Dax’s Nursery

by Vicki

Dax Isaiah was born on February 18th. So naturally that means we started renovating his nursery in July. Its not like you get 9 months notice about an upcoming baby, right?

This little room started out as Peyton’s “Big Girl” bedroom. It was pink and grey, had a TON of things hanging on the wall, and boasted a bejeweled chandelier. It was cutesy and comfortable for my little “big” girl. When we found out we were having another baby my brain went into overdrive designing a combined girl/boy room for my two ‘bigs’ to share. I went monochrome and we love it! Its a fun room where Chase and Peyton spend many hours playing and a few hours sleeping. Peyton eventually will be moving back into the little room once Dax is out of his crib (so, like four years from now, because Dax is going to stay my baby for as long as possible!).

Once Chase and Peyton’s room was finished I turned my attention to the nursery. I turned to everybody’s favorite site, Pinterest, and starting pinning to my heart’s delight. I started out with way.too.many.ideas. And, if I’m being honest, I still have way.too.many.ideas. The problem with Pinterest is that everything looks so good! And, the problem with me is that I want to do all.the.things. You can check out my Nursery Pinterest board here to see just some of the ideas that I liked!

Currently I feel like my design style is a mix of Scandinavian, Farmhouse, and Minimalism (I’m failing at minimalism, but I love the concept!). With this nursery I think I started out with a Scandinavian dream – whites, wood tones, minimalistic, character pieces, a pop of deep colour, and greenery. I think I am ending up with a more of a Farmhouse Comfort vibe. Both are good vibes with similarities but they definitely have a different end result.

I have wanted a shiplap wall in my home since the very first time I watched “Fixer Upper” on HGTV. A simple white wall but with texture and character? Yes, please! So shiplap was a must in our little nursery room.  Shiplap is definitely more of a Farmhouse look but I thought I could keep it Scandinavian through my other choices: paint colour, furniture, and wall decoration. I think where I veered from the Scandinavian approach was in my choice of white. Haha! My husband thinks I am crazy but I could talk about different whites for hours. In fact, I brought home about 25 different white paint chips and stared at them for days trying to pick the “perfect” white. Mark was pretty sure they were mostly the same and thought it was ridiculous that our renovation was paused just to choose the right white. Instead of following my gut and choosing straight up white (like I have in our bathroom and bedroom) I chose Bakery Box by Behr Paints. Its a beautiful soft white with a blue undertone. And I love it. But it is not a Scandinavian (look at me throwing that word around as if I really know what it means!) white. It is a Farmhouse white.

So that is where I am today. We have the room shiplapped and painted. We purchased a rug from Ikea and laid it down today. We hung a wood blind in the window. We set up the white Ikea crib. We placed the green/blue/grey change table/dresser in the room. And then I stood and stared. I have a couple of other pieces that have been purchased for the room but I didn’t go ahead with hanging or placing them today. The room has taken on a new direction and I have to see where it takes me. I think that is probably the best way to describe my decorating style. I start out with an idea, get sidetracked along the way, adjust a couple of times, and ultimately let the room decide what its going to look like.

I am happy with our progress but I am excited to get this room finished. I’ll probably spend next week pinteresting, online window shopping, discussing with anyone who will listen, and ultimately deciding on a direction. So, an end is in sight!

Even though this room isn’t complete, Dax will be spending his first night in his new nursery tonight. I know that this will be good for both him and me. We currently co-sleep (which I LOVE and I believe it does amazing things in regards to bonding – maybe a post for another day!) but I know that we have come to a point where we need our own space so that we can sleep better. I would be lying though, if I said I wouldn’t tear up tonight after putting him down. Its just another indication that my baby is growing up. I’m pretty sure he’ll be in university tomorrow when I wake up…

I’ll be sharing pictures of the finished nursery (probably) in September, so keep following to see how it all comes together. If you have any ideas or inspiration for me please leave a comment!!!