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Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Baby Nurseries

When my daughter and son-in-law found out they were having their first child, a boy, I was so excited at the prospect of helping my daughter design their first nursery. Erin was on bed rest for most of her pregnancy so she would lie on the sofa and watch as I painted and readied the baby’s room. We bought the new baby an ivory iron bed and we worked everything around this to create a complete circus atmosphere. We really were thrilled with the way that it turned out and the baby thoroughly enjoyed all the colors and patterns in his room as he grew.








When baby #2 was announced, a girl, they knew that the first little house would be too small for both children. The thought of them moving away and leaving the baby Barnum & Bailey room was so sad, but alas, Erin and I realized we would have 2 more rooms to design and play with. I am very blessed that my daughter allows me to help and be a part of designing the baby nurseries. We have very similar tastes and truly enjoy decorating, sewing, painting and crafting together. You can not imagine my excitement when we found out that baby #2 was a girl. I have been collecting and storing little antiques and baby girl shabby chic items for years just with this in mind. Please enjoy looking at all the fruits of our labors to create just the most perfect cozy nest for our expected little princess.










Annie Frances is now 2 – ½ years old and guess what…she can climb out of her iron baby crib!!! After a few split chins and the fear that she might knock out one of her baby teeth, we decided it was time to take down and crib and move her into a big girl bed. Oh, how upset Erin and I were losing this beautiful little baby nest. Well, we quickly busied ourselves to try and redesign the room using as much of the existing design elements as possible. First we needed to find the perfect big girl bed for her. Our search began throughout Nashville at flea markets, antique malls and stores for a special antique iron bed for her room. The room is very small, so we knew it would need to be a twin or junior bed. Our hearts were set on a white iron bed so after exhausting just about every spot we knew, we found this one. It is an antique French iron bed and was just the right size. I know you are all going to cringe, but yes, we are going to paint it. It is lovely in the black and gold, but everything else in the princess’ room is white and pink. Annie Frances was so excited about her big girl bed, that we went ahead and put it up for her now. Since it has only been about 25 degrees this past week here in Nashville, we will wait until the temperature is warmer and then we will repaint. We’ll show pics of it then.



The Big Boy Room


When Erin moved to her new home, Collin was just turning two and since we needed the iron baby crib, it was time to move him into a big boy bed. Grandy and I searched for a perfect little bed for him since we like to help buy the children’s beds for them. We found an antique reproduction bed for him that was painted just the perfect blue for his room. Collin loves trains, planes, cars and airplanes, but he really loves trains. I knew that a transportation room would be the perfect choice for him. Again, Erin and I began collecting antique toy cars, trains and planes. Michael Miller had just the perfect fabric called Transportation that we used for bedding and draperies. We had an antique wall desk that had belonged to Erin’s Aunt Carol and a trunk that had belonged to my mother. All these antique pieces helped to pull the room together. Since Collin loved Thomas the Train, I painted him a large mural on one wall that was his very own personalized train engine.










Throughout this process, I have been asked on numerous occasions to help with other baby nurseries and baby bedding projects. We are happy to quote prices on helping to decorate other nurseries or make special pillows and bedding.

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