Nursery Reveal

 
I am so excited to finally reveal my baby's nursery today! As soon as we knew this baby was going to be a permanent part of our family, I got busy working on the room remodel and some crafty accents to go with it.  I had been creating a Pinterest board of all my ideas and color schemes in the months leading up to the adoption.

I wanted to rip out the cheap tan carpet and paint the floors white. I wanted to paint the boring tan walls a paler color with bright accent colors. I also wanted an eclectic look with a gallery wall full of whimsical and vintage art.

Here are a few shots of what the room looked like before: 

I am a fan of nice hardwood floors, but these floors were in bad shape after 90 years!  The cheaper way to go was to paint the floors. My husband helped with that part and already had some practice from painting the floors for our older Boys' Bedroom Makeover  the summer before.

After painting the walls Whetstone Gray by Martha Stewart, I wanted to add some bright stripes to the entry wall. I used Frog Tape and this technique, since my walls are textured, for perfectly straight lines. 

I love how the bright orange and green stripes add pops of color to the room-I chose stripes because I think it's a look that will blend into big boy decor when he's older.

I painted the doors and table in the room the same green as the stripes-Lily Pad, also by Martha Stewart. I painted chalkboard paint on the crib panel so I can write fun messages on it for him-and in his toddler years I'm sure he'll have fun scribbling with chalk.  The tree art is was made for me by a local artist friend, Dani Herrera, who makes amazing things with reclaimed denim, zippers and more.

I've had this table for a while and this is now the third color it's been. After painting it, I distressed it with a sanding sponge to reveal hints of white and added new knobs for a brand new look. The thrift store magazine rack is where books are held, next to the comfy chair for bedtime stories.

I made this artwork with a printout given to me by a friend. I traced the elephant onto dictionary paper, cut it out and Mod Podged the whole thing to pallet planks. The curtains and fabric shades are both from IKEA. We have been replacing all of the wooden blinds in the house with ones without cords for safety.

I made this mobile by stenciling airplanes and clouds onto cardstock, cutting out, hole punching and attaching twine. I used an embroidery hoop for the top of the mobile.

I moved this IKEA shelving into the baby's room for clothing and the boys' got a bigger dresser to share. The accordian style wall hook fixture was a thrift store find. It also makes a fun display for finger puppets.

Here's the gallery wall-a combination of baby and family photos and some crafty things I made. I loved the idea of hot air balloons combined with Dr. Seuss' "Oh, The Places You'll Go" phrase, so I made this artwork by painting and stenciling a canvas, then cutting out a 3-D hot air balloon out of card stock and gluing to the canvas. I  repurposed an IKEA night light  by cutting out cloud shapes onto navy blue paper and attaching to the light fixture. I Mod Podged an old frame with sheet music, adding a photo of baby's newborn toes.

 It was so much fun redoing this room and I think baby boy loves it too. He squeals with delight when he gets to play there. It was created on a budget and most accessories were either handmade, thrift store finds or things I already had in the house that I repurposed and used for his room. There's so much for him to look at and play with and it was a really great way to celebrate him becoming "finally forever". We love having him be a part of our family!

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How to Paint a Straight Line on a Textured Wall

So I've been in the middle of painting our boys' bedroom and we have these built-in panels that we decided to paint in bright pops of color while leaving the rest of walls gray. In case any of you reading have textured walls like I do, I thought I'd share this helpful tip-if you want perfectly straight lines to separate colors, it really is possible!

First, I'll tell you what NOT to do: Don't expect to apply the tape (I used Frog Tape) to a textured wall and just simply paint your color over it and expect it not to bleed. I did that last spring and ended up having to use a eyeshadow sponge applicator to tediously touch up my dark blue that bled through = no fun!

I assure you, there is a much easier way! This time I read the fine print on the tape package, which tells you for textured walls to go to their website for a technique to make straight lines on a textured wall.

Here's what you do:

1. First apply Frog tape where you want your line to be. Make sure you smooth out any air bubbles.

2. Then, with your original wall color, paint along the edge of the tape. Frog Tape is not like regular painter's tape because it has this Paint Block technology that reacts with the latex paint and gels to form a barrier that seals the edge of the tape to prevent paint bleed. Pretty helpful.

3. Allow to dry completely.

4. Then paint with your accent color all the way to the edge of the tape.

5. After the accent color is dry, it's time to remove the tape.

6. Ta da! For the most part, my line on my textured wall was pretty straight with no bleed through, creating a bright pop of color in the room against cool gray.

No, Frog Tape didn't pay me to write this post, (but wouldn't that be nice?) I just wanted to share a helpful tip so you could avoid the headache of doing it the wrong way.

I've been a little missing in action lately because of all the hard work of painting their room, helping my husband put bunk bed together, persuading the boys to sleep in them,  and working on accessories and stencil accents for the room. It's really looking like a little boys dream and I can't wait till its done so I can show all of you!

(And, in case you've been following along and wonder what's up with my bathroom redo-well the painting is all done, but there's been a little delay in getting the lighting and mirrors-we took a trip to IKEA and I guess a lot of their stock is being stored away for remodeling. I was disappointed but it is a good excuse for us to go there again-I love that place! It is so good for hauling kids along with you with all their play areas and cheap kids meals...)

Anyway, enough rambling! I do think the bedroom will be done before the bathroom-so excited for the big reveal!

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