Nursery Beginnings

Once upon a time the room we're making into the nursery looked like this.

The room is about 10'x9' and thus, very small. So the previous owners thought it would be a good idea to cover the walls in cork and make it nice and dark. Not to mention the brown shag carpet. And they did not nail the cork to the walls. No, they glued it so that when we tried to take it off, the entire room looked like this.

Enter poop jokes here. This required that Scott and I actually SAND each wall for about 12 hours to get the remaining cork off.

Finally after several coats of primer and paint, we have a room that looks like this. 

Not perfect, but much better. So now we're ready to start making this room into a living space for a baby and we're realizing that there is a TON of work to be done. This can be broken up into two phases; 1) structural and 2) decorative. Here's the list for each.

Structural To Do List

1. Move all computer equipment to studio
2. Clean out our closets and middle section including top
3. Replace flooring in closets and middle section
4. Rehang shoe racks inside of closets instead of on doors
5. Remove closet doors
6. Fill any holes
7. Paint ceiling
8. Measure for curtains, buy fabric and hang curtain - inside mount
9. Paint top shelf, remove lower shelf
10. Hang clothes bar and get little hangers
11. Buy or borrow ladder
12. Clean out attic
13. Insulate attic
14. Remove baseboards
15. Borrow shop vac and vacuum underneath everything
16. Rehang bathroom door
17. Install bedroom door
18. Install window
19. Paint ceiling
20. Replace baseboards
21. Install ceiling fan (make sure it works with dimmer switch)
22. Run extension cord
23. Buy dresser
24. Refurbish dresser
25. Place dresser in closet

Decorative To Do List (click on links for inspiration pics)

1. Buy large natural rug with long pile
2. Purchase and install tree mural
3. Buy solid wood, non-toxic finish crib
4. Buy cubby style bookshelf from Ikea
5. Store the mirror from GG’s dresser (we're using the antique dresser as a changing table. GG stands for Grandma Great which is what Scott called his great grandmother when he was little)
6. Buy changing pad and attach to dresser
7. Buy and install black out shades for window (hate to cover up the great brick wall view but oh well)
8. Buy organic crib mattress
9. Buy organic crib sheets
10. Make crib skirts using YHL tutorial since we prefer the look and safety of a skirt and sheets alone without a bumper
11. Buy cover for changing pad
12. Growth chart (for between bathroom door and wall)
13. Matching ABC and 123 artworks for either side of the window
14. On wall above chair - “spice rack” style bookshelves
15. On wall over dresser - collage of white-framed (from Ikea) picture
16. Buy toy storage baskets for the cubby
17. Buy supply storage basket for the changing table
18. Accessories

Since we're not finding out the sex of the baby before the birth, we're going with a neutral scheme of yellow, green and blue. We like those colors, they go well with our house and we can boy or girl them up later if we want. For now, the loose theme of the room is "nature" which I'm sure shocks and surprises some of you. We like birds, birdhouses, trees etc. so we'll be repeating those themes throughout. 

Our goal is to do something every week so stay tuned and see what we're up to. We'd also love any feedback, inspiration or ideas.