PROJECT NURSERY

First things first, no baby yet. 2 centimeters dilated. 70% effaced. She must be comfy in there. :) While we're anxious for her to get here, I'm not going to lie-I'm somewhat relieved that she didn't make her debut on April Fools' Day. Pop-Pop would have had never-ending tricks up his sleeves. Unless she decides to join us between now and then, we will likely be determining a potential date to induce at our next OB appointment: next Monday, April 6th.

More to come on that front...

Okay, I've had a lot of requests to post pictures of the nursery on here. I have to honestly say that I struggled with this because while I know I've posted a lot of information here on the World Wide Web (I love saying that), I was hesitant on posting pictures of the nursery. Call me crazy, but I just felt odd putting pics of "Raegan's room" out on the Internet. I don't know why I'm private about some things and some things, I'm not. It's baffling. However, after some thought-I decided, "why not?" The thing is, I have lots of family and friends who may never be able to travel to Nashville to see. Plus, this blog is serving as my pregnancy journal. Selfishly, I'd like to have this documented. :)

I will say, if you're asking to see the pictures, you have to let me explain the whole thought process. You may not share my enthusiasm in the whole creative process, but, please be patient-decorating is one of my favorite hobbies. I may not be great at it, but that doesn't keep me from loving every second of it. I told you-I'm limited on creative outlets. Fashion and decorating are my only hopes. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy.

Or, who am I kidding? Skip to the pics if you despise my need to outline the evolution of this fun little adventure. I decided a long time ago that I wanted to use peach for a girls' room. I love the thought of doing something non-cliche...especially in decorating. It evokes more creativity as it provides less options. Less options = a good thing for me.

Additionally, my goal was to create an environment with the feeling that I wanted. When I start decorating a room, the first thing I think about is how I want to feel in the room and want type of mood I want it to provoke. Related to that, I had 4 feelings I wanted to incite in the nursery: Soft. Sweet. Original. Baby (yes-"baby" as an adjective).

No bright, bold, mod designs for me...I mean, don't get me wrong-I love when I see nurseries in that style...I appreciate just about every style of design; however, I personally didn't have a desire for those things. Besides, my philosophy is, bold can always come later. On the other hand, how long can you get away with pastels in decor? All of that said, I vetoed the primary colors and locked down peach. It met the 4 pieces of criteria above.

Deciding what I would couple peach with...While it seemed odd, I thought gray would be cool. I went back and forth between chocolate and gray. Main reasons I went with gray-Chocolate is a major fad right now. Love it, but it didn't accomplish the "original" feel that I desired. Additionally, I thought it would bring in too much "bold" and not enough soft. So, gray it was. It was also a muted color so accessories would pop more. Color Palette determined:

Fabric was tough. Hardly ANYONE carries peach fabric. I guess that's what I get for wanting to do something so "different". Stephanie, my friend who recently started her own design business (and, she's good-really good) agreed to help me do some accessorizing. 1st thing I needed help with: fabric. She and I searched for peach and gray fabric for weeks. I fell in love with several of the fabrics---they were just what I wanted. Speaking of fabric, when I met with the lady who was making my window treatments, I quickly told her that I wanted simple side panels but with ribbons at the top.

Awww...totally worth saving the $ for...

Paint-actually, I should say, "paint drama". Let me just say that gray paint is SO difficult to pick out. My friend, Mandi, (aka-A Blonde and a Brush) came into town and helped me with this. I had already gone through 2 paint wheels and spent time picking out grays, purchasing samples of favorites, painting swatches on the wall, and making sure they looked good in every light.

I chose my favorite and Mandi went to work.....only to get a call from her while I was at work saying, "I'm done painting, but you are NOT going to like this.". UH OH. While Mandi did a great job painting, she was right, it was way too blue. So, after a trip to Sherwin Williams the next morning, receiving a color lesson on gray (wow-lots of information) and picking out 4 more samples-Mandi, Steph, and I painted more swatches and unanimously decided on a new gray. Seriously, who knew that gray would be so tough?

As far as everything else-it just kind of came together. With the furniture: As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I knew exactly what I wanted in several pieces.

Armoire-I found it online and decided that it was a definite. I just needed someone to make it b/c I couldn't afford the one I found. Check. The side table I found online was also a definite-I just needed a cheaper option. (Stephanie to the rescue!) The changing table was undecided but I knew what I was looking for: something with a drawer at the top and shelves at the bottom for baskets-which, for some reason was more difficult than it should have been to find. After I shopped around, I found a reasonably priced one at JC Penney....who, by the way, has lots of cute baby furniture.

Chuck worked hard...

While he was doing this:

I was doing this:

And, Gabby was doing this:

Already bitter...hysterical

Glider/Rocker/whatever you want to call it-I picked this out with no problem....of course, after Chuck and I sat in about 20. Does it make it more practical to have a white chair if it was 40% off?

The crib---now, this was a huge search. I went on every website, searched all local shops in Nashville, printed off favorites, etc. I so wanted a cool crib. I finally decided. Then, realized, no one in Nashville carried that crib (at the time) so I was going to order it online. I showed the pic to Stephanie and she found a boutique that was just about to open in Nashville who already bought it and was going to have it on the floor of their shop. So, we went, looked at it (before the shop even opened), and they were nice enough to order it for us and give us a 25% discount. WOO HOO! (Now, might I add that several boutiques in Nashville now have the crib on their floor as soon as you walk in the door? A little upsetting since I thought I was being cool and different, but in the end-hey, it's crib. And, what am I thinking with trying to be cool anyway?)

Again, the handyman at work:

Gabby, a little confused about the entire concept of a crib:

Lighting, I had trouble with. So, Steph found me an awesome light fixture. I am obsessed.

Everything else that I used, I found and it was all pretty random. From TJ Maxx to online boutiques, I was able to locate some sweet things. I wanted everything to be simple so I tried not to overdo the accessories.

For example, one of my favorite little shops carried custom trash cans. When I saw that they came in peach, I went for it:

I asked my talented sister-in-law to cover a crib comforter (thank you, ebay) with gray damask fabric that Stephanie found:

I utilized a lot of white with some simple peach accents. (i. e. white baskets and white liners with peach embroidery):

The rest of the accessories had more "meaning" than style...and, in some cases-both. This will bore you all to death, but it's important for me to write this out so I have this saved for Raegan some day.)

For example, pregnancy pictures hanging above the changing table. Not a decorating statement but personal. (Might I add that they're hung a little high for my taste, but there will be a little baby reaching her arms up soon):

Other examples: The clothes hanging in the armoire are some of my baby clothes. My baby ring and bracelet are also stored here. (My mom is the best.

She saved all of my baby stuff. And, I mean ALL of my baby stuff.)

Lots of other keepsakes in the armoire, including: A gray monkey that Chuck got Raegan for Christmas (I have always loved monkeys.); Items that my mom gave to Raegan from my late Grandma Carol (crystal bootie and an angel ornament that she made.); Dried flowers from one of our baby showers in a piece of Chuck's grandmother's silver; Porcelain cross from a good friend; An ultrasound picture of Raegan; A "room blessing charm" from my aunt; Tins for Raegan's growing hand print; An embroidered pillow with Raegan's monogram from one of my mom's good friends; Frames that I painted; Silver containers for her first curl and first tooth; A blanket with a bunny (Easter baby) that my sister-in-law made.

I know, I know, I know. Sappy and too many un-needed details. The bottom line is: the final product ended up being exactly what I wanted. Everyone may not love it, but it's my idea of perfection for a baby's room.

So, here it is-Raegan's nursery. Soft, Sweet, Original, and Baby:

I have a feeling that this room will be a safe haven for her for a long time. Let's just pray that she does A LOT of sleeping here. :)