willow's nursery

well, i am ashamed. willow's nursery has been (almost) finished since before she was born, and i STILL haven't done a post with the (semi)finished project. i really have no excuse! except for the fact that i have a four month old? (FOUR months??!). and i had to dig through my iPhoto to get all these pictures i took back in january/may. craziness.

ok, so lets start from the VERY beginning...

i always knew i wanted yellow as the wall color. (i NEED a yellow room in any house i live in btw). so for the first time in my life i did the grown up thing and bought color testers! and boy am i glad i did! now i understand why they have those handy things...must remember to do that for any paint projects in the future! i chose the perfect yellow and also got a tub of white to paint the inside of the closet (it was all mismatched wood and brick in there, needed to be remedied, stat!). and soon i got stuck in with painting over the next few days (this was january so i was 6 months pregnant) here are some before photos...

and here are some halfway through photos. a few months after the painting but doing some projects and putting together the furniture, etc.

(bonus belly pic!)

closet filled with all her baby shower gifts. to be organized promptly!

(she's got the best view in the house! which she'll appreciate one day...)

and my FAVOURITE part of the room. the bookcase project.

AND NOW for the (semi)final result! what was i going for? i call it "eclectic crafty random messiness, but it works"

(when you walk in the room.) an old gold frame, whose glass and picture fell out years ago. i had it stored away for ages, waiting for its perfect fit. and the wreath inside is random fabric sewed on with a little bird hanging in the middle. no, i didn't make it, but someone very nice made it for tk maxx, who then sold it on to me! ha

also, on that bare wall, right under the frame i want a dolls house.  im constantly looking/saving/waiting  for the perfect one. hence why i say, "almost finished".

(the closet: on the left is my arts and crafts goods and the far right is hers. the rest is some GREAT storage space.)

 the only things we bought new in this room is her cot and the bookcase. the dresser in the corner is owned by the landlord, and was here when we moved in, so i just changed the knobs (they are cuuute little butterflies that i found at a charity shop!) and unscrewed the attached mirror. viola! also, the nursing rocker and footrest we found for a steal online (on our version of craiglist). 

also, i really wanted willow's nursery to be full of things that were lovingly made/thoughtfully put together. my sister made the "willow" letters that you can see above her changing area, and the quilt you can see in her cot (the one on top). i made the mobile above her bed, the lampshade on the side table, the crocheted quilt you can see in her cot, the curtains in the window, and a few of the things on the wall. 

almost everything on this wall has some sort of significance to us. there is a handwritten poem for willow from a dear loved one (who passed away in october). there is a framed oak leaf, which was picked from willow's grandmothers front yard. there is a painted picture of a lovely woman, that we found at a thrift store, whose resemblance to a grown up willow is just striking! and here are some close ups of other things.

my sister, my dad and i.

this is an english blue china plate (there are two of them on the wall.) the pattern is called "willow". so we thought it very fitting! plus, i have always had a soft spot for blue china.

the bookcase is my favourite part of the room. we bought the bookcase from ikea, cause that was all we could afford, but i didn't want to leave it so plain and dull. so i decided to paper it with my favourite book growing up. "the BFG" by Roald Dahl. i remember the first day i read this book. when my teacher gave it to me in my third grade class. i still have the very copy! (not what the bookcase is papered with, btw.) 

also, i love to read. and i want my daughter to grow up with books all around her. i heard it said a few years back, "Children are made readers on the laps of their parents" (Emilie Buchwald) and i have held this quote dear since. i want this to be true for willow. i want her to learn through stories, and for her imagination to be something great. i know i learned the most from reading, and i only wish i did it more as a kid. and i know she doesn't understand yet, but even now every night before bed we read a story. sure, she doesn't understand a word I'm saying, but she does know that its my voice, and she likes all the colourful pictures. (we're currently reading "the Jesus storybook bible". and even if she has no clue whats going on, i'm learning tons!)

also, every single book on this bookcase is from a antique shop, thrift shop, charity shop, or used off amazon or ebay. we believe in used books! 

clay and i love this room. its our favourite of the house! and someday, when willow is old enough to appreciate it, we hope that she will love it too.