Ready to Go!

When we first found out we were going to have a baby, we had a hard time deciding which room in the house to convert into a nursery. We have an old house and some of the rooms have been recently updated by previous owners and some have not. We were torn between the guest room, already in great condition, and another room which just kept a somewhat unorganized mess of stuff, in not-so-great condition. We went back and forth and over the winter decided that we should redo the room that wasn't in the greatest condition. Sure, it would be more work, but then we would ultimately end up with another room in the house that was updated.

So, we set to work . . . there are two upstairs hallways leading into the room that has now become the nursery. One was pale blue with lace trim and the other was dark pink - both pretty much hideous! We decided that if were going to do the room, we might as well do the hallways, too. Often times overwhelming, after much help from friends and family, and many long hours on the weekends, we are finished! This past weekend we put the decorations up in Baby Bear's room and I am feeling officially ready for his arrival! Here are some pictures of the last several months getting ready.

In the beginning: peach walls, white trim, and buckling grey carpet which we have already ripped up to expose original hardwood - Daniel is beginning to sand the horsehair plaster and lathe walls.

The dark pink hallway leading into the baby's room.

Scraping the door leading in and out of the nursery/hallway.

Al (Daniel's father) with the completely scraped door leading into the pink hallway.

Daniel and Rich fixing some rigged and wobbly original floorboards that we found after the carpet was ripped up in the hallway. You can see the old knob and tube electric running along under the boards.

Jonathan (Daniel's brother) painting the hallway pale yellow, Happy Valley, was the exact name of the color. It was WONDERFUL to have this soothing yellow color cover up the harsh pink!

Daniel getting to work covering the blue hallway (that leads to the pink hallway) with Happy Valley yellow.

Al painting the peach nursery walls green, Urban Nature - love that color name! - and the trim light brown (we are going for a forest/black bear theme). Al spent several weekends with us getting all this work finished, often coming up and working on a Friday while Daniel and I were still at work. There is no way we could have done all of this in time without his help!

A freshly painted nursery and hallway get carpet (padding).

Just before the carpet came, I finished up the curtains. The valances are part of our "Treetops" nursery theme package, and then I made panels and sheers to match.

The blue hallway is almost complete - pale yellow with brown trim. Thanks again, Al!

The finshed hallway with carpet!

New ceiling fan, finished curtains, toy basket

Changing table with a diaper stacker that Kristin delivered to us over this past weekend (along with the bassinet - more bassinet story to come later . . .)

Organized closet :)