welcome to the bird’s nursery.  first, i have to apologize for the quality of the photographs on this page.  her nursery is not well lit and it really shows in these pictures.  i plan on taking some better ones to post soon.  but, i wanted to get something on here sooner rather than later!

the bird’s room is smaller than the other bedrooms in our house, about 10‘x12’, which i think is a great size for a little one.  we left the walls the standard color of the house, which is kind of a light tan.  at some point, i would love to paint but, we moved in just before having the bird so, it stayed as it was.  the carpet is a dark chocolate carpet tile, which we installed when we moved in.   there are two nice windows (that have room darkening shades , in chocolate brown, and a small closet.

i love color and didn’t want to limit myself when i began working on her nursery.  i didn’t want it feeling too girly and knew i wanted more of a nature theme -  owls and birds were a main focus.  we are more contemporary in our furniture choices throughout the house, but i wanted a little whimsy in here as well.  i started with the fabrics used to make these fabric hoops.

this was very simple to do.  you can purchase quilting hoops, in many sizes, at most craft stores.  cut your fabric slightly larger than the hoop and sandwich the fabric between the two pieces.  tighten the screws and trim excess fabric from the back.  this makes a cheap, easy and big impact design element.  plus, the fabrics can easily be switched out at a later date.

our crib is from babyletto and i really love it.  not only does it fit our contemporary style, and match the espresso wood finish we have in the rest of our upper level, it has a storage drawer on the bottom and converts into a daybed.  i wanted something that would have clean lines and last for a bit.  i kept the bedding and bumper simple.  one challenge i had was using the bumper with this crib.  it doesn’t have typical rails like most cribs so, you can see how i had to weave the bumper around the sides to work with the thicker edges.  (no, i do not leave the blanket or pillows in the crib. i just had them in there for the shot. and yes, i know you aren’t supposed to use a bumper. i have read all of the info regarding this subject.)

once i found the fabrics i loved most, i began working on the dresser.  this is a process i have done before (check out ‘design @ MM’ under design for hope and you will see another version of this dresser).  i take old dressers, strip the paint, repaint the surround and then decopauge fabrics to the drawer fronts.  it is time consuming but turns out a beautiful, unique furniture piece.  on this particular dresser, i also replaced the old handles  with new crystal knobs.  we were using this dresser as a changing table but, as the bird has gotten older and more active, that now occurs on the floor and the dresser is just that - for clothes and cloth diapers.

for a ceiling accent, i used fishing line to tie the yellow umbrellas and green paper lanterns to the ceiling.  i made sure to knot the line really well on both the lanterns and umbrellas and then to a clear thumbtack, which then went into the ceiling.

our rocking chair is comfy, like a big pillow.  you kind of sink into it. it is a puff rocker, purchased from terra verde.  the only challenge is it is armless so, a boppy is a must when nursing the bird.  i bought the rocker on clearance because the ottoman wasn’t included with it.  my mom makes these beautiful and fun floor poofs so, we again had fun with the fabrics and use it to rest our feet.  the bird also LOVES climbing around on it.

the side tables were created in the same way as the dresser.  they were given to us by a friend. i painted the legs and fabric decoupaged the top surface.

they are the perfect perch for one of my favorite purchases for this room - our owl lamp, from land of nod.  it gives off the perfect amount of light for early mornings and is the bird’s favorite.

for additional storage, on a budget, we installed white adjustable shelves.  this holds our books, picture frames and more nature inspired items.

we also have my belly cast, from about 8 months, on display.  i will be posting a tutorial on how to create one of these yourself, under ‘create’.  i LOVE that we did this.  eventhough i wasn’t feeling my best at this time, i think this cast is beautiful and am happy we kept it in white.

another item, i will be including a tutorial on in ‘create’, is channing’s name letters.  this is an easy and affordable project you can make for yourself or, makes a great baby shower gift.

we spend so much time in here and really love it.  the colors make me smile every time i open the door and the bird has tons of fun exploring the colors and designs of the fabrics on the many different surfaces.  she is always pointing out a new shape or flower or color on the dresser front and side tables.

thanks for stopping by, i hope you enjoyed the tour and can take a few of these ideas for yourself!