It’s finally here. Only ~two months after Mini Bunches arrived. Her early arrival kind of hampered the completion of the nursery, and it’s not entirely done yet, but I’ve just got to get this post done and out of my brain . . .
First, where we started (see all of our house before pictures here):
And where it is today:
Big difference, eh? This was actually the first room that I started painting when we bought the home–I knew all along it would be the nursery and I had baby on the brain, so I wanted to get it done. It was also my first ever experience painting a ceiling . . .
The color? Benjamin Moore’s Ocean Air:
I love this color–it’s blue in some light, teal in others, and all-in-all just awesome. Our guest room in our old Boston condo was painted this color and it was my favorite room in the house. Of course, when it’s painted on the ceiling, it reads as much, much lighter than when it’s on the walls. See how you can barely tell the difference between the new Ocean Air color and the old white ceiling paint?
Oh well. I wasn’t going to paint it again. Let’s just say painting a ceiling–not so fun. Your arms and neck get mighty tired. I actually did it before we ripped up the carpet (more on that here), so I didn’t need to worry about drips getting on the floor, but if you’re not getting rid of your flooring, then definitely tarps are a MUST. Oh, and the walls and trim are Benjamin Moore’s Decorator’s White–ya’ know, the color that’s on basically every wall in our house except the kitchen.
What paint did we use? Well, we used Sherwin Williams’ HGTV Home Interior Paint in a Flat finish, color-matched to BM’s Decorator’s White:
Why this paint? Well, my sister has converted me to a SW fan, and this paint was new, No-VOC, and cheaper than SW’s other No-VOC paints. Plus, I love HGTV and figured that it would be good quality paint. Boy, was I WRONG. This is the WORST PAINT EVER!!! And trust me–I’ve done my fair share of painting. It smelled HORRIFIC and the odor didn’t go away for months! Good thing we (and by that I mean Mr. Bunches since I was too preggers at the time we decided to finally get on finishing the nursery) painted the room a few months before Mini B arrived. We had the windows open in there through most of the winter and spring, and I still felt like I could smell paint sometimes when I went in there. Plus, the coverage of this paint was AWFUL. It was really thin and covered horribly. The room isn’t that big, we had already done a coat of paint using some BM leftovers we had, and so we shouldn’t have had to use even half a gallon. But nope–it took the whole gallon just to do one coat on the walls. In sum: NEVER BUY THIS PAINT. IT’S CRAP.
Okay, sorry for the tangent. Back to the nursery:
Remember that dresser? It’s the one I refinished (see all the steps here and here), and now it’s Mini B’s changing table.
It’s also her favorite spot to be in the room. Why? Because these guys are her new best friends . . .
Yep, those are vintage Disney wall hangings that we took from Mr. Bunches’ childhood room. Isn’t it too cute that what hung on his nursery wall is now hanging in Mini B’s nursery? I just love that. And just to see what the changing table looked like before we got our snazzy rug . . .
But now the floor’s all covered up in chevron stripes that Mini B can barely take her eyes off of . . .
As for the crib? Well, she’s not such a fan yet, but I have faith. She has spent a couple naps/nights there, but hopefully more soon . . .
And she’s not into this bucket o’fun yet, but I’m sure she will be soon. It’s basically where all her friends hang out . . .
And above the crib is a little concoction I put together from various paper lanterns and pom flowers . . .
I love that it’s sunny and bright–I’m hoping someday Mini B will wake up to this view and it will help her start her days off on the right foot . . .
And I’ve finally hung up some artwork in the room. Two items from Etsy, two cards we received that I thought were just too cute and needed to be framed, and a mirror for Mini B to someday gaze into (again–that elusive day when she sleeps in the crib) . . .
The top left print is from Almost Sunday Designs, the top right from Andrea Zuill’s Badbird shop, both on Etsy.
And here are the two cards I framed. One is from our baby shower, and the other is a congrats on getting preggers we received way back when.
All of the frames are courtesy of Ikea. We also hung an Ikea shelf to display Mini B’s ever-growing book collection . . .
And of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t show you the closet (it is, after all, a little girl’s room). I couldn’t stand the closet doors (they’re that ugly wood color that everything in our house was), so I had Mr. B take them down and we replaced them with curtains . . .
Mini B also loves looking at those . . . she and I have had many conversations about those little birdies. The curtains are from Ikea. And here’s a little shot of what Mini B’s got hiding in that closet of hers . . .
Not the best organization yet, but that project’s on my some-day-I’ll-have-enough-sleep-to-tackle project list.
And last, but certainly not least, this little guy stands guard at Mini B’s door (at least temporarily until we find a more suitable home for him on a shelf somewhere):
So there you have it–Mini B’s Nursery Reveal!
What do you think? As you can tell, Mini B is dying to know . . .
It’s FABULOUS!!! I love, love, LOVE it! You have such amazing style, geeze. We still need to get you a piece of her Uncle J’s artwork someday. For now, I will stick to trying to get her package of goodies in the mail… It grows weekly. What on earth is my excuse?? Miss you all, Auntie E
[…] Update: The finished dresser is now the changing table in Mini B’s nursery. Check it out here. Share on FacebookShareEmailFacebookPrintTwitterLike this:LikeOne blogger likes […]
What a beautiful room! BTW, we had the same smell problem with Olympic paint from Lowes. I typically use SW Harmony (which I love), but I was trying to go cheap for a guest room. Thank goodness it was the guest room, because almost a year later and there is still a faint odor in there. I even had people from Olympic come out because I thought there was something wrong with the paint. They claimed there wasn’t, but still reimbursed me for it, plus the cost of repainting with something different. We used a odor blocking primer and new SW paint and the smell still didn’t entirely go away. What a crazy experience!
[…] was seriously impressed. Seriously. Especially since, besides Mini B’s nursery, there is currently only one framed item hung in our house. And we’ve lived here for over a […]
[…] Mini B’s nursery was featured in the Before & After section on Apartment Therapy Friday! Check it out here. I was so excited that I actually took a picture of the site on my phone (I know–I’m a full on geek) . . . […]
What a great room! Can you tell me where the rug is from? LOVE IT!
Sure thing–my husband (since he’s in the carpet business) actually got it direct from the manufacturer, but you can buy it pretty cheaply online (here’s just one site: http://www.rugsusa.com/rugsusa/rugs/milliken-vibe/techno-black/2795568315-310054.html?origin=pla&gclid=CKe1q-z94bUCFQSg4Aod0mQAaw). It’s the Milliken Vibe Techno rug. Just a heads up–since it’s synthetic, I recommend letting it off-gas in a garage or basement for a few days before putting it in a bedroom (especially before putting in a nursery). It’s also pretty thin, so a thick rug pad would be a good idea. And thanks for the kudos on the room–so glad you like it!
If the baby has trouble sleeping, try removing the bright coloured mobile overhead of crib. Chevron carpet may be too stimulating as well. I am sorry too point out negatives-it is not my style. I make these suggestions from the view point of a mother who had a very restless, baby, who was not able to settle and sleep (and my husband and I were exhausted.) The pediatrician suggested we adjust the nursery decorating to a more peaceful theme and our problems were over. Many of you are probably thinking the doctor was a quack, but just saying…it worked. I think the colour of the walls and the sweet fabric on the closet are lovely
Love your nursery! I came across this post looking for info about paint smells! I also used Sherwin Williams and it still smelled after 6 weeks, I made my husband paint again with their NO VOC line and it smells the exact same! I was just wondering how long it took for your smell to go away because it is driving me crazy! I think its mostly me that really smells it so maybe I’m just running on sensitive mode, but its still there!
I think it took about 3-4 months, and that’s with having the windows open constantly and a fan going (which didn’t help our heating bills since it was the middle of winter when we did the painting). But eventually it did go away. I’ve had much better luck with Sherwin Williams’ Duration paint–it isn’t a NO VOC paint, but it definitely has less odor and better coverage. Hoping it’s gotten better for you!!
Duration is actually what we painted with the first time and then the Harmony in an attempt to cover up the smell. I guess you just never know with paint, but you give me hope that the smell may go away at some point! Thanks for responding!
Where did you find the chevron rug? Is it black and white, or black and ivory?
It’s black and white. Definitely NOT ivory. And it’s the Milliken Black & White Vibe Techno rug–you can get it a lot of places (I bought it through a dealer), but here’s a link: http://www.wayfair.com/Milliken-Black-and-White-Vibe-Techno-Black-Rug-536831-0005-L167-K~KC4293.html?refid=GX21919340220-KC4293&device=c&PiID%5B%5D=4503600&gclid=CKzmzNnS2LkCFdGd4Aod8EAAkg
Mine is an 8’x10′. It’s not particularly thick, so keep that in mind if you’re using it for a kid’s room. And it also definitely needs time to air out so it can off-gas that new-carpet smell. Good luck!