Here’s what we started with…

Jill wanted the color palette to be soothing and restful.  Something SHE would enjoy!

And, here is the finished product.

When we originally met, Jill was talking about finding furniture.  But what was already there had so much potential!  The spare bedroom had been housing her furniture from when she was a child.  Fortunately, the overall design of the pieces has come back into style.  She wasn’t sold at first on the the updates I suggested, but after showing her a very similar style from Restoration Hardware, she agreed to the inexpensive changes.

I didn’t have the time to paint every piece in it’s entirety, so I just used the upper wall color to paint the panels and blue lines.  We changed out the knobs with clear ones from Target and painted the rest of the hardware to match the new color.  I think the simple update turned out great and only cost around $50.  We had also searched and searched for a crib and couldn’t find anything we loved that was under $500.  A friend offered her crib (for free!) and although it wasn’t what we had envisioned, we just used fabric to make it a little more elegant.

Which brings me to our next design decision.  The fabric.  We went shopping together and she decided on a fabric she loved.  It wasn’t the traditional “baby” fabric, but the color was soothing.  I paired it with a softer more baby friendly fabric and some other complementary  fabrics.  I think it lends to a more luxurious feel but keeps it soft for the baby.Our biggest problem was the lighting in the room!  There wasn’t any!!!  I found a fabulous old chandelier at our local Habitat ReStore for $25 that was perfect.  (If you have one close, they are definitely worth checking out.  It is a hit or miss kind of place, and you never know what you will find!)  The problem was that there was no way to install it without hiring someone to put in an electrical box or me doing it myself.  I was pretty confident I could do it, but my dad visited over Christmas and offered to do it!  Thanks DAD!!

We also used a dimmer switch to adjust the light…you know for those late night/early morning feedings.  🙂

I think the chandelier is probably my favorite part of the room and I was DETERMINED to make it work!

Do you recognize the chair?  It was my first reupholster project.  I haven’t talked much about my office in a while because it is no longer in that room.  I have switched out rooms, yet again, and now that room is back to a guest bedroom.  Long story short, I didn’t have a place for my chair and it fit perfectly into the nursery.

I used an artificial cherry blossom branch in the place of a mobile.  I just hung it with invisible tread and some eye hooks in the ceiling.  I think it’s the perfect finishing touch to the room (Jill’s husband still isn’t sold, but I had a feeling that might be the case! 😉  Thanks, Jason for letting us do what we wanted!)

Most of the accessories were things that Jill had around the house or things she inherited from her mom or grandmother.  I think that the best design incorporates things that are special to you.  It helps you connect with a space in a more personal way.  Our biggest splurge was the wool rug we decided to add at the end.  It adds the texture that we were hoping to achieve.

I am very happy at how this room turned out!  If you would like to see more pictures of the finished room, click here.

~Angela