For the Before photos, click here.
Isla's nursery was so much fun to put together. We picked out her bedding first and built the nursery color scheme around it. I absolutely fell in love with the Coco Dot Nursery Bedding from Pottery Barn Kids. The colors are gorgeous and nothing screams baby about it. I didn't want anything cartoon-ey or overtly girly so the browns, aquas and subtle pinks combined with the stripes and polka dots were just perfect. The bedding nearly gave me a heart attack though because it was constantly back ordered and it kind of pushed my schedule for completing the nursery back about a month or two.
Isla's crib is also from Pottery Barn Kids and is the Catalina Convertible Crib. I knew I wanted a white crib if we were having a girl and I loved the beadboard detailing on this one. The crib is actually the only brand new piece of furniture in the room (with all the recalls, we wanted to be safe). The glider next to the crib we picked up from a yard sale in the spring for only $40! The cushions are light pink and we bought it before we even knew we were having a girl so thankfully the colors worked out for us!
The cupcake name banner above Isla's bed was made by me. I originally ordered a similar name banner from a seller on Etsy but when I received it, it was much smaller than I anticipated (think only 6 inches long!). So I hung the one from Etsy on her door and decided to tackle the project of making my own banner. It wasn't too difficult; all you need is elementary sewing skills, a lot of felt and some patience!
We were torn between yellow and aqua for the paint color but we ultimately chose aqua because it worked better with Isla's bedding. The actual shade is Aqua Glow from Valspar at Lowe's. We used Valspar paint in every room in our house because often you only need one coat!
I think Isla's dresser was the true source of my heartburn in the last trimester. We had a dresser picked out from Value City Furniture that was the perfect size and style for her room. It even had the same beadboard detailing on the sides! However, every week when it was supposed to come in, we would get a phone call saying it was backordered. This happened about three times and the last estimated date of arrival was October 7th. That was too close to comfort for me. I had laundry baskets full of clean baby clothes just waiting to be put away and I certainly didn't want to deal with that after she arrived.
On a whim, my mom and I stopped into a new boutique in our town that sells shabby chic style furniture and accessories and came across The Dresser. It's an antique dresser that was handpainted by a local Annapolis artist with gorgeous glass knobs and whimsical seahorses painted on each side. For us, the beach and sea loving family that we are, it is perfect! Even the colors of the seahorse match the color scheme. It's like the dresser was made just for us!
The changing table is the final piece of furniture in the nursery. My mom picked it up for us from Craigslist for the ridiculously inexpensive price of $30! It's the perfect compliment to every other piece in the nursery, sharing the same pretty white finish and even similar glass knobs. It has plenty of storage, which is key for us since her room is definitely on the small side.
The lamp on the dresser was a thrift store find several years ago and the mirror above it was one that used to hang in the bathroom of our old condo. Every girl needs a preppy little argyle piggy bank, which holds words of mommy wisdom from my Pennsylvania baby shower hosted by her Bam and Aunt Janelle. And since Mama loves to bake, I bought her a sweet cupcake print from the clearance aisle at Home Goods.
Jonathan installed beautiful new closet doors for the nursery (it pays to marry a handy man!) and we had ceiling fans installed in every bedroom, including the nursery. I found a pretty over-the-door hanger to again, maximize storage, and it even has pink glass knobs! Also, if you can make it out, that's the Nittany Lion costume I bought for Jonathan Isla hanging up, just waiting for her to grow into it. (Not too quickly though!)
And finally, the pièce de résistance of the nursery, her "You Are My Sunshine" painting. From bump to nursery, oh how I love it!
One final shot of the nursery. We love the final result and hopefully Isla will too!
