The Photographer's Wife Parenting, Disney, Travel, Reviews & Other Randomness
Once we found out we were having a boy, one of the first items on our list was to decide what theme to choose for his nursery. We are already indecisive enough and we had a few ideas that we really liked. At one point, we even contemplated splitting the room in half theme-wise and having his sleeping area be one theme and his play area be another theme. Shockingly enough, this idea wouldn’t be too crazy since his room is gigantic!
It’s been difficult letting that room sit mostly empty since we moved into this house in 2009. We always knew it would be the nursery one day and would even say so when giving tours to friends and family. Now that it was time to start putting it to its intended use, we were ecstatic and wanted it to be perfect!
We ultimately decided on a more general theme that wasn’t strictly for newborns, but more of a child’s room; one that he could grow up in, people could contribute to without worrying about whether items would clash and promoted learning AND fun…
A theme full of bright, primary colors with plenty of Disney and Toy Story items!
The walls were a light creme color with a tan carpet, which is what our entire house was when we first moved in. I wasn’t kidding when I said this room went untouched for a few years!
Since we are pretty hit-or-miss when it comes to paint colors, we searched online to find a color we liked. We didn’t have any particular color in mind, but we knew we wanted the color to be somewhat neutral so it wouldn’t be overwhelming among all the bright colors and white furniture that was going to be in there. We came across a light gray from Benjamin Moore called Gray Horse that we liked.
Since I was pregnant, we got the Low VOC paint so that I could paint too! We opened the windows, taped the edges around the room, turned our music up and started our painting adventure!
Only one coat was needed and we had a blank canvas ready for for the fun additions!
Now, we were ready to go shopping! We took a trip to the closest IKEA, which is in Orlando about 3.5 hours away! We looked into ordering our items online, but the shipping was more than if we just drove and rented a trailer…and since it usually doesn’t take much to convince us to take a trip to that area, we turned it into a mini-vacation weekend!
We had never been to an IKEA before…we were in love and immediately wanted to petition for one in our city. We spent about 10-11 hours in IKEA over the span of 2 days. Boy, my feet hurt worse than as if I spent the weekend in Disney, but we had a packed trailer and SUV!
Over the span of the next few months, we assembled the larger items, dabbled with some DIY craft projects, purchased various items from Disney, Target and Amazon and got items from our baby shower to fill up the nursery. Below the photos, you’ll find links to most of the items.
We love the finished product!
{Trent’s Nursery Door Sign – View the DIY tutorial HERE}
{Wall 1 – Bookshelves and changing table/dresser.}
Bookshelves – IKEA Ribba
Disney Photo – Disney
Photo Frame – Hobby Lobby
Outlet covers – DIY Spray painted over original white outlet covers
Jumbo Hanging Barrel o’ Monkeys – View the DIY tutorial HERE
Shelves – IKEA Ribba
Dresser – IKEA Hemnes
Changing Pad – Amazon
Monkey Changing Pad Cover – Amazon
Mobile – IKEA Leka Cirkus
Letter T Frame – View the DIY tutorial HERE
Diaper Genie – Amazon
Steamboat Willie Photo – MoviePosters.com (free! won a gift card)
Large frame – Hobby Lobby
{Wall 2 – Crib and relaxing chair for Mommy}
Crib – DaVinci Ashbury from SimplyBabyFurniture.com
Mobile – Amazon Kushies Zolo Mobilo
Crib Sheet set – IKEA Vitaminer Rand
Scrabble Letters – View the DIY tutorial HERE
Growth Chart Ruler – View the DIY tutorial HERE
Chair - IKEA Ektorp Jennylund
Ottoman/footstool – IKEA Sandby
Small green shelf unit – DIY refurb from Michael’s clearance section
Rug – IKEA Barnslig Ringdans
Green bug light – IKEA Smila Bagge
Wall Crayons – Toys r Us
{Wall 3 – Windows, toy shelf and alphabet}
Tie-up blackout curtains – Overstock.com
V-Shelves – IKEA Mammut
5×1 shelf – IKEA Expedit
Various wooden toys – IKEA
1-2-3 bins – IKEA Kusiner
Stuffed Disney Animals – Disney
Chalkboard/Whiteboard easel – IKEA Mala
Children’s table and chairs – IKEA Mammut
Rug – IKEA Lekplats
1-2-3 circular bins – IKEA Kusiner
Wall Alphabet – DIY project – Letters purchased at different stores and painted
{Wall 4 – Large bookcase and toys}
5×5 shelf – IKEA Expedit
Various shelf inserts on bottom row – IKEA Expedit
Colored bins – Martha Stewart at Home Depot
{Closet – View the Closet makeover HERE}
5×1 shelf – IKEA Expedit
Shoe insert – IKEA Expedit
Colorful pop-up bins – IKEA Kusiner
Colored bins – Martha Stewart at Home Depot
{Before and After!}
View some of our DIY Projects from Trent’s Nursery!
DIY Jumbo Hanging Barrel of Monkeys
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The monkey and barrel are cute. Did you make the barrel your self? I’m wanting to use this idea and having trouble finding/making the barrel
Thanks!
Sarah
Thanks! No, we found the barrel at a craft/antique market, but is wasn’t an easy find! I would start looking at flea markets or craft fairs. Good luck!