The Nursery Reveal!

Last weekend Mike and I finished up the nursery… Only a month after I wanted it to be finished. It just goes to show how much (pregnancy) life gets in the way and that nothing ever goes according to plan. I’m just happy it’s finished before she’s here! I will be adding little touches here and there as time goes on, but overall I’m extremely pleased with it! It’s one of the brightest and cheeriest (and most feminine) rooms in the house, and I love just sitting in it. I can’t wait to sit in it with Baby M!

The closet is just inside the entrance of the room to the right. There haven’t been doors on the closet for some time, and I wanted to use something a little more closed off than a curtain. Mike had these panel curtains from Ikea in front of the washer & dryer downstairs, and I loved the idea for the nursery closet. Ikea has a relatively decent selection of patterns and textures to choose from. I loved the teal dots since they bring the teal in from other parts of the room. Unfortunately the pattern had been discontinued, but they still had the one up for demo – Score! 

For inside the closet we used the 5-shelf Expedit Shelf from Ikea in white. The pink & gray baby themed storage boxes were a shower gift from a friend of the family’s. I kept the area to the left of the shelf open for the hamper and other possibilities. To the right of the shelf (photo below) we are using two tension rods to hang some of M’s clothes. I got this idea from Pinterest and liked the fact that the rods can be adjusted once she starts growing and her clothes get bigger/longer. 

I created a poster for M inspired by a few I had seen online. We framed it and arranged it next to a few black and whites from our maternity shoot – soon to be replaced with newborn pictures of her, I’m sure. The frames, of course, are from Ikea, too!

We also bought the MALM dresser from Ikea. I love how deep the drawers of Ikea dressers are – so much room for storage! Unfortunately we had no where else in the house to put my television, so it’s mounted to the wall in the nursery. It most likely won’t be used often, but since this room will also be serving as a guest room at times (or once M is sleeping in the nursery a room for us when we have guests over), it may come in handy.

I bought the APA Storage Box from Ikea – SHOCKER! It originally came in raw wood/white, so I painted the wood to match the colors in the bedroom. I also wanted the storage bench to serve as an ottoman for the futon, so I cut a piece of a mattress pad we were throwing out and covered it in fabric I found at Hobby Lobby (it can also serve as a makeshift changing table if need be). 

As of right now, these floating shelves from Home Depot are holding onto some knick knacks and stuffed animals. The bird canvas I picked up when Mike and I were in St. Augustine in January – I loved how the colors perfectly matched the colors of M’s room.

And the “BIG REVEAL”… M is for McKenna! No sentimental story behind her name, really. Mike and I both narrowed our boy/girl name list to three each before we found out the gender. We both had McKenna as our number girl name, so that was that. Easy peasy 🙂 Now you know! 

This ladder shelf I’ve had since high school, and it has been through many paint jobs, from black to brown to this light teal. I love the color and how cheery it is! 

A favorite quote from one of my favorite books growing up (I’ll Love You Forever), and some additional knick knacks. The floral arrangement in the ceramic antique holder was a gift from McKenna’s Aunt Stephanie for her shower. 

Bow & Lucky the Dalmation, named by Baby Natalie, have been around for a very long time. Bow was a gift from my Great-Great-Aunt Martha at my first Christmas (1991) & I’ve had lucky since I was a toddler. I was really excited to incorporate these into McKenna’s nursery! The shadow box next to Lucky holds old family photos and baby items of my mother’s, McKenna’s grandma. 

McKenna’s first owl bank; a framed, inspirational Disney/Pixar quote given to me by my sister at my college graduation (“To infinity and beyond” – Toy Story) and all of McKenna’s books from the shower as well as some from my childhood are on the bottom two shelves. 

Last but not least is McKenna’s crib! One of my favorite parts of the room and the most colorful. The custom tassel garland was purchased on Etsy for use at both her shower and in the nursery decor. McKenna’s talented grandma sewed her crib bumper and ruffled crib skirt, as well as the matching minky blanket draped on the side of her crib.