheets that worked with the color scheme.  I was wrong.

A few days later while strolling through Target I spotted an end cap and I practically started running towards it.  Right there in front of me (in one of my favorite places ever) was a new Dwell Studio collection that was perfect for C's room.  Aqua, orange and a touch of green!  There were even 2 sheet designs to choose from - 1 had a modern safari print and the other was a simple graphic print.  I couldn't decide which I liked best so I grabbed 1 of each:)  I wasn't sure that they would look right with the existing crib skirt and it's pinwheel pattern, but I was pleasantly surprised when I got home and saw how well they coordinated.  So much easier than I thought it was going to be! I only wish that this bedding collection had been available 18+ months ago when I was so desperately searching for the perfect set!

One major element is still missing from the room but I am determined to find it.  It is a giant wall decal for the wall where the crib sits.  I want a white tree, a big one.  Not one with flowers or birds on it, just a simple and plain white tree.  And not one that costs a small fortune.  I mean really, it's just a big sticker.  Not worth $100+.  I am still on the hunt for this white tree and once I find it the room will be almost exactly as I had imagined it to be when complete.

You can always add to a room and continue to make changes and updates to existing decor, which is what I'm sure will happen with this room, but for now I think it's just about "done".  And it only took 18 months to finish!