Name: Evangeline Joy (2 weeks)
Location: near Washington, D.C.
We live in a two-bedroom rental apartment, but our landlords were kind enough to let us paint the walls. I wanted to make my favorite parts of Evangeline's room portable so we can take them with us when we move!
One challenge in setting up the room was that the bookshelves had to stay; we have a lot of old books and no other place to put them. So we left them, and now I love that the baby will have grown-up books to look at from the crib.
There was also no closet space for Evangeline's clothes. So we painted an old bookshelf that we already had glossy white, and I used wrapping paper from Paper Source to wallpaper the inside. Adding a cheap curtain rod from Target transformed it into a makeshift wardrobe. I love how it turned out! All of her current clothes are stored in labeled little boxes on the wardrobe (bigger sizes are in storage bins under the crib).
My husband and I made whatever we could to save money. I DIYed the baby mobile using a tutorial I found and bookmarked on Ohdeedoh months ago. I also made the crib skirt and pillow, and recovered the table lamp shade in the same fabric. The "You are Getting Very Sleepy" print is from Etsy, and it made me laugh! The Paris & London prints were $3.95 each at Paper Source.
The rocker and glider was our biggest splurge, but it's wonderfully comfortable, and I love that it will work as grown-up furniture later as well.
I set out to make this room happy and peaceful, a place that makes even adults want to stay and play for a bit.
Source List:
• Paint: Embellished Blue by Behr
• Crib: Babies R' Us
• Glider & Ottoman: Babies R' Us
• Wardrobe: DIY
• Rug: Urban Outfitters
• Yellow lamp: Urban Outfitters
• Gray lamp: DIY
• Art: Etsy & Paper Source
• Mobile: DIY
• Crib skirt: DIY using Riley Blake Sweet Nothings Dots Multi fabric
• Bookshelves: Ikea
Thanks, Raynel! Well done!
(Images: Raynel K.)
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Love the WMATA map art.
Ah, wait, should have read the write up. Not WMATA at all.
That lovely blue makes the room look very fresh.
I love that paper from the Paper Source. I considered "wallpapering" the back of my daughter's bookcase, too! Great minds think alike. ;)
All the homemade elements are just gorgeous. You did a great job!
Seriously, another pennant hanging from the crib? This is getting ridiculous. Please- it's not ok to hang a ROPE from a crib. Baby pulls the slack through the slats just enough to get a head inside. Or it gets twisted around an arm and cuts off circulation. They can't figure that stuff out. And I'm actually not really an alarmist but this trend bothers me. Cribs are safe when there is nothing else around. Once you start dangling things within reach, all bets are off. AT, safety really needs to trump style and design here.
I agree with Abbyll. Safety should be the top priority in a nursery. Two crib pennants in two days, AT? Logic, people.
I love the paper inside the bookcase.
Since she's only two weeks old, maybe the baby isn't actually sleeping in the crib yet and they plan on taking down the pennant once she is. Or maybe they plan on removing it once she can actually roll around and reach for it.
I really love this nursery, especially the wall of bookcases. So lovely, very well done.
That pendant thing hanging from the crib is a major safety hazard to your baby. Also, overdone.
Thanks for the kind comments! Kate975, that is definitely our plan for the pennant. Right now, our baby sleeps tightly swaddled. As soon as she even hints at rolling around, I plan to take it off the crib for safety's sake and hang it on the wall instead. I appreciate the concern for her safety!
Raynel - I was so tickled to see this featured on Apartment Therapy - I adore what you did to Evangeline's nursery! So fresh and creative!!! Love it!
-Vanessa Ridley
the nursery is super cute but the pendent thing is a bummer :(
my sil did not read much on her baby care and put all sorts of stuffed animals and things inside her crib. i am sure if she saw this she would also put the super cute banner on the crib and not intend to take it off. there are a lot of people out there that quickly decorate a room and not realize the saftey risks because of the mag/design images they are seeing and not reading. its not AT job to make sure ppl arent idiots but it wouldnt hurt to go the extra inch to not promote unsafe environments.
It's definitely cute, but I'm not sure "portable" is the right word here.
Lovely room!! I've had framed map prints (aka "wrapping paper") from Paper Source on my walls for several years now years - the Paris street map as seen in this nursery, a London street map, and a map of Italy. They look great framed, and who would ever guess they're $3.95? Love the marigold wrapping paper lining for the bookcase too - great DIY project!
Super cute--love the colors and the use of inexpensive paper to add beautiful details!
What a lovely room! Please don't let others well-intentioned concerns for baby's safety take away from the pride you should feel for creating such a lovely space. It takes a lot of courage to share something you've created with the rest of the world! I love the paper in the bookcase and the tension rod is a genius idea in there. This room blends adult & baby features so nicely! Thank you for sharing!
I've had my eye on that lamp from UO for a while; what do you think of it? Is it heavy enough? (I keep finding flimsy floor lamps!)
LOVE. wonderful colors. Love the wall of books. Great job! Your darling is very lucky and that pendant will look cute in another area of the room :)
Great idea on the "portable" wardrobe - works great for now, and can transition back to its original purpose as she gets older. On a non-post note, I love the name Evangeline - so very pretty!
love the room color and the bed skirt fabric!
I had the same thought about the pendant as well as the stuffed animal in the crib (no soft things in the crib, in case baby suffocates) but I figure it's a staged set like most of the posts in AT and most design mags -- no one's house REALLY looks like that day to day. So whatever, I'm going to assume the parents know better and will remove all that stuff once it's in actual use.
Love the blue color, though.
I agree with JUST_KAZARI. How many people would have said "wow, this is just too plain" if there had just been the crib with no blanket, pennant or toys? I think the room is darling.
I usually see these "hazards" but just think they're staging. That's usually the case when you take these kind of pictures, anyway. I realize some people don't know any better, but I bet most everyone reads up and knows what they're doing. They look nice, want to take a few cute pictures, and then remove. People will have to start submitting their pictures with a disclaimer, so as to not have readers jumping down their throat.
Lovely room, by the way. Really like the wardrobe with that colorful paper.
Okay, I love the room but I have to agree with JackieD302. Not everybody reads up on crib safety, or reads the comments saying 'we'll take the pennant down once the baby can roll'. It's the internet: someone's going to pin this picture on Pinterest, and some other idiot will see it and string a pennant up on their 1-year-old's crib.
I realize that wouldn't be AT's fault, but I still don't think the 'staging' justification cuts it. Good design =/= safe design. Especially when we're talking about *babies*.
I love the idea of turning a bookcase into a small wardrobe. It's just the perfect size and will work well and look fantastic if you decide to use it as a bookcase again.
Also - it's wonderful to see so many books in a baby's room. It's like a comfortable adult reading nook/nursery. Great feel.
Gussiespink - I am really happy with the Urban Outfitters lamp. I had the same worry that it might be flimsy, but it it feels fairly heavy and sturdy. Good luck with your room!
Precious. We will probably have to have our 1st little one in our 2 bdrm condo, converting the office into a nursery...and NOW the bookshelves will stay right where they are! (I was worried about that!)
Love the DIY wardrobe! So creative. The wrapping paper in the back is gorgeous. Love the entire color scheme of the room too. Beautiful!
I just adore this room! Everything is super cute and looks very functional. I love the bunting and am glad you'll move it when the time comes. Not every decorating choice is a PSA in disguise :)