nursery phase II: finishing the bottom

I am unable to procrastinate on things, and knowing that I have things to get done makes me crazy. So on Wednesday night, I wrapped up as much of Ethan's nursery as I could do alone. Needless to say, I was in bed by 9, and slept very well that night.

I have to say that the white looks awesome against the blue... and that his nursery wouldn't look half as good without it. It brightens up the blue in a way I really didn't expect. Was it worth all that time (and money)? Maybe...

The original color of the entire room house.

I'll also say that I am sick of painting, so I think I'm taking those closet doors down and leaving them off. I don't care right now whether they ever go back on. They need to be trimmed anyway, because the carpet is too thick. Yes, curtains sound more appealing by the day. Or new closet doors, but I am not interested in installing more doors.

Austin has been gone a lot, so fortunately I had a lot of help from other people on this nursery. One of my best friends, Lindsey, helped me paint his nursery blue. When that dried, Leslie, Meredith, and Danielle from our small group came and helped me with the wallpaper (which is the highlight of the room, is it not?). I painted the chair rail, Austin cut it, and I nail-gunned it up while Austin held it. I really love that nail gun! It freaks me out when I use it and Bear is in the room. I don't think I'd nail him accidentally - I don't think that's possible - but it still scares me!

What's left, then? Austin's job! Changing all the beige, old, gross outlets and light switches to new, white, tamper-resistant plugs and switches. Hopefully, that won't take too long. I bought them in bulk because half our house had white plugs when we moved in, and we need to replace the beige ones anyway. Might as well make them tamper-resistant, while we're at it.

Austin also needs to add one 2-3 foot section of chair rail that he didn't get to do last Sunday because he was already late in leaving for Laredo. I may use a nail gun, but I am not putting my hands on a saw! After that (and DAP-ing the holes and caulking it...) I think the room itself will be done... I think.

Without further ado, the very handsome, partly-decorated nursery:

I'm obsessed with that whale and that net. Best part
of the room so far!

I decided I hate the white curtains, so they've already come down.
They look pretty bad in person.
Isn't that lantern the best?

The pieces on the bed are going up on the wall to the
right (there are shelves for them to sit on but they
are hard to see in this picture).

This is the section of the wall (on the left) that needs to
be finished, along with that tiny piece on the right.
Directly to the left of this picture is the closet; the door
faces Ethan's crib.

I just did the math on the nursery, and it  blew me away. The cost is huge compared to what I anticipated. We're talking a few hundred dollars! Considering that real beadboard would have cost this much on it's own, I want to feel like this is a good deal.

Was it way more expensive and time-consuming than I imagined? Yes. Am I ever going to repaint this room again, ever in my life? NO. If you'd told me it'd cost this much time and money to make this room..... I probably would have skipped it all. When I told Austin what the cost was, he said, "that's nothing for my little man." Awwwwwww. I can't wait for Austin to come home and see how awesome this looks in person. Overall, the way the room looks today has totally exceeded my expectations, and I know we aren't done yet.

The dresser/changing table was a gift from Grammie Cindy, the crib was a gift from my parents, and my mom is working on Ethan's quilt, bumpers, and crib skirt (though right now, Grandma is in San Francisco enjoying time with Grandpa. Am I jealous that they're in California Wine Country without me? No.....). Grammie C also gave us that twin bed. The headboard was $25 on clearance at Target. We still need to actually put the bed together.

My friend Sarah Blome (who makes fabulous paper flowers) has volunteered to make the mobile for Ethan, which is super sweet, and I am really excited about - her work is always awesome! It'll hang through the net above Ethan's crib.

That's all for now... more to come when it is FINISHED!

love,