My favorite room

My favorite space in our home, far and away, is Waverly's bedroom.

We spent a good chunk of yesterday organizing photos, and I realized that I never posted these shots of my baby's room.  This is probably because she never slept in her room until she was over four months old, and her room wasn't really "finished" (is any room ever really finished?) until she was six months old.

I adore her room.  We actually painted it that lovely aqua color before we were even thinking of trying to have kids, yet I chose the color with kids in mind.  It's Behr paint in Jamaica Bay, and I planned to use pink accents with it for a girl or red and brown for a boy.  These blues and pinks are essentially more saturated tones of my wedding colors, which adds a special flair for me.  We (ahem...hubby...) added the chair rail moulding while I was pregnant.  He actually enjoyed that project because it was easy and fast.

Oh, this tree.  The name Waverly literally means "meadow of aspen trees."  I desperately wanted something in the room hand-painted by my mama, who used to have a faux painting business with a friend.  She is incredibly talented.  I also wanted a whimsical, fairy-ish garden theme with birds because I love birds.  (I call Waverly my little blue bird from the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow.")  We saw something similar to this tree in a magazine and decided to replicate it with our own twist.  My mom painted the trunk and we made the leaves of the trees and flowers from scraps of fabric. The fabric was attached to iron-on paper and then the leaves were ironed to the wall.

Her crib is a handed-down hand-me-down.  It used to belong to a neighbor, who gave it to my sister for my niece, who gave it to me.  Yay for free cribs!  The bumper and bed skirt came from a thrift store, as did the Pottery Barn coverlet we use as a rug.

This armoir for extra storage was a gift from my parents.  We got it here for a steal, then covered the front in that green fabric.  We measured and cut, then soaked the fabric in liquid starch and smoothed it onto the fronts of the doors.  So easy, and it can be peeled right off when we get tired of it!  The pink edging is just ribbon attached with tiny dots of glue.  The Moses basket (one of my beloved possessions for infancy) was repurposed to hold stuffed animals once she outgrew it.

The lamp (there used to be two, but we broke one while installing a shade in her window a few months back) is from a crazy antique shop in Prince Edward Island.  My mom spray-painted the shade white for me and we made the covered from tulle and ribboon.

The curtains are also a thrift store find.  Seriously, never buy curtains at a store!  You will save bazillions buying them from a thrift store, especially simple white ones like these.  They are tied back with ribbon and buttons.  The light-pink valance was found on clearance at Target for $4, and I found the fabric birds for $8 total (I still have more!) at a store at the beach.  I attached hot-glued them to ribbon for hanging.

Ohh, this chair.  This painted adirondack chair was purchased on sale the same day as the armoir.  I was opposed to those typical nursery swinging chairs because I honestly thought they were little ugly.  I thought that until the day I was in Toys R Us and nursed my two-week-old in the mama room.  I then regretted my choice.  Those chair are MADE for nursing.  Don't get me wrong- this one is certainly comfy, and way cuter, but baby #2 will have a swingy chair and this one will go outside!

The pillows are from a thrift store, sprayed with vinegar, sunned, and run through the dryer on high heat.  (The ew factor is pretty high with thrift store pillows, but I have been assured that the dryer heat, sun and vinegar gets them clean.)  That gorgeous blanket was made by her Groovy, the hubby's mom.

Here's the chair without the pillows, which I think it cuter, but less comfy:

Above the chair is a bookshelf that was in my room as kid, and next to it is my nightstand from childhood.  I don't have a great picture of either.  (All of these were shot in low-light with my old camera and a kit lens.  My next photo purchase will be a wide-angle lens!  Her room was very difficult to shoot, even at 17mm on a cropped frame, due to the tiny space and inset doorway.)

Her dresser/changing table was also a hand-me-down from my sister.  I wrapped the knobs with fabric attached with rubber bands, but that was short lived because the second she could, Sweet Pea pulled them off.  I have been too lazy to glue them on, but maybe I'll do that tonight.

All told, her room cost us (and I'm being generous here) maybe $75, after you factor in gifts and hand-me-downs.  It drives me crazy when I see "estimates" on baby sites for the cost of a room.  It does NOT have to be expensive.  Honestly, Sweet Pea is 17 months old now and she has cost us barely anything.  We joyfully accept hand-me-downs with great thankfulness and thrift stores are my best friends.

So there you have it.  A special room for a special little girl!

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