Parker's Nursery Round Two (Progress)

Our first goal when moving into our new house was to get to have Parker's room completely, 100% finished by the end of our first week. Well...we kinda failed terribly at that, and Mr. Parker ended up sleeping in his pack n' play in my closet for about...3 weeks :). We finally got our act together and painted the walls and moved in all of the furniture so that Parker could at the very least sleep in his own bed. TWO MONTHS after that, I managed to paint all of the trim and doors (they were so yucky) and organized  all of his toys in his new toy closet. ANOTHER month after that and Bryan and I had spent an afternoon hanging everything on the walls and called it good. 

I found that the reason this room took us so long to finish (especially considering that it was the only room that we already had all of the furniture and decorations for), was because we usually do our house projects during naptime or after bedtime...which for obvious reasons, didn't work out so well in this case. :)

It was also really hard for me to decide whether or not to do the board and batten that I LOVED so much in our last house. (It was the last room I said goodbye to in our old house and I cried a lot...so many memories!) Ultimately, we chose not to do the board and batten for right now. We've actually been talking this past week and have decided that this room will definitely stay the nursery for all of our babies (it's the darkest and most quiet room), so we WILL do the board and batten, it's just a question of when. (Hopefully in the next month or two!)

SO.

I just wrote a lot of background info. Sorry about that novel, there. Here is what we started out with...

Yes. I know. It was their "theater room". There were outlets ev-ery-where. And lots of paint.

We still want to do something fun to the ceilings (in the way off future) and put in new carpet. (And of course the B&B)

It's also the darkest room in the house BY FAR, which is why the pictures are not the best quality--sorry :).

Here is what we have done with it (so far)...

His room is about one foot bigger all the way around. And he has a huge closet with room for all of his toys!

(I'm just noticing the water rings on the table. HA! Welcome to my real life.)

We didn't really change anything in here...as you can see!

I did change up the dresser vignette a bit with things we already had. (Isn't Mr. P so sweet in his one-year photo?? Love him.)

Oh, I guess we added that sunburst mirror (I realize it's kinda girly, but there were too many square things on the walls so I needed a different shape and couldn't find anything else around the house).

 The room set-up is a bit different than in the last house. The photo below is actually taken from inside one of the closet doors. The door to the room is the the right of the crib, opposite the window. There is a little walkway before it opens up to the room, which is very nice and gives us some extra space.

Also, please note our carbon monoxide detector. :) More real life for you! I meant to put Parker's newborn pictures in those frames above his crib but still haven't gotten around to it, haha.

That's it! I of course miss the board and batten and cannot WAIT to do that project, but I still love this room just the way it is right now!

And to answer any sourcing questions: (with links to what I could find online)

Crib: Craigslist, Rug: Lowe's, Rocker: Craiglist (Sealy brand), Ottoman: TJ Maxx, Dresser: Antique, Stacking baskets: TJ Maxx (I still see them from time to time), Side Table: TJ Maxx, Hanging Baskets: World Market (I believe they are discontinued...), Light Fixture: Ikea, Lamp: TJ Maxx, Airplanes: TJ Maxx, Curtains: Target, Bamboo Blinds: Lowe's, Sunburst Mirror: Hobby Lobby, Grapevine Balls: Hobby Lobby, Wire Baskets: Paul Michael, Wooden Frame: Target, Metal Wall Frames: Ross, Succulent: Ikea, Eucalyptus Bunch and Vase: TJ Maxx, Chair Fabric: Waverly Country Linen via Joann Fabrics, Crib Skirt & Pillow Fabric: Croscill Home via Joann Fabrics (discontinued, sorry!), Houndstooth Pillow Fabric: Croscill Home via Joann Fabrics, Blue Plaid Fabric on Pillow and Clothing Art: Robert Allen Home via Joann Fabrics (discontinued!), Paint Color: Valspar Cliveden Gray Morning, Satin (20% lighter in this room), Crib Color: Valspar Gray Silt, Satin, Ceiling Color: Valspar Antique White, Flat

Have a great day!

The Little House: Final Before and After Part Two

Hello! Today, I'm continuing my final before and after of our previous home. As I mentioned before, I hit the jackpot on Google and found the old listing pictures of the house as it was when we bought it. Again, I will say that while it was clean and nicely decorated, it was definitely not my style. ;)

 

Let's begin with what ended up being my favorite room in the whole house: Parker's nursery. This is the room I get emailed about the most and gets pinned the most. It's also the one that I spent the most time thinking about and working on...which is why I probably felt that all of the other rooms in our house were never "done". Lesson learned. I am trying to plan more with our new house so I can love each room just as much as this one!

 

Before:

 

 

PINK.

 

After:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up next is the Master Bedroom, which was entirely too small for a king bed in my opinion, but these people still tried it out (with some sponged walls--awesome!)...

 

 

Before:

 

 

 

After:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the "Master" Bathroom. It's amazing what paint, new hardware, and a little light can do. (You're also missing out on the glorious blue linoleum floors in the before picture.

 

 

Before:

 

 

After:

 

 

 

 

 

And lastly, the room that was always changing and I sadly never got to finish. It went from a junk room, to a guest bedroom, to a playroom. It would have been really cool if I had finished decorating, but oh well...

 

Before:

 

 

 

 

After: (Obviously we didn't get to the ceiling fan)

 

 

 

 

 (Imagine an art gallery wall for coloring pages and finger paint masterpieces, fun huge framed alphabet prints, a book wall, a reading corner with fun patterned pillows...you get the point.)

 

 

 

I think the major lesson we've learned here is that opening the blinds helps tremendously.  ;)

 

Well, that's that. It was very bittersweet to close that chapter of our life and move on to a new (and daunting) one. But we are excited and I hope to eventually make our new house the home that we will love for a long time! I will start the "Before" tour of that house ASAP.

 

Has your current house come a long way from where it was when you moved in? What things do you think help improve a home's overall look and value?