The nursery / guest room is still “under construction”, but I thought it would be fun to share some of it. Taking some photos this week I realized that most of what we have in there is either a hand-me-down or a DIY project. We practically didn’t have to buy anything so far. I’m planning to paint one wall and to hang some more artwork. For now, here’s a little sneak peek. (Above: Swan purchased at Circa, lamp purchased at Low Vintage, Winnie the Pooh book from a friend.)

We’re still deciding where the Narnia poster will go, but for now I’ve propped it up.

This dresser was our first purchase for the nursery. It is a mid century mod solid wood dresser we found at Circa (our favorite spot for furniture) for only $175! We are considering painting it navy blue. I think it would look so lovely in navy with a wide brass modern knob in the center of each drawer.

The rug pictured is a hand-me-down from my parents and the quilt was a wedding present.

Yet another Circa purchase, this stool was only $25 and I recovered it in a beautiful rich creamy fabric with a coral pattern. The vintage brocade curtains are one of my old standby’s and have hung in multiple places I’ve lived. I bought them from Unique Thrift in Arlington for only $5 each. I’m still figuring out how to hang them properly, but for now I’ve rigged them up. I think they work nicely in here because they aren’t too cutesy but also anchor the window.

This changing table was a freebie from a family friend. We were not going to have one originally and just do the dresser-top changing station, but this piece is nice because it has shelving. On it is a growing collection of soft and cuddly dolls. Most of these are from James’ parents. They were made by his great Aunt and lived originally in his nursery. All of the characters from Winnie the Pooh are in there. I love the beautiful wool baby blanket my parents gave us for Christmas. The mirror is another Circa find for under $10. I spray painted it gold and hung it next to some heirloom Chinese plates.

The bed is a deceiving, albeit comfortable, futon in perpetual bed mode. We love this thing because the mattress is so firm. The pillows and shams are all made by a friend whom I did a trade with last year in exchange for some branding work. The nightstand is a project I did last summer as well. It was mine all throughout my childhood but was an ugly brown and pretty scratched up. It has nice lines so I sanded, primed and painted it a super high glossy red. I finished it off by adding two lucite pulls from Anthropologie. There are a couple of “before” shots of the nightstand below that I took during the redo. The lamp is an antique purchased from an old roomie / bff during a yard sale we had, and the foo dog was found on Etsy. The painting above the bed was done by Marion M. Junkin, a friend of James’ Grandfather. I think this nice inherited piece which was matted and framed by my mother-in-law works great in a nursery without screaming “kid room”.

One of the cute handmade dolls: Kanga from Winnie the Pooh.

We’re inheriting lots of books from James’ family, and baby clothes once we know the gender of the baby. We are so thankful to have so many sweet things given to us from his childhood to make this room feel like home.

I can’t wait to share the final room with the crib and other things in place. Stay tuned…

Oh and here are the before pics of that nightstand:

Upside down during the sanding stage.

Priming stage