"And baby makes 3..." Our Favorite Home Addition yet!

A year ago we were anxiously awaiting to see if our family would be growing. After two years of having high hopes that would be dashed each month with every negative test, we were beyond nervous. And then on August 1st, 2014 we got the call that we were finally pregnant! And thus began our favorite home improvement project to date: M's Nursery.

After over five years of living here we had never touched the small office that was right outside our bedroom. The 8x8 space with no closet is an original space to our 1903 home; complete with all four walls being made of lathe and plaster and a gas light fixture still protruding from the wall prior to the home having electricity. We never had a reason to fix the room up, so the walls were cracked, the carpet was a disaster and the character needed to be revived. It clearly needed to be made into a nursery!

I wanted a nursery that was clean, bright and functional. We chose a gray color scheme with yellow accents and chevron patterns. I fell in love with the idea of a book theme and thought that owls would be the perfect, wise little animal to pair with it!

We started by painting the walls gray, and by "we" I mean my sister flew in from Idaho and painted it for us. To make the room feel bigger we broke up the wall with chair rail near the top and painted the ceiling a bright sunflower yellow.

And then the floors came up and the hideous carpet was no more. We ripped up the old carpet to find plywood. We then ripped up the plywood to find salvageable fir floors from when the house was first built! One weekend of sanding and a few days of adding a clear coat and SHAZAAM! The nursery we had been wanting to build for years was starting to take shape. Nick really enjoyed the project and was able to rent the equipment from a local place for around $300, which included a tutorial of how to not mess it up. And not mess it up, he did! It turned out stunning!

The refinished floors turned out beautiful!

Once the floors, walls and ceiling was complete the challenging and fun part came: equipping a functional nursery when you only have an 8'x8' space to do so.

Nursery room bookshelves with M's library of stories. Photo: By Rebecca Studios

In place of a bookshelf we used BEKVÄM spice racks from IKEA to hold her library of books! At $3.99 each, simple assembly and a little paint they were perfect! 

M in her crib with her handmade artwork above. Photo credit: By Rebecca Studios

Because of the size of the room we opted for a mini crib. We loved the style of the DaVinci Annabelle and the fact that it will convert into a twin bed when M is older. The room has no closet so we purchased an extra large dresser- but one not too large for the space.

A lot of people find changing tables rarely used, but for us it was essential for added storage and to have one place to always change her because we are using cloth diapers. M's grandma found this at a thrift store and grandpa painted it up and added baskets which have added so much functionality to the room.

The changing station and storage center. Photo credit: By Rebecca Studios

Even though it was a bit bulky, we chose an armchair rocker and ottoman. I really wanted something that would grow with her and I imagine reading to her in the rocker as a toddler and cozying up on cold winter nights.

Rocking M in the arm chair, four days old. Photo credit: By Rebecca Studios

Last but not least, I wanted to do something special for M. I spent the last few weeks of my pregnancy painting for her. I am thrilled with the final result. The other day when she was waking up, I saw her looking up at them contentedly and it made my heart so happy!

Hand painted artwork for our baby girl. Photo Credit: By Rebecca Studios

There was something so therapeutic about preparing her nursery with tiny little touches to make it extra special. The "Read" canvas has actual pages from a storybook decoupaged onto it. And painting the owls for our wise little girl was my favorite art project to date.

It all came together beautifully. The late nights nursing M, rocking her to bed and reading her stories have been one of the highlights of our first few months with her. After waiting for her for so long it felt so good to create such a magical and beautiful little space that is just for her.

Our family.

Our completed, owl and book themed, tiny nursery. Photo credit: By Rebecca Studios