Shared Master and Nursery “Nook”

Last week I told you how we were converting part of our bedroom into a nursery space for baby. Our budget for the space is pretty low, basically my goal was to re-use anything we could and keep purchases to a minimum. I figured there would be plenty of ways to spend money on him later on, and he won’t care what this space looks like.

That said, since it’s part of our bedroom, I wanted it to look nice and not too baby-ish. Early on, we sort of came up with the idea of an “adventure” theme, since we both consider parenthood to be our greatest adventure yet. From there, we ended up with a little tribal/southwest flair. I call it “camp meets gentlemen’s smoking lounge.”

BIG change from the closet, huh? Let’s break down the pieces in this view. The dresser is thrifted ($65) and in good condition, so I didn’t see the need to paint it at this time. The dreamcatcher was Mike’s as a kid, and I love the idea of using it in this space now but in a bedroom later on. Decorative items like the cork ball, tray, vintage radio, and salt lamp are items I already had around the house. The tiny deer ornament is exactly that – a Christmas ornament gifted to me by a friend last year.

I hit up a local craft fair and purchased the “happy camper” sign and wooden letter (about $50 total). The yarn wrapped twigs were actually made by another friend of mine and part of the packaging on a gift to me. I loved them so much I kept them, and I’m glad I did! The pig is a little planter, and I may put a real or fake air plant in there at some point. I knitted up the “Duck” boots myself last week.

The rest of the art came from Hobby Lobby! I happened to go during a “wall art” sale, so I got the wire bear, pipe shelf unit (which was awful to hang!!!), wooden arrow, hanging planter + faux plants, and adventure plaque all for $80.

Obviously the aloe is not a practical choice – it’s only there for staging 🙂 This will be the changing table. I loved the idea of bringing the salt lamp into this space because it’s an orange light and won’t mess with our circadian rhythms at night.

The hutch will be entirely for storing baby-related things because all of my things are in the dresser. I have a couple of wicker baskets, shelves, and two large drawers. Anything that doesn’t fit just can’t stay! I still have to hang another rod below this one. I’m using the same rod that was there before, except I painted it and the hardware oil rubbed bronze to tie in with the pipe shelf. We had a long piece of dowel leftover that we will use for the second rod, but I haven’t gotten around to cutting and spray painting it yet.

My major decorative splurge was the rug situation – both are new. I’ve always wanted a faux hide rug, and I snagged this one on super sale from Overstock at $80. The rug underneath is a cheapy from Ross – $35. It actually took the longest to find this key layering piece. I had resigned myself to using the original rug (more of a floral) underneath, but I didn’t loooooove it. The cowhide alone looked a little unfinished and blended into the floor too much. I was probably at Ross 3x a week looking for the perfect compliment! Bonus – it’s just a soft cotton rug (no backing), so I can throw it in the washer.

The glider was obviously a necessary purchase, so I don’t consider it to be part of the “decorative” budget, but for the sake of full disclosure it was $230 at Big Lots and RECLINES. Yes, it glides AND reclines, which is why I bought it. It also appealed to me because it’s 1) not baby furniture 2) kind of masculine and 3) easy to wipe down (hello spit up!). It was actually one of the first baby-related  purchases I made because I know Big Lots goes through inventory quickly. Most of the other “big ticket” items are of course, on my registry 🙂 Hey, I’ve been buying shower gifts for well over 10 years…it’s my turn now!

After I hang the second curtain rod, the last obstacle I need to tackle is the ridiculous door and window situation. We never use the porch that attaches to our bedroom, since it pretty much overlooks our driveway haha. In the past, I had dressed the door like a window with curtains and a sheer to blend it into the wall better. But when we repainted the nook area to correct all the closet rod damage, I decided the fabric was just too heavy for the space and took them down. PS, the wall color is Lowe’s Valspar “Nuance” previously “Jekyll Grand Dining Sea Mist” and has been in our bedroom for many many years. Here’s the current situation:

Because of the proximity to the road/driveway, we need some type of dressing for privacy. I left the roman shade up for now as well as the drop cloth cafe curtain in the little window (hard to see with the lighting). I have a bit of a crazy idea for the door, so we will have to see if that pans out before I share it here. My materials won’t be in until the end of the month. In the meantime, I’m taking suggestions!

What do you think so far? Sure it’s a small area, but it’s cozy and has everything we need (I think). It feels a bit like we’ve found the perfect purpose for this previously hard-to-use space. At around $350 invested (not including the recliner), I think we’ve done a pretty stellar job. Now we just have to wait for the screaming baby to join us!