Emma’s Nursery

In case you missed our post from yesterday about the original uses of this room, scroll down to read that article first and then catch this one. 

I never did post the final pictures of Emma’s little nursery. Last time we checked in I was puzzling over what to do about the weird large wall.

But first, a layout to help you visualize the space:

What you can’t see in this photo is that the closets are built into the eves of the room, meaning that the entire wall is sloped. If Chris changes Emma on the dresser, he has to be careful not to bang his head on the ceiling. Gotta love these old houses. 

Here is the finished product:

Emma’s little crib area.

Eventually we’ll swap out her crib for Ben’s little grey toddler bed. We’ll also move the rocking chair down to the library (but probably not for a few more years).

I know the black camera is ugly but I wasn’t willing to take it down just for the photos. It’s an essential part of my parenting existence.

This is looking towards the far corner. The closets inhabit the area behind the dresser. My favorite piece of the room is that storage bench that I made from a media shelf. The tutorial can be found here. Right now it’s holding assorted toys and a few books.

And here is how the big blank wall. Previously I was mulling over the idea of doing a collage or two big B&W prints. In the end, I couldn’t commit to either one.  I bought four picture frame shelves from Ikea and screwed them into the studs. They’re quite sturdy. The lower shelves will be used for books (she can reach the bottom one currently) and the upper ones can serve as spaces for pictures and knickknacks.

And I can always swap out the pictures when I get tired of them.

I love that dress. I purchased it from etsy seller Finnoisland Fusion. It’s linen so it’s definitely a special occasion garment but it was too cheery to resist.

 The bird print is from etsy seller Corvidae Curiosities (although it looks like she doesn’t have anything listed currently). I made the teapot in a pottery class several years ago and Chris bought the statue for his grandfather back in high school (and then came back to us when he passed). The lantern is a garage sale find that has been yellowfied.

Makin’ new words up like crazy today!

The table belonged to my grandmother as did the silver teapot (missing its handle now, thanks to my son). I made the little blue pot for the jade plant. Of course, we’d had to move the whole tray now that Emma is crawling and pulling herself up. No longer an immobile little babe!

The gorilla (whose name is Monkey, just to make things extra confusing) is from when I was a baby. I made the little pink blanket a few months ago (Fabric: Shimmer Reflection in Peach [Brambleberry Ridge Collection] and the dark coral is Wee Wander by Sarah Jane/Nature Walk in Coral (both by Michael Miller). 

The mobile was really fun to assemble. It’s just a few bits of wire and a lot of paper strips. I used kitchen skewers for the triangle frame.

Here’s a close-up of the wall. I used pink and gold washi tape on the shelf fronts, just to make it a bit less white. It’s one of those ideas that’s good in theory but not in practice. Emma has already started removing it from the lower units. 

She a nimble-fingered baby. 

That’s me, hiking with my mama.

Most of the pictures were found online in museum archives (or at Feed Your Soul/The Free Art Project), downloaded and printed, glued onto foam board, and then edged in gold washi tape. Total cost: about $12.

One of my favorite books growing up: Miss Rumphius. Seriously, it’s a wonderful read. [What will I do to make the world a better place? I haven’t yet decided.]

Emma’s One Month photo album and a few other gems.

That luna moth was a gift from a favorite supervisor at the Pacific Science Center, the artwork is a book cover (Flamingos on the Roof, poems by Calef Brown. NPR review here), and a link for the bunny tutorial can be found here.

And that, my dears, is little Em’s nursery. 

xo, 

Sonja