Co-ed Nursery

To cheer us up (okay, to cheer me up) in the midst of all this remodeling drama, here's a little something to make you smile.
The Situation: one 6-week old baby boy and one 16 month-old girl, both in diapers and cribs
The Space: a 9x13 room with one standard sized window, average-sized closet, vaulted ceilings, and blue painted walls complete with airplane stencils along the ceiling line
The Plan: make a garden paradise that suits both genders and is super-cheap. I mean CRAZY cheap - diapers are expensive

The pictures really don't do it justice, but this was the final product. The rest of the pics are in-progress.

I used the height and hung these 'clouds', stuffing ripped and fluffed and wrapped in white thread which I suspended and hung from the ceiling by tacks. A few birds and several butterflies from the floral section of the hobby store are hanging, too. It's hard to see, but where the green and blue meet on the walls is a 1/2 inch ribbon trim, white with green polka dots on the left, purple with white polka dots on the right. I don't love the curtains, but I had them from 2 apartments ago and just made them work.

At first, it was arranged a little differently, so don't let that confuse you. This was our plan:

• paint the bottom 2/3 of the wall grass green, or roughly shoulder height
• paint cheap ($20) white yard-sale dresser darker shade of green, then paint over that with whimsical wildflowers (I know I am not an artist, that's why I said whimsical)
• buy one gender-neutral green toille bedding set ($40 at consignment sale) - green is a great option, as are red, yellow, and of course, white - blue can be pulled off, too
• split the set between two beds - one got the dust ruffle, the other got the bumper, each got coordinating sheets that changed frequently (these are babies we're talking about here), the pillow goes in the chair
• add shades of pink to soften up the boy-ish looking walls and paint flowers on lower section of wall, glue butterflies to upper section
• hang fancy blanket (gift) on wall as tapestry (you can't see the white embroidery in the center, but it was a really cute bunny)

This crib (girl) has a pink floral sheet with green leaves on it, a pink blanket, and the green toille dust ruffle. The pink rocker was a gift from my mother and grandmother (floor sample, $300 - and awesome!). The crib itself came from a family member and just happened to match the one we already had been given by a friend. 

It was fate.

This was the first crib we had, now used for a newborn baby boy. He got the toille bumper and sheet. As he grew, we lowered the mattress then eventually switched him to the other crib and removed the front off this one to make a toddler bed for our older daughter. The changing table on the side was super convenient and it was much easier having both kids and all their diaper paraphernalia in one place.

Quick note about rockers. PLEASE don't get a glider! I know they look comfortable and lure you in with their matching gliding ottomans, but really, you will never be able to use that chair in any other room. Worse! When your baby is no longer a baby, it will look completely out of place in their room! An armchair-style rocker - basically a comfortable chair that happens to rock - will stand the test of time and if you choose the right fabric, can work in more than one room. This pink one is now in my second daughter's nursery, and before that was in my 5 yr old daughter's room without looking out of place. 

Something to think about...

  

                 Room costs:
green paint for walls - $25
dresser - $20
dark green paint for dresser - $8

pink paint for trunk (oops can) - $2

clouds (3 bags of stuffing) -  $9

butterflies  - $12
curtains (already had, but original cost) - $20

Green toille bedding  - $40     

cribs - free hand-me-downs

chair - baby shower gift ($300 in store)

pink sheet ($8 at Target) - shower gift

TOTAL  $136