With baby now expected to be with us in the next few days we thought it best we made all the finishing touches to her nursery so that it’s ready for her to come home to.
I’ve spent the last couple of days getting things out of boxes, organising drawers, making up the bedding, re-organising the drawers again and since it will most likely never be this tidy ever again I thought I would give you a little sneak peak at how we have decorated and what we have chosen.
Colour Scheme
Harder to decide that you might think, we were always planning to find out the sex of baby so we waiting for that before making any decision. Also having only moved into the house 2 years ago and fully redecorating we actually didn’t want to repaint the walls as we still loved the Polished Pebble colour we had chosen as it is very calming but also neutral that we can use the room for another baby later.
The decision around the accent colours actually came from the purchase of a £2.99 row of bunting I bought from B&M Stores I just loved the pink, white and duck egg green together. Our colour theme was born…
I didn’t want to go overboard with the pink in the decoration so we opted to pick out the green in the bunting for the curtains which are black out to help baby sleep. These are from Dunelm Mill, we also added a voile that we had made to measure for the window. I wanted an option to have the curtains open during the day to let in light but not be seen by the family in the house opposite.
I have been so impressed with the voile, it’s completely changed the light in the room and gives the walls a soft white glow even when it is very sunny.
Furniture
Cotbed
If you’ve read my earlier post about choosing a cot (read it here) you will know that we opted for a cotbed that can be converted to a toddler bed and used up to approximately 5 years old. This is quite a large piece of furniture and we needed to make sure it wasn’t near the window or radiator so we opted to place it along the wall near the door making it easy to check on her sleeping without disturbing her.
I love this cot, it feels solid and the mattress can be positioned at three different height levels so once your child learns to stand up you can lower it down so that they can’t climb out.
We bought this one from Gumtree, it was brand new and still in pieces in the box so we knew it had never actually been used but it saved us a small fortune on the cost of a brand new one.
Changing Station
Another Gumtree bargain is the nappy changing station, its almost a perfect match to the cot too and people often think they are a matching set.
I was adamant I wanted one of these, I know you can change a baby safely on the floor but I just didn’t fancy it. To support the changing unit I also picked up the little trolley from T K Maxx. I had seen one in IKEA that I loved but didn’t want to pay £50 for somewhere just to store extra nappies and baby creams. This one is perfect as it’s on wheels which means I could take it out to the bathroom for bath time rather than try to store all her shampoos and creams alongside my own.
We also have the Tommee Tippee Sangenic nappy bin to help keep those nasty smells at bay and a basket for dirty laundry.
Feeding Corner
Quite possibly my favorite spot in the nursery is the corner with the glider chair, my husband had insisted on getting me one of these but I had been reluctant at first given the size and cost of them. In the end we agreed that if we could fit it and afford it we would get it last.
Turns out someone on Facebook was giving this one away for free. She had been gifted it and didn’t want any money for it so we snapped it up and worked the rest of the nursery around it. I’m so glad we were able to get it as it’s going to be such a lovely cosy corner for baby and I to feed, cuddle and read together. The gentle gliding motions is great for getting babies back off to sleep too so I imagine I will be spending a lot of time in this chair.
Ladder Shelves
Those who have visited us at home will recognise these shelves, we actually bought them last year on a trip to Brighton from the Futon Company they have had pride of place in our living room. I love them so much I couldn’t get rid of them when we decided we needed the space downstairs for the travel cot so I insisted they be moved up to the nursery.
I love them, it’s such a lovely way to display books, photos, gifts, toys literally anything you want and it brings so much character to the room. I can’t wait to get more books for her and fill up the shelves completely.
Chest of Drawers
This is a Hemnes set from Ikea that we had originally bought with the intention to put the changing mat on top and not have a separate changing unit at all. Until we assembled it and tried it out but it just didn’t feel secure. Without a raised edge it just felt too easy for the mat to fall off especially when baby starts to kick and try to escape.
We’ve decided to keep the drawers as well as the changing unit and I’ve currently used it for blankets, muslins, smaller items like socks and hats and mittens but as her wardrobe collection grows I am sure I will need to make more use of this space.
You might notice we’ve changed the handles, the ones it came with it were fine but how cute are these little white and gold flowers. A little T K Maxx gem that has totally transformed the appearance of the unit.
Also, those eagle eyed of you might recognise the top of this unit from all of my Instagram flat lay photos, it’s currently the least cluttered and most clean space in the house but I am sure this won’t last…
Wardrobe
Oh this wardrobe, we are so fortunate to have bought a house that already had a small walk in cupboard in this bedroom which is perfect for a wardrobe space. We bought an open storage unit from IKEA that Kev painted white and installed for me. I am using this space for her clothes which at the moment mostly consist of baby grows in either newborn or 0-3 month sizes. The rest of her clothes are in the drawers ready to be brought out when she is big enough. I also love my clothes dividers by Belo and Me to help me keep all her new clothes organised.
The shelves are a great place to store extra boxes of nappies and wipes and being able to shut the doors means all the storage is kept out of the room and gives baby more space to play.
Wall Decor
This is an area of the room we haven’t quite completed. We want to put some prints on the wall over the cot but we haven’t yet found exactly what we’re looking for. We have the frames ready and waiting to be filled and once baby has arrived and we start using the room more I am sure we will find something perfect.
I have also purchased a letter bunting kit that I intend to use to spell her name on the wall. This will also have to go up once she has arrived as we haven’t yet finlised her name and are most likely going to waiting till we see her to decide.
One item we do have is a beautiful print of a canvas painting that my best friend made for a local stage production of Wind and the Willows. She had a print made but wasn’t planning to use it so we have framed it and placed it above the Hemnes drawers. It looks perfect and is so nice for baby to have some handmade artwork on the wall by her future Godmother.
There we have it, that’s the nursery in a nut shell. I’m hoping we have finalised everything now but I wouldn’t be surprised if some things don’t get changed around once we actually start using the room rather than just admiring it.
Rachel xx
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