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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Nursery Dilemma

I'm stuck. 

And the clock is ticking.

Baby 3 is 35 weeks along and while there is a perfectly good nursery waiting for him or her, I'm itching to spruce it up a little.

This is what it currently looks like:



Then I added these beauties:


After spending way too much time looking at nurseries in blogland, I'd like to do something to make this room ... special. (And yes, I decided to paint the crib white!)

I adore this look:

But we don't know if we're having a girl or a boy. The brown twist on board and batten is warm and soothing to me, and brown with blue looks great too! But to do it right involves a process that I'm not sure I want to tackle and my husband is pretty busy right now. To really get it right would involve refinishing the hardwood floors and I'm not sure when that's going to happen. 

The brown in the room right now is a little milk chocolate, compared to the above dark chocolate look. And the off-white upper walls are badly in need of a new coat of paint. So if I'm going to paint everything anyway, I could go with something totally neutral and beautiful like this:

Or classic beadboard with either pink or blue above:


The only problem with that is the expense. I know, beadboard isn't that expensive, but since the room doesn't need a makeover, it doesn't have a budget at all! Then I thought, beadboard wallpaper! I've read such good things about it, and in other people's projects it looks great! I wouldn't even have to take down the chair rail (it's at 5 feet--good height for beadboard to end)! Just hang the wallpaper, paint everything white, then wait for baby and paint the top blue or pink!!

Why is it never that easy?!

I was in town today (yes, town gets its own DAY around here! It's that far.) and stopped by Lowe's. I love Lowe's. I could spend hours and hours in there, blowing through thousands of dollars I don't have... You know the feeling?

Well today with my very pregnant tummy giving me braxton hicks troubles the whole time, pushing one of those lame carts that are meant to look like cars to keep your toddlers entertained but are horrible to drive, I just wanted to grab the wallpaper and go! I had to ask where it was. And it wasn't as pretty as I thought. And one roll for $16 only covers 56 square feet. Hmm.

The very helpful and nice person who helped me find it highly recommended wallpaper paste. For another $17. 

I bought one roll. That's all I was prepared to spend. I came home discouraged, did some measuring and math and realized I'll need three rolls for the room. That's $48 without the paste.

So tell me, practical reader with an eye for design, you who likes pretty things and yet can't stand to pay more than $20 to make over a room.. Yeah you! 

What would you do?

6 comments:

  1. I would buy a thin sheet of mdf, and rip it on the table saw into boards for the board and batten treatment. It would probably only take 2 sheets of 1/4 inch mdf to do an entire room. Of course, I have CG available to make those cuts.

    In your position with a busy hubs and in no shape to be hauling wood, I'd live with the nursery as is, because it really is adorable, and just add some personalized accessories for the new baby.

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  2. I was going to say I'd fake the board and batten, too, then paint the new wainscoting-look and chair rail an espresso or color that coordinates with the flooring to the do the first inspiration pick, or it might be easier and more successful to choose white or cream if you prefer the last two inspiration looks. I don't think you need to redo the floors to make this work, unless they're in really bad shape. In that case, it might be nice to have it done pre-baby...Not by you, of course.

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  3. I love the board and batten and I think you'd be happier with the results for the money! Or you could do something with paint, like brown and taupe stripes. It would be the cheapest option.

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  4. I just wanted to say thanks for stopping by my blog.

    The board and batten would be so nice, but with time and money constraints, I think I would probably just do paint (which will look great!) I love your dresser and vanity, by the way. What an amazing before and after!

    Oh - and I hate those carts too. :)

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  5. Love beadboard! It's so fresh looking. The dresser and vanity are gorgeous! Found your blog though A Very Blessed Nest...I would love it if you checked mine out. http://www.swonderful2beme.blogspot.com.


    p.s. I'm following!

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  6. I would probably just leave it as is, and paint the bottom different from the top. I like the idea of a darker chocolate brown on the bottom and white on top. I'm glad you decided to paint the crib, too!

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