Our Blog

When we last left off — our fabulous friend, nursery designer and guest blogger Kim was pregnant with her first babe. You can read all about her inspiration when designing her daughter Leah’s space here. 
Leah is now a walking, talking toddler AND a new big sister to baby brother Charlie! (Whatbig sister tshirt should Leah get?!) We asked him to share with us her experience in creating a new toddler girl room, and re-vamp Leah’s old little girl nursery to a NEW little boy nursery. Let’s get started …
Part ONE:
I thought it was stressful the first time around… when I had nothing but time on my hands to put together a new nursery for my first and long awaited baby. I never, ever imagined that we would find ourselves with another baby on the way, less than two years later. That meant the littlemiss was being booted from her nursery sooner than anticipated and would need a new bedroom while the nursery needed to be converted to a special place for her soon to be arriving baby brother.
Like most of us can probably relate to, I knew that I was going to have to work on a bit of a budget (even more so than the first time around), with two new rooms to decorate… so I went right to work on channeling some craftiness, searching out bargains and looking for ways to re-use and re-purpose.

I started with littlemiss’ new bedroom. I couldn’t do much with the nursery anyway until I had her things cleared out. We started early on and searched high and low for furniture for her new room. I knew I wanted a white platform bed, but I didn’t want to spend a lot of money. I wanted something that she wasn’t going to outgrow in just a few years and something that could “grow up” with her. I searched local outlet stores, scratch and dent sections and holiday sales until finally I found just the set I wanted. It is the PB Teen Beadboard Basic Bed and Wide Dresser that I found for an absolute steal at a local retailer than gets scratch and dents and overstocks from various national chains and brands. It was less than half of what I would have paid buying it from the directly from the retailer, although it took a lot of hunting! I never could find a deal on the matching nightstand, so I found a fun, eclectic grey one at HomeGoods for less than $40. I love that it coordinates and helps pull things together, but doesn’t at all “match”.  The yellow lamp on top also came from HomeGoods and was less than $30.

I wanted to be able to use lots of the treasures and special things from her nursery, while freshening up the motif and having it feel new and different. I decided to stick with the yellow and grey…adding in a coral pink, turquoise and still using a splash of the avocado green. I am thrilled with the way it turned out! I decided to avoid the super toddler/kiddish bedding and once again go with something a little more basic that she wouldn’t “outgrow” so quickly. I loved the simple striped duvet set we found at West Elm, and since we already had an extra comforter to use, it was less than $100 for the duvet cover and the shams (of course, I waited for one of their always coming around bedding sales). I found some fun throw pillow covers on one of my favorite “deal a day sites” and then bought my own inexpensive forms using my Joann coupons and pretty soon her new bed was fun and inviting!

I moved the mirror from her nursery to go above her bed and I bought inexpensive book shelves from Ikea to house her custom Petite Lemon alphabet growth chart and several other treasures, most also moved from her nursery. I re-used a quirky vase from her nursery by simply freshening it up with scrapbook paper rosettes, glued to sticks from my backyard. I finished the shelves off with one of our favorite books and a fun new inexpensive clock from Target.
Most of the things on top of her dresser were things we already had around the house, both from her nursery and elsewhere as well as a few special gifts she’s been given these last two years. I found another fun inexpensive lamp from Target to finish things off and pull it all together.

The “Don’t forget to be AWESOME” wall print is from “Children Inspire Design” and might be her favorite part of the room. It’s become our new daily mantra and makes me smile just thinking about it!!  Everything else on the walls is re-used and re-purposed from her nursery. It’s amazing what you can do with a can of white spray paint, some ribbon or a few yards of fabric! J
One of my favorite parts of the room is her little reading corner. I have long had my eye on the infamous Eames rocker, but knew I would never be able to afford it. After much searching, I found an amazing and charming knock-off on Overstock for under $100!!! (much better than $550, if I do say so myself). The coral rope pouf was an end of season clearance item from Target and was EXACTLY what I was looking for!! And lastly…. I couldn’t bear to not use the adorable mobile from above her crib…. so with a few yards of fabric and some fun new ribbon, I re-fashioned the chocolate ball into a fun coral to tie into the new room. I decided to hang them independently this time and used small, simple white mug hooks, screwed right into the ceiling. I love the way it all turned out.

I finished off the room with a great basic hamper and toy bins on sale from The Container Store and an adorable garbage can from Ikea. Bargains, bargains, bargains!!
After initially stressing, it turned into such a fun project and my daughter is over the moon excited about her new “big girl room”. I think it’s helpful having favorite and familiar things in her new room and I love that so many special things have found new life in her new room!!
Next week, we’ll share how Kim re-designed Leah’s nursery into a boy nursery for her new baby Charlie. Stay tuned!
Credits:
Leah’s original nursery | Furniture | DownEast | HomeGoods | Bedding | Designer Pillow Covers | Alphabet Poster | Wall Clock | Dresser Lamp | Custom Doll | Rocking Chair | Floor Pouf | Wall Print | Hamper and Toy Bins | Garbage Can | Wall Color: Dulux/Glidden “Legend Tan”