Baby Boy's Room: A Nautical Nursery

One week and counting until our little bundle is scheduled to arrive!  I thought I would share some pictures of the nautical themed nursery that we've put together for our special little guy.

My husband, Brett, painted the room.  Surprisingly, he let both girls help for about 10 minutes.  That was enough time for them to get covered in navy blue paint from head to toe - he is a brave, brave man (and a super-wonderful daddy).  Brett had already put up the chair-rail and crown molding when we did the girls nursery, but he painted the navy blue and tan that I picked out from Home Depot.  Both paint colors are Behr and they are in satin finish.

This room has always been our nursery, but it's taken on a whole new look now.  No more pastel pink and green, we've moved onto navy blue, tan and red.  I definitely think it shouts "boy"!  All of this furniture was already in the room from the girls and I'm really happy that we went with a honey colored wood because it works just right for a boy or a girl.

We had this little round table in the nursery before, but I just changed out the overlay.  I sewed a large square of fabric from Riley Blake's "All-Star" fabric line and kept the cream colored tablecloth that was already on the table.

I've always loved our glider.  I just love rocking and gliding with little ones.  Occasionally I still take one of the girls in this room when they need some mommy cuddle time.  Both of them still love the soothing motion of the glider.  If you are debating on whether or not you might want one for your nursery, go ahead and get it, it's well worth the money.  Ours has an ottoman that glides with it as well.  We ordered this one through target.com and it has held up really well.

The pillow on the glider was sent from my mom.  As I'm sure you know by now, she's always making special, handmade things for the kids.  She made this pillow and matching quilt for baby boy's nursery.  She named the quilt "Oceans of Love". 

Here are some more pictures of the "Oceans of Love" pillow and quilt made by Grandma Jane......

I love that my mom puts a label on every quilt.  The beautiful thing about quilting is that these things can be cherished forever; therefore, a label with a date makes this a true family heirloom that can be passed down.

My mom was inspired by a quilt she had seen on "Moda Bake Shop" but she adapted it to make it her own.  I think I need to get Grandma Jane on the blog to do some quilting tutorials, what do you think?  Don't know if she'd ever do it, but you never know.....hint, hint.

I added a bunch of different nautical accessories around the room that I really think pull the theme together.  I wanted to do some accessories that were nautical, but not necessarily "baby".

This distressed wooden flag is probably my favorite piece in the room.  It is screwed into the wall above the crib so it is nice a sturdy.

The sailing ships rug was something my in-laws had in their basement that they had never used.  It even still had the tags on it.  It must have been there just waiting for us to have this little guy.

These three pillows won't stay in the bed during our little guy's first year, but we usually keep our newborn in a bassinet in our room for a little while.  So for now, they just look cute in his crib.  The polka dot sheet is from Pottery Barn Kids.

The "Welcome Aboard" steering wheel as to be another favorite of mine in this nursery.

Now this poster does not exactly go along with the "nautical" theme, but it's my husbands favorite childhood book and he really wanted it in the room.  This shelf is right above the changing table.  I think the poster looks nice and the colors match just right!

"Dream" is a word that I hope my children always keep in the forefront of their minds.  I want them to always know that anything is possible if they put their minds to it.  Life is so much more exciting when you have big dreams.  Hopefully this sign will remind our little guy of this always.

I ordered these three art prints from Finny & Zook on Etsy.  I love to support etsy sellers if I can and I fell in love with this shop when I found them through my etsy search.  They offer many, many different prints and you can choose any color you would like to match your room or nursery.  There are many different images from A through Z as well as alphabet signs and different sayings.  

I purchased these prints and then found photo mats and frames at my local Michael's craft store.  All three prints are next to the large mirror on top of the dresser (didn't get any good pictures of the dresser).

Our little baby boy should be here soon and we can't wait to meet him!  

I hope he loves his room........I think he will, don't you?

Crepe Paper Flowers

The crepe paper flowers that I made for Matilda's "Tea for 2" party were really simple to make and incredibly inexpensive.  I bought three rolls of different colored crepe paper and was able to make about 10 different flowers and a ton of ruffled streamers (and I still had some left over).  At $1.00 per roll, I would definitely say this was budget decorating.

Here's how to make your own crepe paper flowers........

Supplies:
3 rolls crepe paper (different colors)
Tape
Sewing machine

Directions: 

Grab your three rolls of crepe paper.   I chose two different shades of pink and yellow.  I purchased these at Walmart for $1.00 per roll and they coordinated with the napkins and plates as well.

Place your three different colored crepe papers on top of one another.

Set your sewing machine to the longest stitch length (mine is 5.0) and run a straight, gathering stitch along one of the edges of your crepe paper.  Do not back-stitch at the beginning or the end of your stitching or you will not be able to gather your crepe paper.

The length of crepe paper you cut is really up to you.  The longer the crepe paper length, the larger your flowers will be.  I used many different lengths for a variety of sizes, but you could do them all uniformly as well.  You might test one out first to see how long you want your crepe paper.

Pull one of the threads and begin to gather your crepe paper.  This will take a little effort, but keep pulling and sliding the gathers until you have successfully gathered the entire length of your crepe paper.

Here is what your crepe paper will look like after gathering.  You can see that it already starts to form the shape of a flower.

Work your crepe paper around in a circle and tape the back with clear tape to secure in place.

Above is your crepe paper flower before you fluff it out.  To fluff it, just seperate each layer of crepe paper from the other until you've achieved your desired look.

And when you have successfully fluffed your flower, you will have a gorgeous, full-looking crepe paper flower to use for your next party.  Try making these in a variety of colors and sizes to coordinate with any party theme.  These would also be really great for a baby or bridal shower as well!

Decorating ~ Girls Shared Toddler Bedroom

About a month ago we moved the girls into the same bedroom.  I'm not going to lie, I was extremely nervous to make this move, but we knew it needed to happen well in advance of the other big adjustment in our future (baby brother).  It was a big transition for them and for us.  It was Matilda's first time in a "big girl bed" and the first time either girl has ever had a roommate.  We had a rough first couple days, but since then it's been working out pretty well.

The girls bedroom is not a huge room, I think it's 11' x 13' and we weren't really sure if both beds were going to fit.  Sure enough, they did!  I just love these beds.  They were given to us after my husband's Grandma passed away last year - they use to be in her guest bedroom.  I love the ornate lines and the creamy white color.  It's exactly what I would have picked out for the girls had I gone shopping for these myself.  And I'm sure Brett's Grand-Molly loves looking down seeing her great-granddaughters snug as little bugs in the beds she picked out.

I've been collecting embroidery hoops from local thrift shops for the past year or so.  Just picking them up here and there, not quite sure what I was going to do with them.  These were so inexpensive, maybe .25 - .49 cents a piece.  I used my designer fabric scraps and just stretched them into each canvas and then trimmed around the edges.  They are each hung on a nail and are very light-weight. 

The embroidery hoops on the wall is not my original idea, I've seen this done in designer magazines as well as on lots of online websites and I have always loved the look.  We used to have Savannah's name on the wall, but when we moved Matilda in, we had to come up with something new.  I have so many fabric scraps that I just love, I knew this inexpensive art work would be just perfect to fill the large wall in the girls room.

The pink polka dot duvet covers and pillow shams are from Potterybarn Kids.  The twin-sized quilt on the foot of Savannah's bed is one that I made for her from Heather Bailey's "Freshcut" fabric line before Matilda's arrival.  I haven't had time to make Matilda a big quilt yet, so her quilt is store-bought.  It's really cute with owls, flowers and birds.

The cream colored drapes were in the nursery, but didn't really go with our new "Nautical" theme for baby brother.  So I moved them into the girls room, but they needed something against the yellow wall.  I found these two valences at Home Goods store in the clearance section - $3.00 a piece.  I stitched them to the top of each curtain panel to add a little interest around the window.  They are trimmed with ric-rac and were just the right colors.

I covered this lampshade for Savannah's original room and I still love it.  I covered it with fabric and then made fabric yo-yo's that I hot glued all around the bottom.  It is finished at the top with a pink, ruffle trim ribbon.

Above are a couple pillows I made for their room.  I haven't gotten around to making an "M" pillow, but hopefully that is on my short list of to-dos.  The other pillow is made from scraps from Savannah's quilt and several handmade fabric yo-yo's.

The elephant wall art was made by me from different fabric scraps that I cut up to create the piece.  There are two other similar pieces in the room (though I didn't get a photograph of them) - one has two little birds and the other has a lion and a whale on it.  All three photo mats are covered in the same pink polka dot fabric.

Matilda's bed is still a little high up for her to climb in, so she uses this painted trunk to climb into bed.  It's great because it also doubles as storage and looks pretty too.

The girls are having a great time being roommates.  Since they are only 16-months apart, I think it works out really well for them to share a room.  I'm currently having them nap in separately (Savannah naps in Mama and Daddy's bed), but other than that it's worked out really great!

Do any of your kids share a room?  Did you share a room growing up?  How did it work out?

Bright Bold and Beautiful : Hi Sugarplum

Hello all, I'm Cassie from Hi Sugarplum! I was thrilled when Laura asked me to share in this series, since Bright, Bold & Beautiful is practically my middle name. Or I aspire to it anyway. Maybe not literally since that would be a fairly significant monogram. Moving on, when I think of Bright, Bold & Beautiful, I immediately think of Jill Sorenson, of Marmalade Interiors, home. Her color choices are so bright and unexpected, her mix of patterns bravely bold, and the combination of them both is simply beautiful. Jill definitely has created a space I'd like to model in my own home.

all images courtesy Live Like You

Hopefully I've infused Jill's bravado into the rooms I created for my Son and Daughter. I want them to feel Bright, Bold & Beautiful in them!

Thank you, Laura, it was a pleasure to be here!

Other guest posts you may have missed:

Rhoda of Southern Hospitality

Eleni of My Paradissi

Marissa of Roost

Rene of Cottage and Vine

Jenna and Jessica of Simply Bon Vivant

Maggie of Black White {Side by Side}

Sue of The Zhush

Sarah of Flourish Design and Style

Paloma of La Dolce Vita

and to view the whole list, click here

Mo

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Beautiful Living : Bunk Beds

Bunk beds are not just for kids... they are wonderful space savers for vacation homes, and guest rooms. Sleek and modern as well as functional!

More Beautiful Living and More ways to follow BB&B

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photos: houzz / Related: If you're looking for a way to save space, then you should consider a sofa bed or some bunk beds. Bunk beds allow 2 people to sleep in the same room for the same room as one bed. Check out dreams.co.uk bunk beds sale for more information about the types of bunk beds available.