And the Wait is over...kinda

So I have kept you in suspense for long enough, I received the pictures today and have posted a few for an overview of the room. I plan to do a much more extensive posting with details on Monday so this is just a snippet of what you can expect. The photographs turned out wonderfully, thank you Julie Moran Photography!! There are many more photos to come so check back next week!!

The Absent Blogger

Well, as you can see, one of my many faults is that I am not the most reliable blogger. Basically, I just got lazy while I was busting my rump to finish the room. It took slightly longer than expected and delayed me a few extra days in KY, to my good friends chagrin! The nursery definitely lived up to my expectations and then some. I was elated at how the tree came out, especially at night. The overall look of the room was cohesive, charming, and overtly girly. That said, the girlyness could be removed in probably a half an hour if need be, so I still fulfilled the needs and requests of my very satisfied clients ;-) I am still waiting on the final pictures to be photo shopped and shipped and as soon as I have them you will too. I will go into detail on the room once those are posted so that you have a reference point for comments. Sorry for the delay but belive me it will be worth the wait!!

The NeverEnding Paint

Progress is apparently only my goal this week as I am noticing that my friend is PURPOSELY averting my attention in order to prolong my trip ;-) The ceiling is mostly blue, just the edges need to be done and I would like to wait until the morning to do this. It is really important that the paint be completely dry before putting painters tape on it in order to prevent as much peeling as possible. Because of the texture on the ceiling I realized too late that the line from wall to ceiling did not look crisp. So late this afternoon I painted into the corner green, getting quite a lot of spillover onto the ceiling itself, and then tomorrow I will put tape along the wall creating a crisp clean edge of blue along the ceiling. Things are going quite well, if I do say so myself, although Preston (their little boy) let it be known that the ceiling would be better if it were painted green instead of blue!! He would however, like his room painted blue, so it looks like mommy and daddy have some more projects coming up.

I am really really planning on starting on the tree tomorrow. I have to admit I am most excited about this part of the process as it is definitely the most creative aspect of the room. It is also basically uncharted territory for me though, so I just hope all ends well. I have purchased miniature lights, which I will post a picture of later, that are really made for this type of project. They are probably 10 times smaller than typical Christmas lights and therefore will really blend into the tree branches. I have also gotten some leaves to attach to make the tree look more alive. For these I will be pulling out the old glue gun and attaching.

So as the paint dries...

It's ON!!!!

I left the great state of NJ at 4:00 am Friday morning and 11 hours, many radio shows, and too much coffee later I arrived in the sprawling hill country of Kentucky. Powered by only 3 and a half hours of sleep I was dragging last night and decided that carrying supplies in was a good enough effort for the day. I must say, driving down the PA turnpike with a birch tree in the back of your truck, looks a little odd...maybe a lot odd. I got many strange looks and took a picture just so you could see the craziness I am willing to endure just to create a perfect nursery for little baby Whitney!! On the upside, we have started the painting process. We are done cutting in the green paint and will begin rolling momentarily. I am loving the paint that I got!! It is called Nature Scape by Benjamin Moore. It contains no VOC's (volatile organic compounds) or solvents so it is a great option in a nursery. There is almost no odor and is safe for both mommy and baby. It is also giving great coverage, I may only need to do one coat!!

This is shaping up to be a fun filled and jam packed week. I will be posting lots of pictures so you can see the process from start to finish. Since the little Whitney's mom is such a slave driver ;-) I need to get back to work, we might be able to finish the painting tonight!!

Task # 2 "the Tree"

A Tree Grows in NJ

I have made the decision to drive my tree out to Kentucky. I feel that although it will be a bit inconvenient, mostly because it means I am driving my hubby's truck out instead of my own vehicle, it is simply too important of a feature in the room to leave it up to chance. Also, this way I will be able to select the perfect specimen for the room. I have been doing some scouting on our farm and have found a couple of trees that I think will work well. I really like the decorative look of birch bark, I think it would really pop against the green walls. I found a birch tree that I think would be the correct scale for the room. Another benefit is that the limbs are "weepy" and actually curl downward which will work very well with how I am planning to position the tree. I plan to wrap the tree to prevent as much damage as possible while in transit. I believe the ceiling height in the room is 8 ft and so the trunk is either going to be somewhere between 4 and 5 feet tall and the limb from there. This will give the tree a more natural presence as opposed to a tall trunk with a few limbs sticking into the ceiling. As the tree is being positioned in a corner under a chair, the height is less of a factor. I have found a few little accessories to hang from the boughs, some small jars to hold battery operated candles and a bird cage, to add to the overall whimsical look.
As for the rest of the project, headway is being made. During a recent shopping trip I discovered that a few of the fabrics were seasonal and were not only on sale but in danger of selling out so I made the executive decision to purchase those fabrics now. The rest of the fabric is awaiting measurements from the seamstress. Soon the linens for the crib will be started along with curtains and accent pillows. I was also able to find some amazing wall decals, also on sale :0!! I want to save these for the final reveal however, so no clues as to what they are.
I have heard that this little girl is being a little bugger in the belly but personally I just think she is so excited for her amazing nursery to be complete!! Watch out mommy, she might come early because she simply can't contain her excitement...I know I certainly can't!!

My final decision..and a little fun

I have been an absent blogger, but unfortunately there is a lot involved in a design that simply isn't interesting. Going back and forth over paint colors, rethinking fabric sample selections, logistical considerations, measurements, etc. I have been pouring over these fabrics for a few weeks now and have finally found a combination that I am extremely satisfied with. As a designer, I have access to many fabric companies that sell only to the trade. However, the majority of the fabrics are outside of the budget I would like to adhere to. As such, I have been working exclusively out of my local Jo-Ann Fabrics store. I knew I wanted the overall scheme to be very bright and fun, not pastel like traditional nursery fabrics trend toward. As such, I went through many samples trying to find the perfect combination. I also want to take the comfort of the beautiful little lady that will be napping, perfectly quietly I am certain :-), within the confines of her crib. I have decided to back the bumper and underside of the spread with a soft chenille-like fabric in a creamy white and pink. Although this will not have any impact on the visual appeal of the room, it is considerations like this that make a design homey, as opposed to something that simply photographs well.
During this time I happened to stumble on an accessory idea that I think is amazing. It will not only be eye catching and interesting to look at, but will be a vessel for the imagination of our little one. It is a "Woodland Terrarium" and instructions can be found at this link. www.marthastewart.com/goodthings/woodland-terrarium In the instructions it is meant to be a living growing terrarium filled with live plants. I am making it my mission to create one that is made from high quality fake plantings, and a few small whimsical things thrown in for fun. I have been collecting the contents this week and am having a blast. It will be a like a snippet of our enchanted forest, the perfect home for our resident fairy. Whether you make it with live or fake plants the overall effect is captivating.
I will be posting pictures of both the final fabric scheme and the fairyland terrarium soon. My next big mission is to tackle storage and organization so stay tuned!

Ideas

I thought I would post some of the ideas that I am processing for the nursery right now. If it seems a little scattered thats because it is. I am trying to relay the process that I go through and well this is definately part of it. I have made some fabric choices, paint choices, and actually purchased a few accessories already. The accessories were so cute and were on clearance at Jo-Ann Fabrics, they were the last ones left and I just HAD to have them. I mean you would do the same, just look at the picture!!
Now that we know it is a girl, I have chosen to add a little pink into the mix with the crib spread, sheets, and maybe a throw pillow for the recliner. All of these are inexpensive and can be changed out very easily to accommodate the next little bundle of joy. My inspiration really came from the elephant fabric below. It encompasses all the forest idea in a modern interpretation and has the color pallet that I am working with. The trees, elephants, pinks, yellows greens, and blues are perfect. Although, elephants don't really live in the forest do they? Oh well, I think the nursery police will let this one slide.
There are two windows in the space and although I usually prefer to make a statement with curtains in bold fabrics I am choosing to stay fairly clean with this room. The tree that I am placing in the corner is definitely going to be the main focal point of the room and I don't want large scale patterned curtains drawing the eye away. However, I have found a way to incorporate the theme of the room into the curtain design as well. I am having a bubble valance made out of a creamy white linen. I am hoping that this will be reminiscent of clouds. I will be placing them all the way to the ceiling and finishing the windows with dark wooden blinds. For functional reasons, the blinds need to block out light at all hours of the day so the baby can nap. A white valance might increase the sense of sky but will do nothing to darken the room.
The crib is the other main focus, and will be the one space where I will be using a lot of new fabrics. The elephant fabric will be used for the spread, the green and brown polka dots will be the bumpers, and the rest I am still working out. I like the other fabrics that I am posting but they just don't feel perfect quite yet. I may use them to feminize the big blue recliner with a pillow or two but I don't think I will be using them for the crib skirt.
So here is where I am at. I can see the whole room in my head and believe me it is AMAZING, it is just finding what I want in a store that is causing me problems. I have a lot of shopping to do and figuring out this whole tree idea is going to take some seriously planning. To be honest, I want it to be a real tree or at least look like a real tree, preferably birch. I don't want a cheesy cardboard tree or a small scale but uber expensive fake tree from a craft store. The logistics of that of course become difficult in that, do I drive a tree to KY? Do I take my chances and find a tree in KY? And so it goes...

It's A GIRL!!!

So the news is finally in, after 20 weeks of wondering the ultrasound proved what I always knew to be right ;-) that we are in fact designing this nursery for a little princess!! As visions of pink, crystals, and pouf danced through my brain I was brought back to earth after talking shop with my friend. Her and her hubby have decided that they want to keep the nursery "gender neutral" for future little munchkins. So after only a few tears on my part I began to deliberate ideas. Yellow and green immediately come to mind when one thinks of a non-gender specific nursery and so I thought that as a color theme would work. I came up with a fabulous concept for a feature wall that would incorporate boxes of color but was really bored with the idea. I wanted a theme to work from, something that really wows a visitor to the room. So that is how "the Enchanted Forest" came into being. For this little sweetheart I am basing the room on fairies, flowers, and princesses that live in trees. However, if the parents have a little boy next, the room can easily morph into a more Peter Pan tree house appropriateness.
The paint colors for the room will stay neutral and maybe even a little generic for a forest theme. Green on the walls and blue on the ceiling. I am gonna hold out for no clouds though, I feel like clouds on the ceiling are a bit overdone. However, the showstopper of the room will be the tree that is going to appear to be growing out of the corner of the space. I plan to place the rocking chair beneath this and adorn the tree with little white lights to serve as both nightlight and pseudo-mobile when mommy is rocking the little one.
So this is the overall idea. As I take my plan into action I will be narrowing down some fabric choices for the crib and curtains. Coming up with some more ideas to incorporate the theme into the room and also thinking functionality. Did I mention I have never been to the house or even seen pictures of the room yet?! This project is definitely unconventional but so very exciting!

Crazy?!

I am starting out on a new adventure. My best friend is having her second baby and has just moved into their first home. I am going to be designing a nursery for her from top to bottom. The challenge is that she lives in Kentucky while I reside in New Jersey. So this will be the journey that I am chronicling here. From vision to creation you will share in the elation and struggle of designing a nursery that needs to be fabulous for my website photos, functional for my friend, and affordable for my budget, all while being over 500 miles away!! I will be doing all of the designing remotely then making one big trip out to finish the room. I will be doing the install myself, from paint to construction. Thanks for tuning in and joining me!