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Nursery News – Painting & Crib Building

OUR 1st HOUSE

Like Brendan Fraser, we have been pluggin’ away.  Just not on our scalp…instead we have been loggin’ some serious time in our ‘modern cabin’ inspired nursery. 

You have already seen how we tackled one of our walls – the wood accent wall made from pallets.  But what about the rest of the walls?  Well, after some extensive hole-filling, my lovely boyfriend quickly re-rolled the entire room for a finished paint job.  And then I stepped in (sporting a very sexy fume mask) to tape the edges and paint the trim. 

For our walls, we used Olympic’s low odor, no-VOC paint (the paint color is called Comes the Dawn in eggshell) and on the trim we changed our antique white trim color to pastel white in semi-gloss.

Isn’t it amazing what painting trim can do?  It’s like cleaning and beautification in one.  It’s sorta like going in for rhinoplasty and coming out with a new nose and clean toenails.  And everybody loves a good pedicure 🙂

Then we finally pulled out the crib we bought way back last summer.  Thankfully, we found the directions too. 

Although, I must admit…putting it together (even with the directions) left us a bit confused.  We almost broke the thing.  Twice.  But after forty-five minutes and several almost-cuss-words later (ok. ok.  there might have been one) and a prayer for forgiveness…not to mention a lecture to my belly how mommy needed to clean up her language, we had the thing together.   

After a good night’s sleep we decided to pick up where we left off…and headed over to Babies R Us to pick up the mattress.  Dippin’ into our Baby Fund, we were armed with just enough money to cover the cushiony mattress. 

But then we actually picked up a different version when we got to the store.   

(enter gratuitous photo of a good lookin new car and a good lookin guy here):

So what changed our mind when we got to the infamous baby store? 

Well, first of all, we had consumer reported baby mattresses and found that Serta mattresses were consistantly ranked very high.  Not only are they safe due to their firm surface but they are well made and under $200.  So we had our mind set on the Serta Perfect Night mattress which cost $140…but when we got to the store, we saw that they had the Serta Perfect Balance mattress on sale for $150.  Not only was it organic (which is not something we would pay $60 extra bucks for but for ten bones, we’ll consider it) but it also passed our very technical comfort-test.  We put both mattresses side by side and squeezed.  Yeah.  And for $10 more, we thought that the extra firmness in the corner ‘pillars’ was worth it. 

Plus that lamb sucking on a pacifer is adorable. 

When we got it home, we quickly unwrapped the mattress to let it air out.  After reading lots of reviews, we took note that this particular mattress has stickers that leave a residue, so we were sure to not remove them but instead make sure that side of the mattress was down.  Gotta love online reviews that help newbie parents-to-be like us! 

Oh – and I found this interesting…just a little reminder of what this corner used to look like:

Looks pretty different with that accent wall, huh?

So that’s how we added a new hue to our wood trim, gave a fresh coat of paint to our walls and added a new (used) crib and an organic mattress to our nursery.  Only one hundred more things to do…like hang curtains, add more furniture, create some art, and of course, there is that uber-secret craft project that I am going attempt…let’s hope it doesn’t require another forgive-me-prayer for foul language.  I hate the thought of my baby boy knowing the dirty words in utero.

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Comments

  1. I love, love, love that accent wall. My neighbors are expecting a boy in August, and I showed them the post where you installed it. They were blown away!!! Definitely gave them inspiration to do something dramatic to their own space for the little bean.

    <3

  2. i really love that accent wall! i’m trying to convince my hubby that we should do that in the living room behind the TV (right now that wall is painted 3 different colors!). i look forward to seeing what else you do with the room too. the modern cabin style really appeals to me since i grew up in Minnesota. it seems like everyone has a nice cozy cabin up there!

  4. yall are GENIUS! 🙂 I love your money saving tricks and I now want an accent wall!!!! Come help me 🙂 Our babies can play together (once he is here of course) 🙂

  5. you have been asked before, I sure, but have you guys thought about splinters on your little one’s body? I am sure you are preventing that, do tell.

  11. It looks wonderful!! I love the crib choice 🙂

    I do have a quick question. You know when your painting (NOT ME ON THIS SITUATION!!) 🙂 and the paint gets on the metal part of the window? How do you remove that? It was there previously and it looks so tacky, do you have any suggestions?? THANKS GIRL!

    XO

    Jo

  12. I just love what you have done so far. That wall is amazing. I doubt I would ever have the guts to do a wall like that in my home, but I love, love, love it. Oh, and you crack me up! Thanks for the laugh!!

  13. Hi Joanne,
    Well, if you click on the link to the accent wall, you will see that we did sand each board to eliminate the splinter-factor. We also applied several cans of satin polyuerathane which can seal in any future splinters (sometimes when wood changes climates like going from outside to inside, it can dry out and splinters can develop with the lack of humidity) so we wanted to be sure that Will’s little fingers would be safe. And don’t worry – we have done several ‘stroke’ tests to ensure that we didn’t get wood in our hands either. Does that make sense?
    XO – katie

  14. Jo – to be honest, I paint the entire window (even the metal part). I hate it too that we had previous owners that tinted it antique white but I would rather have the metal match than an easier time opening our windows. Hopefully sometime in the next couple years we will be able to afford new windows that don’t have this issue. Sorry I couldn’t be more help!
    XO – katie

  15. I’m excited to see how your nursery comes together. I really like how the blue paint brings out the gray undertones of some of the wood planks. Your baby will have a one of a kind room, for sure!

  16. Hi Katie! I’m a long-time lurker and fellow Atlantan, and I love your site! The nursery looks fantabulous1 I do have a question for you: I noticed the strings for your blind are really long. We installed some bamboo blinds in our house and have the same problem. Do you plan to cut them off some? If so, how do you tell where to cut them?

  18. It’s funny to read back through your crib post b/c your original theme (colors) for a boy is now your guest bedroom theme.

  21. Please attach your window blind cords way up where they can’t be reached whether the blinds are up or down.

  22. We were debating the organic vs. non mattress options, also. At first I thought, “yes” to organic. Then I thought that it wouldn’t be as big a deal since we’re using organic sheets, bumper, etc. Then someone told me that the highest risk babies for SIDS are those in homes where others smoke, nonbreastfed babies (not sure why on this one), and another risk factor was the high level of fire retardent chemicals sprayed on mattresses. Apparently, fire retardent chemicals are sprayed on most baby items (clothing, blankets, etc.)

    So for just a little more $$ in a long-term investment, we are going organic. And a tip that I learned from “Feathering the Nest” (thanks YHL for the recommend), is to wash new baby clothes, etc. with a little vingegar in the water before a detergent wash to help remove the chemicals.

  23. Hm… and it looks okay? do ya’ll’s even have the metal part in the window? It looks like it’s naturally the “all white” windows!!!!

  25. Wow, this room is really coming together nicely! I still can’t get over that accent wall ~ amazing! Congrats on the mattress! I also won’t pay a heck-of-a-lot more just for something organic…but $10 more is definitely doable! Love the wall color, and the new trim color looks great! You guy are always so inspiring, thanks! 🙂

  27. Bethany –
    We do plan on shortening our blind strings…but I don’t think it’ll be permanent method…I think we will probably just tie them up high and out of reach. Thankfully, we will have several months before Will is mobile so we don’t feel rushed 🙂 If you are looking to cut your blinds, just let your blinds out to the longest length you need. Then trim the strings and take the little ‘nuggets’ that hang on the bottom and restring em before tying a knot. Good luck!
    XO – KB

  28. It’s looking more boyish!! I can’t wait to see what else you guys are going to do. I don’t have any babies but love decorated babies rooms cause theyre so cute.

  29. The new trim color looks great! Our trim is stil that antique color and I can’t wait to paint it a cleaner white like yours!

  30. I’m loving following along with your nursery ideas! I’m expecting a little girl this summer and can’t wait to hear how you review some things I’m interested in using too. Like the cloth diapers especially!

  31. Katie, I know you have a few years till Will be mobile, and I dont want to come of as a know-it-all, but my nephew Brendan Kiamana passed away at the age of 3 by “tied” up cords on mini blinds. 3 Day Blinds offers a kit for free to completely conceal the cords on line or in store, and really cord free mini blinds really need to be used. They make some very attractive options the open very easily. Brendan was napping in his room 4 days before Valentines Day in 2003, when he was found already gone by my niece. Please just consider by the time he is crawling to make the switch. All though Brendan is in heaven surrounded by angels, he is forever missed here on earth. Katie I love you and love your blog and I am only urging you out of love.

  34. i love the wall as well. it’s just so original. i’ve never seen anything like it, and it’s just so freakin cool. how did you even come up with that idea???

  35. Hi Elizabeth,
    Like I have said before, I looked at hundreds of photos of cabins and lodge interiors & exteriors to get inspiration for this room. I would take notes about similiar items in all the homes or jot down any unique ideas (like decor pieces or fabrics that I liked) and one standout item was wood walls. But how do I get wood for walls without spending a dime? Well, that’s exactly the question I had before driving past a home improvement store dumpster (it’s amazing what you can find in an oversized trashcan) and saw pallets. So I went home and proposed the idea to Jeremy who gave the project a thumbs up!
    XO – katie

  37. Cute wall! Question for you on the use of pallets – were you concerned about not knowing how it might be treated? I’ve read not to burn pallets b/c many of them are treated with chemicals and anti-mildew agents.

  38. The white trim makes all the difference! Our house has off-white trim everywhere except for the nursery, which is already white thanks to the previous owners who used the room for a nursery, too. The accent wall looks great! We need to sell the furniture that’s in the nursery before we can move on to the crib.

  39. Don’t feel like you have to answer to this for my sake. It’s just something that I thought of.

    I have allergies to wood. We recently laid down wood flooring and I noticed that I wake up in the mornings with clogged sinuses. So just wanted to suggest to you maybe to keep in mind if after baby arrives and you notice some congestion, etc. to consider the wood accent wall. that might be a potential cause.

  42. Hi Me.
    That’s is funny to type. Anyhoo…I will definitely keep my eyes and ears peeled for any allergic reactions!
    Thanks for the reminder 🙂
    XO – Katie

  44. Katie, there is only one thing in the picture that
    bothered me – the cord to your blinds are right next to the crib! Please make sure your baby boy can’t reach the cord!

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