Guest Post: From Guest Room to Baby Boy Nursery

As I struggle to get everyone back to school and replace my crashed computer (don't ask) here's a guest post from my NYC sister.  She had her first baby a few weeks ago who is now enjoying his new nursery.  Here's how she and her husband did it.

Guest Room to Nursery

A few weeks ago my sister posted the very adorable quilt that she made for the impending arrival of my son.  I thought I would return the favor by sharing a few pictures of how we made over our guest room/office into a nursery. 

First here are some before pictures.  

It’s a fairly long narrow space but gets a lot of natural light even for a room that faces the air shaft between our building and the one next door.  We tried to capitalize on that with bright white walls and then to make it as comfortable as possible a space for guests (and our cat Clementine).  A lot of the accessories are from places we’ve traveled but you might recognize the bedding from Ikea or the bed from Crate and Barrel.  There’s nothing wrong with mixing the mainstream chain stores with more unusual items.  We also utilize shelves along one wall as an office space.   

(You can see some of our paint samples in this one.)

(What?  Doesn’t everyone hang their bike in front of the window?)

Though a lot of non-city dwellers may wonder how we deal with such a small space, we’re actually really lucky to have a true 2 bedroom in New York City.  A lot of my friends have had to find space in their one bedroom apartments or contemplate moving out of the city when they have kids.  Still we had more stuff than we could keep.  Our first decision was to get a storage space for big items that we didn’t want to get rid of like the bed and then to do some serious purging.  We’ve made many trips to the Salvation Army over the last couple of months. 

Before we got started, my husband put together an inspiration board from our ideas.

Then we moved everything out and got to work. 

I don’t have any pictures of my husband hard at work painting but you can see the results.  At 8 months pregnant, I contributed more thought leadership than manual labor J.

And here is the room all put together. 

(You might recognize the quilt and pillow by Gold Shoe Girl)

(The sweet customized blanket and burp cloth in this picture are from my sister-in-law.  Check out her blog, Momtini @ www.momtini.blogspot.com)

It’s amazing how different the room looks and not just because we’ve substituted a crib for a bed.  We love the dark blue.  I love dark colors in general, especially in smaller spaces, but here it really sets off all the other colors, particularly the green rocking chair.  What you may not be able to tell from the pictures is that the ceiling is actually a very pale shade of blue as well.  It draws the eye up just a little to keep the dark walls from looking too narrow. 

Like most people, we didn’t have an unlimited budget and had the same space constraints as before.  We needed to be able to continue to use one wall as office space so there weren’t many changes there though we did try to eliminate anything we didn’t absolutely need.  My mother-in-law generously gifted us the crib which is both a classic style and fits perfectly on that wall.  

The dresser is the same as in the before pictures, a 15-year-old Ikea I got when I first graduated from college, with a fresh coat of white paint.  We splurged a little on the chevron rug but saved a ton on the roman blinds- only $20 each from JC Penney!  We also saved on a copy Eames rocker that has the benefit of being smaller scale than a more traditional glider or rocker. 

Overall we’re really pleased with the space.  It works as a nursery for a little boy while still feeling adult and not too masculine which was important to me.  As much as we liked the guest room before, now all the colors and elements work together to make it feel like a much more deliberately thought out and finished room. 

Info on the sources: 

All Paint: Benjamin Moore

Ceiling Paint: Sweet Bluette

Wall Paint:  New York State of Mind

Trim and Dresser:  Timid White

Dresser:  Ikea (15-years-old)

Crib:  Graco Lauren Convertible

Rocker: Eames copy from Amazon

Painting with Colored Blocks:  Hal Gumaer (my dad- it was from my childhood bedroom)

Shelf and picture ledges:  Home Depot

Rug:  Land of Nod

Roman Blinds:  JC Penney (Seriously, check them out for fabric and wooden blinds.  I’ve  gotten both from them and they are always good quality and prices.)

I think it turned out great!!!  You can also check out her other guest post on how to make a wine glass rack.  Hopefully, things are calming down here this week so I can get back to a more regular posting schedule. I have a lot of things done that I can't wait to share with you all.

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

Cottage Life

I thought I would show you where I've been for the past few weeks.

This is our little cottage on Lake Ontario.  It is located on a small island in Wilson, NY called Sunset Island.  

Here's the front or lake side of our cottage.  Ours has the blue screen door with the rainbow Sunfish sailboat on the beach.  We are lucky that our cottage has some beach front on this side but also has a dock to use on the bay side of the island.

Let me show you how we get to our little island paradise.

First, you get on your boat which is docked at a marina on the mainland.  Motor through the channel past the sailboats at the marina. 

And pull into the dock.

Disembark to the right and head up the stairs.

Walk across the park to the other side of the island.

Then you arrive at #93.   

Take a moment inside to set down your suitcase and put away the perishables.  

Then head out to the hammock.

Until the kids drag you down to the beach.

Spend the day or a few minutes, but whatever you do, don't miss the sunset.

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~