Nursery Tapestry

I hung this cheerful tapestry along the side of the nursery closet- isn't it perfect for the space? It was made by my Grandma Gertrude, who was an incredibly talented weaver/quilter/crafter (and made the baby blanket I posted about earlier). She passed away when I was just a baby, but I love that I have so many treasured heirlooms from her in my own home. Although, this tapestry/runner wasn't given to me... I snatched it from my sister's old room (where it wasn't getting any attention)! Finding something beautiful isn't too difficult, but to have so many beautiful things with so much personal meaning behind them is such a blessing.

PS: Just hit 20 weeks! We're half-way to meeting our wee bairn!

The Mobile

This past Valentine's Day, Jesse got me the mobile I'd had my eye on. I'd been stalking this thing for months... like, before we were even expecting!

I might have considered getting one and putting it in the main part of the house... permanently. I like it that much... isn't it just so fun!? I just adore the simple, colorful shapes, and the soft texture of the felt softens it just the right amount. You can find it (along with many other gorgeous designs) over at PukaPuka. And since I was curious... here's the 'baby's eye view!'

Nursery Curtain

The nursery window is now the only window in the entire house with a curtain on it. Needless to say, I'm not generally one for draperies, but when I saw Urban Outfitter's Woodland Garden curtain, I knew it would be perfect! The colors and design are so vibrant and lovely- don't you think? It's also quite sheer, which makes it perfect to go over the blinds & block out the street view during the day without sacrificing daylight (although we did put in a tie back). I was even more amazed when I realized it 'glows' with the same intensity as the stained glass window! Love, love, love!

The white pelmet box above was a DIY from Little Green Notebook. I kept it a simple white linen, but the interior is lined in light blue felt for a touch of fun.

It's a...

Psychedelic Stair Renovation!

The attic stairs are done... and there's no doubt, it's a huge improvement!

I decided to go bold, so I attached Behr paint chips to the walls- working in a slight dark to light gradient (...and don't worry! Home Depot was quite willing to have me take all of these paint chips- I asked first!). Aside from the paint chips, everything else was stripped (3-4 layers of wallpaper- yuck!), cleaned, prepped, and painted white. We also installed a runner made from rag rugs my Grandmother made. It feels so much brighter and cleaner. All said & done, I rang in with a total cost of $16. We spent $4 on a ventilation mask for me to wear and $12 on 2 bottles of spray adhesive.

I just love how fun and colorful this space is now, and it's so much more appropriate for the nursery! Jesse and I both agreed reading through the paint chip names is quite amusing too, so maybe someday our little one can practice reading off names like "Majestic Mint," "Lemon Tart," and "Feather Plume."

Perhaps most important is that the stairs withstood their first test! We successfully moved a very large, heavy piece of furniture up them (more on that later!), and the runner made it a lot easier while holding up fabulously. The dogs are also no longer afraid to wander up them, which gives us one more thing to worry about when we're in the attic. :)

New Sectional Ottoman!

We crossed another to-do off our list! We found a replacement ottoman for the basement sectional. The old one was a craigslist find I'd painted, and while it held great storage (and was super cheap), it was really too large for the space. That combined with sharp edges meant routinely bruised shins for us... so we knew we'd need something 'softer' for when the baby gets here.

The search was punctuated by despair and annoyance. You see, we own one of the smallest sectionals around- but I didn't realize that meant finding an appropriately sized ottoman/coffee table would be so difficult. I finally resorted back to the rectangular ottoman that actually coordinates with the sofa, but we'd wanted something square or circular and a bit smaller.

Boy, am I glad I just went with it. This ottoman is perfect. While it isn't what we originally envisioned, it's VERY comfortable, not too big, and fits with our arrangement much better than I expected. The lid lifts up for ample future toy storage, but best of all... since it's meant to go with the set, we can do this...

So comfortable for lounging and watching movies! I was really reluctant at first, but this was a great buy- I really doubt I'd have found anything more suitable for our studio/game room! (Also, it was on sale when we bought it, so that makes me feel better too!)