The Nursery

The nursery is complete!  We put the final nail in the wall yesterday and I've been sneaking in there every chance I get to soak it all in.  It's everything I wanted it to be and more.  Here's what we did:

When we first learned that baby #3 was a boy, my first thought was that we would move the two girls into Isabelle's room and give the little guy his own room.  After a few family discussions and Shawn and I cringing when Isabelle cried about Brees destroying her Barbies and "messing everything up", we decided that the age difference between our girls (6 years) is currently just a little off for room sharing.  We decided to put the two little kids together and allow our oldest to maintain her sanity space.  I promised myself I would keep the decorating simple: I planned to gender neutralize the space and found myself choosing things that were vintage circus like.  I'm not a fan of rooms that look overdone or themed out so I picked out items that vaguely fit the circus theme without being over the top (no pun intended).  I wanted the room to be a space that they could grow into, filled with things they would enjoy for a long time, pieces that would encourage their creativity.  We kept the room the same pale yellow color it already was, added new art work, changed linens, and drowned out some of the pink.  Brees LOVES her new room and all the attention it has been receiving.  She has been dragging every single one of our house guests up the stairs to see all of the changes, proudly showing off her new soon to be shared space.

The crib is the same crib used by both Belle and Brees.  It was a gift from my parents and I love the antique feel.  I purchased the crib linens through various online stores and love the mix and match of patterns.  The gallery wall above the bed is an assortment of pieces I purchased from various shops on Etsy.  This room was my inspiration for the baby's bed.

We kept Brees' toddler bed in the same place it is now, added a new lamp and some colorful art work to replace the pink mural that was there before.  The black and gold name piece was a gift from my sister in law and a nod to Brees' namesake.  

We kept Brees' little dollhouse and her special keepsakes on display.  Isabelle created a beautiful piece of art to display in her brother and sister's room and Shawn put it in a frame for her.  This picture is my absolute favorite piece in the whole room: she really put her whole heart and soul into coloring this picture.

The rocking chair in the nursery was a wedding gift from my parents, they gave it to us when we lived in our first teeny tiny apartment in New Orleans.  The hide on the chair is from a deer that my dad hunted and cured and constructed as the seat cover and back.  It has been with us our whole married life, rocked each of our babies to sleep, and is one of my most precious possessions. 

We used the built in window desk for books and family photos.  We have a changing table set up in the bathroom right next door, otherwise this space would have been an excellent place to serve as one.  Brees has toys and a little fort set up under the desk and can often be found hiding out there.

Overall, the room is bright and cheery and full of love: just as I had hoped for.  It has room to grow and transition as our family does.  Now all we need is a certain little boy to make his grand entrance!