Jan 18, 20194 min read

Hickory Nursery Before & After

Today I am sharing the before and after pictures of our nursery for our second baby girl, Pearl Paisley!

It was so fun to create a space that would be uniquely hers. I felt early on in my pregnancy that Pearl would be a "calmer" person than our first daughter. Our spunky 3 year old had always been "go go go" from the moment I got pregnant with her and when Pearl came along, I just felt she would be the type of person to do things at her own pace. Well fast forward 11 months, and for the most part that is still true, with the exception of her recently finding her voice and discovering she can yell... really loud, in fact: such high pitch tones are not reached UNLESS we are in public. Nonetheless, she has been SUCH a delight and perfect addition to our family.

Her room is the smallest of the 4 bedrooms in our home but just big enough for some nursery essentials.

When we bought the house; The BEFORE:

The plan was to paint the walls and trim, install new windows with trim, paint the existing closet doors, and get a new door and hardware.

We already had a crib and rocking chair. I just needed a changing table/dresser scenario.

First thing we did was DE-CLUTTER: I don't have a photo of this because, well, it was embarrassing. This room was my catch all. Wedding things, shoe storage, you name it. I threw it in, and shut the door. When I got pregnant with Pearl I knew cleaning out this room would be at the top of the list. I mentally started preparing what all I would need to do, and BOY was it overwhelming. ADDED BONUS: I proceeded to get sick every hour (well almost) for the next 37 weeks, and de-cluttering while dry heaving didn't sound like my idea of a fun time.

Fast forward to one afternoon, I got a wild hair and cleaned. VICTORY.

First thing we did was paint the trim and walls my ALL TIME FAVORITE color gray:

Gossamer Veil - Sherwin Williams - CLICK TO BUY

This gray is the PERFECT gray. Believe me, I have about 6 different "grays" in my house and this one BEATS THEM ALL. It has no blue or green or tan undertone. It looks "gray" in all sunlight. Its very light, but never comes off as "white". I also have this color in my dining room and one day want to re-paint (shutter) the whole house this color.

We added a dresser from IKEA to serve as the "changing table". Normally, I would NOT recommend putting a dresser in front of a window. HOWEVER, this room is so small there was no other place for it to go. It only covers the window by a few inches and the dresser sits far enough away from the window that you can still move the curtain back and forth.

The curtains were the last thing I added to this room. In fact, I remember reading in a home magazine that curtains should be the last thing you buy for a room. For me, curtains are the most daunting. I prefer the long lengths and hanging curtains high, however, that really limits the price and patterns you can get. The average length of 84" in bedrooms works just fine. I knew I wanted a pattern for the curtains and Target delivered again with this adorable print.

The pink buffalo check changing pad cover (& matching boppy cover) were from an adorable company, Caden Lane, who specializes in nursery bedding. We added a copper side table, beige rug (5x7), and shiny floor lamp (why do old houses have NO overhead lighting?!)

We never had a "mobile" for Lucy when she was a baby and for some reason we thought it might actually help Pearl to sleep in her crib so we ordered one from amazon. It then occurred to me to hang Christmas ORNAMENTS from the mobile. The 2 diamond ornaments are from Target and were on my Christmas tree until this past year. The pink acrylic swans are ornaments from West Elm, last year. I tied them onto the mobile using a clear twine.

We also added some picture shelf ledges for books and a "doll house" shaped wall shelf.

I think my FAVORITE part of the room is her name above the crib. This wood script name was at the top of my list as soon as I saw it. And surprisingly, quite affordable. Dear Heart Signs on ETSY totally made all my dreams come true with this 18" laser cut sign. They also come in a variety of different finishes/paints. You can even get it "unfinished" and paint it any color you like.

I DIY'd the wreath her name is attached to. All the pre-made wreaths at the stores were too thick and full for the look I was looking for. I bought a 16" silver ring from the craft store and a sparse garland from Hobby Lobby and attached with floral wire. I attached her name with clear twine.

This room turned out to be a perfect little retreat for our tiny Pearl and those late night snuggles and feedings. The roller shades added another layer of coziness and room darkening to her room, which gets the most natural sunlight. I often find her big sister playing quietly with her puzzles or trying to sneak into the crib herself to play. We are very blessed to have such a relaxing space to dote on our second baby girl.