Day 34

Charlie checking things out

Sorry I haven't had an update in a while. The fact of the matter is there just hasn't been much to do. I'm just waiting to aquire some pieces for decorating but we did pull a few pieces we already had in the house together this week, and we got a mattress. So the room is fully functional now, even if it isn't finished to the point I would like. We have a crib with bedding, a changing table/dresser, a diaper genie, a bookshelf, and a rug. The things I am still looking for are a glider and ottoman, a changing pad for the table, wall art, the valance and the hamper that match the bedding set, and a lamp/nightlight. I have some of that sitting on my registry but if I find it first for a good deal I will buy it myself.


Buying the mattress was like a huge deal to me the hormones were raging and I felt like it was the biggest decision of my life and I had to get the perfect one that was really safe, and yet comfortable, and affordable. I shopped and online shopped, I compared prices and looked for the best sales, and scoured craigslist. Then I reviewed every "deal" I found and tried to get as much information as possible. I was driving D crazy haha. At one point about a week ago we had a mattress given to us for free. It was okay probably safe enough, and it was free so I tried to be okay with it, but it just wasn't good enough I just couldn't risk it. The mattress that didn't make the cut was a Serta Perfect Sleeper. I think it would make a great toddler mattress, but I felt it was just a little too soft for a newborn.

Sticker on the mattress

So yesterday a Simmons Baby Beautyrest Back Care VII showed up on craigslist for $35. Being the wary neurotic mattress shopper I had become I researched it like crazy and I couldn't find a single bad review! It has over 200 15 gauge coils, individually pocketed for reduced movement. A 9 gauge continually welded border wire, double padding, fabric binding, air vents, and an antimicrobial vinyl waterproof cover. Of course despite the good reviews, I still wasn't ready to just commit blindly so I emailed and asked if it would be okay for me to look at it first and then decide. That way I could see what the house looked like, determine if they had smoked and such, and check the condition/ quality for myself. They said that would be fine and I headed out. I was happy to meet an extremely nice couple with a nice house and a mattress that was all I had dreamed a crib mattress should be. They hadn't used it in a couple years but it was stored in a closet in plastic. I bought it for $35 no need to haggle as it was already a great price on a mattress in like new condition that retails for $120. Another craigslist success and a mattress I would recommend to anyone.

As for the free one we were going to try to use it as a dog bed which was something I found out many people do from reading the reviews on others. Sadie likes it, but unfortunately Charlie only wants to tear the sheet we put on it, and I dont want him to rip through the vinyl cover. So I think I'm going to try and sell it for more money to decorate the nursery.

Crib all ready to go

Another thing I've been working on lately (not directly related to the nursery project) which I mentioned the last couple times is putting everything together in a universal registry. I checked out a couple sites including Amazon but ultimately I decided to go through onebabyregistry.com It was a big undertaking to pull together everything I wanted, and I wanted to list for each item all the places it was available so people had options if they wanted to price shop like me. I really like that it does put everything in one place from many different stores. I also like that you can add your own entries so I could write generic things like books. And I like the option to add local and specialty stores. I'm planning to cloth diaper so I was able to add a local store here that sells diapers and accessories and has a great trial program where you can find wich brand/style of diaper works for you.
Of course I have a few concerns about the universal registry mainly, if it will be easy/accesible for everyone to use. It can be used for online shopping in that there is a link embedded for each item so you can purchase it directly, and it can also be printed off to be taken shopping with you. The other potential problem is that once you do go shopping you have to physically go back to the site and say that you purchased the item. I could see people forgetting that step and ending up with a lot of duplicate gifts. But I think I'm willing to give it a try. Here is the link if you want to check it out for yourself to see how it is laid out and you can always leave me some feedback if you think it is a workable idea or not. http://www.OneBabyRegistry.com/myregistry/?i=22525

So I probably won't have much to say about the room again for a while, but we are going to get a 3D ultrasound on Thursday so I will be back to share that experience for sure, probably on Saturday.

Day 22

My Little MVP

Well things have been at a standstill as far as physical work to do in the room. This week I will be buying the last few things I need in the room such as blinds, a light fixture, chaning table and a mattress so I will have more work to do there. In the meantime I've been "shopping" (aka pinning things on Pintrest) for decorations to bring the room together. The design concept is a sports theme Which D picked based off the bedding set "My little MVP" by Nojo.

We got the bedding set used on craigslist for just $50 which is a great savings since it's like $180 new. The bumper and crib skirt are in perfect condition and the quilt is pretty good. The only problem is that after it got washed some of the appliques pulled away from the stitching which I read in the reviews has happened to others. Im not really worried about it, the set has a rustic feel about it anyway so I think it looks fine. I am going to buy some fabric tape to keep it from pulling up and fraying any more.

One in a set of 4 pieces of art from Etsy

Since this set is still current I have all the extra accessories on my registry like the valances, the hamper, and the light but I've found a lot of other decorations for the room that I would love to put in there. The problem is they are on Etsy so I can't just throw them on my babies r us registry and so far I don't have the funds to buy them myself. I think I am going to try to find some stuff around the house that I can sell on craigslist for starters and raise some money that way and I am going to try to put together a universal registry if I can find one I like working with. Amazon's is okay but it doesn't really categorize things well and doesn't always transfer pictures. I wish I could just use Pintrest as a registry everything I like is on there lol but not everyone has an account.

Blocks from Etsy

So anyway that's what I've been up to and where I am at. Hopefully I will make some progress this week with the blinds and light at least.










Links
My Pintrest Page
My BabiesRUs Registry
Etsy

Day 15

Finished

I finally got back in the room today and put on the second coat. It looks pretty good but it was not an easy room to paint, the walls are in really bad shape and of course I'm limited by finances so I cant really do everything I want.

EEEW

One thing I still have a problem with is where the walls meet the ceiling, it's in terrible shape and the paint is still messy even after taping it, and using an edger. It really needs a crown molding but that's not happening so I hope that once there is more in the room it wont be so noticeable. It's okay at a distance but up close, yuck. I also dont like that all the trim is white but it has a ton of paint on it and the white is a gloss so to do it right I would need to sand it down and I just don't have the time, energy, or resources to do that, so it stays white and again I hope that when all is said and done it won't stand out as much.



Tomorrow will start the biggest and hardest task which is to get all the old paint up off the floors. Yay.

Day 5

Working hard 

One of the challenges with an old house is that the walls aren't flat and there's a lot of dents, cracks, nicks, and holes which makes painting very tricky, particularly around the ceiling. So that was my challenge today and I'm not going to lie, it was a little frustrating. This is definitely a paint job that needs two coats. It's to be expected even with a "one coat" paint though as Im going to a much darker color and it has red in it.

You can see the uneven paint 

However, I don't like doing two I always feel like I'm just putting too much paint on the wall and there must already be like 8 colors on them haha.    
In fact, I know from places where it was chipping that there is definitely at least four. White, pink, green, and now brown. Oh well you do what you have to do. For now I'm going to let the paint set up for a few days as we are traveling to my parents house. It will give me a good break from the fumes, and a chance to get in painting mode again because I don't think I would have the energy to go right back to it again tomorrow.

One coat down, one to go. 

Seeing the whole room painted, I am glad I changed my color choice. This one is even still a little pink at times, but the lighting makes all the difference. I think it's going to come together very nicely especially once we start adding in the splashes of color like curtains and bedding and art. We have a long way to go before we are ready for that though.

Day 4

Yesterday I spent the day making Stampin Up cards for our church ministry caring crafts so the room was on the back burner.






But today I got the paint! In the end I did change my mind as I predicted and I ended up moving over one swatch to Sands of Time. It's a little less red than sensational sand and I decided that would be a better choice to balance everything out. I was really excited and as soon as I got home I started painting around all the trim with my edger. I was a little disappointed that my edger wasn't getting as close as I wanted it to so Ill have to go back in with a very small brush and touch it up later, but the paint went on beautifully.

I only had time to paint around the windows and doors before it got dark but it was a good start.
Tomorrow I will work around the ceiling and baseboards but I can only work in the morning so I doubt I will get to fill in the walls until Sunday afternoon. I can't wait to see how the color dried and how it looks in full daylight.

Day 2

How many browns are out there? 

Today I probably won't be doing much work because there's not much I can do until I get some supplies this weekend. I did however already spend the morning choosing a paint color. I put them all up on the wall near the crib and eliminated the palettes one by one. In person the first 4 choices on the left clearly pulled green and did not go well with the crib. I then placed the remaining 3 right on the crib and was able to eliminate one more. The last two were hard, I moved them all over the room and studied them in every light at every angle and finally narrowed my choice down to 4 colors. I gave it a break and when I came back I kept gravitating toward one. Now I know me and I could easily keep agonizing over this choice for days and chances are I might still change my mind but for now it is made up. The walls will be painted Sherwin Williams 6094 Sensational Sand. I have a coupon that I think I will use to buy a sample just to make sure though. Who knew it could be so hard to commit to a paint color?  At least I know what paint I like and that is Sherwin Williams SuperPaint. Last year I was painting a room and I did a lot of research on what paint I wanted to use before deciding on SW and I was so glad I did. The difference between a good paint and a cheap paint is huge! Superpaint went on so nicely, the color was even, and it covered with one coat. Even though it is a little more expensive, they have frequent sales and you can sign up for a free savings program. The customer service is always good and they even provide the services of a decorator who will come to your house for free to help you design your room and pick your colors. I will never go back I am a customer for life.

Links
Sherwin Williams
SuperPaint

Day 1

D putting the crib together

Well day one started off most interestingly as the nesting bug apparently hit D while I was trying to clear out the room from it's previous life as a guest room. He decided that since he has always hated the ceiling fan stating his complaints as "too low, ugly, and white" he would just take it down and be done with it. This was fairly easily accomplished however it has left the room without a light and now I can only work in there durring daylight hours and we have to shop for a new fixture. The good news was we still had a lot of daylight left so we finished clearing, and cleaning and left for Walmart to pick up our crib. We ordered the Graco Charleston in classic cherry. After looking at cribs in person at Burlington we found this one to be a good fit for our style and for me as I am only 5ft tall and this is a shorter style. It was $159 plus tax. We got site to store shipping so it would be free and it's arrival would be guaranteed. It was an easy process although it does take up to 10 days for the order to come in. The box was pretty beat up and it just barely fit in our van so I will admit I was a little nervous. Once we got it home and upstairs we had a few minutes of figuring out what we were really supposed to be doing and what went where, but it went together easily once we got situated and Im very happy with it. The color is nice, there were no flaws, and it feels very sturdy.


Links
Walmart: Graco Charleston

Introduction

I decided to start a blog to chronicle the creation of our nursery because I'm always looking for inspiration when it comes to decorating and because I really enjoy decorating and want to be able to share the process with friends and family as well.

For anyone looking for inspiration I will be documenting all the processes and products we use as well as my thoughts about them. I will provide relevant links at the bottom of each entry.

Our House 
We currently live in a house owned by the church my husband serves. It is an American foursquare built sometime around 1898 I believe. We have lived here a year and a half and we expect to be here at least another year and a half. As the house has always belonged to the church I can't even begin to guess how many families have lived here in the past 100 years. I do know that in the last 30 years there have been 8 families and at least a few babies were born durring their family's time here. I think it is amazing to be a part of that much history. Unfortunately this history has taken a toll on the house and there is only so much I can do to repair it, although if I could I would love to restore the whole thing. I will be doing my best to add to the beauty and character of the house, repair what is within my power, and employ a style that will hopefully appeal to future families. Im not a professional by any means I just love houses and putting together a style that captures the character of our family and the house.

Links
American Foursquare