the nursery: closet makeover

When Chase and I first moved into our house the closet in the master bedroom was not very functional. While huge (which is rare for a 1958 house) it lacked any real usable space. It only had a single rod across the middle of the entire closet...not going to cut it.  So one of our first projects (with some major help from my Dad) was to construct a custom closet set up.

We ended up with a very organized and usable closet space. 

So when it came time to make use of the closet in the nursery we knew we needed another custom closet build from good ol' Dad (so I asked him and I used "daddy" which gets him every time).

The closet started out like this (another single rod, seriously?!):

And after all was said and done, it now looks like this:

With these awesome curtains I found at Ikea.

We now have lots of storage, rods for tons of baby clothes (which we keep buying-they are so tiny and cute), and cubbies for toys and blankets and other nursery items. We love it!

Thanks Dad! 

the nursery: prints

When it comes to the nursery we want our overall style to still be present in the room.  We didn't want to jump ship into something all gooey and baby or more traditional.  We wanted to stick with our mid-century modern aesthetic.  So when it comes to the artwork on the walls we wanted something simple and minimilist that didn't necessarily scream baby but still had a youthful feel to it.

I scoured Etsy for days looking for the perfect prints.  I had already bought the white frames from Ikea so I knew what the overall finished look was going to be.  Now it was just about finding the balance of what we like but also what makes sense for our lil bean Molly.

Voila!  Two perfect prints for our baby girl's room.



We really wanted to incorporate our love for our home state Oklahoma somehow and the print seemed like the perfect way.  Even though our lil girls birth certificate will say Texas, she will grow up an Oklahoman and proud of it.  We also wanted to include something that both Chase and I enjoy, bicycling.  The print is an ideal mix of part of Chase and I, but also a bit whimsical and youthful.

Next up...we just have to hang them (extremely securely).  Don't even get me started on the horrific images I have had in my head of those things falling on my baby's head. I will leave that part up to Chase.

the nursery: step one-paint

As soon as we found out that we are having a little girl I was ready to start shopping and decorating.  I knew prior to finding out the gender a few of the neutral things I wanted to do and instantly started filling in the gaps in my head with girl tailored ideas after our reveal party.

But to start things off we had to paint.  Lucky for me my Mom volunteered herself (not sure why) to come stay with us for a week and help with the painting.  Or really more do all of the painting with a little bit of my help.

Our house was painted all the same brown/beige color before we moved in so we had a blank canvas to work with.  I knew long ago that regardless of boy or girl the walls were going to be a fun green color.  Its a great base for either gender and goes well with blue or pink accessories.  After we found out I also decided I wanted to paint the inside of the closet pink for a pop of girl fun and to add an additional layer to the room.  We chose Olympic zero voc Lettuce Alone for the walls and Pink Persuasion for the closet that we picked up at the local Lowe's.



We also tackled the ceiling, painting it white to keep the room feeling bright and airy.

We are extremely happy with the painting project and the way the colors turned out.  Can't wait to continue making the nursery the perfect home for our little girl.

Stay tuned for the nursery mood board post.

mid century love

My favorite thing in the world is mid century furniture.  Its so beautiful and simple and perfect.  Slowly but surely I am replacing most notable pieces of furniture with mid century inspired or actual mid century pieces.

One of the best parts about finding original mid century furniture is the craftsmanship.  They just don't make furniture like they used to.  Everything is real wood, hand carved details, dovetail drawers etc.  Pieces of furniture constructed in the mid 50's are in better shape than something I bought 5 years ago.  

So where better to use mid century furniture?  The nursery of course.  The latest project on our list of to-do's and the only one that has a definite timeline.  I scoured Craigslist and antique stores looking for the perfect dresser and lucky me, I found one a couple weeks ago.  And it was only $240.  

I am in love with it.  Plus it has 9 drawers of storage...perfect.  

More mid century to come I am sure.