Before and After: 3 Clever Paint Projects and Handmade Touches Turn a Bare Room into a Charming Nursery
A few words that come to mind when describing adorably decorated nurseries? Fun, whimsical, and creative.
Fun, whimsical, and creative are also apt words to describe the nursery design process for homeowner and new mom Deena Corany (@deesabah). “When I found out I was pregnant, I was so excited to give my baby a space of her own that was stimulating, inspiring and fun,” Deena says. “I became obsessed with painting.”
Her painting projects (plus a few other ideas) are practical-meets-playful. She started by painting the entire room a bright white, as before “the colors were so bland, so beige,” as Deena puts it.
She adds that she saved money by painting the baseboards and heating covers as opposed to buying new ones. For an unexpected dose of color amid the white, Deena painted a pink band around the door with Behr’s Watermelon Punch — a quick DIY that can be done with a sample pot of paint.
Her favorite paint detail, though, is the strawberry pattern in the closet, which looks like a fun wallpaper but is actually hand-painted — there are about 400 berries total! “That took a few hours, but it’s definitely the shining star of the room, I’d say!” Deena says. “They brighten up the room in the most unexpected way, and I think they came out really nice. No one believes me when I tell them they’re hand-painted!”
One of Deena’s other favorite DIYs in the space is the mirror above the dresser, a plain circular mirror which she adorned with pom poms on the edges using a hot glue gun. “This project was so easy and was exactly what the room needed,” Deena says, adding that the orange pom-poms coordinate nicely with the orange lamp and table (a vintage find) on the opposite side the room.
Deena thoughtfully selected the remaining furniture decor throughout. “I wasn’t willing to settle,” she says. “I waited until I found exactly what I was looking for with every piece in this room.” Her crib, dresser, and glider are from Crate & Barrel, her ottoman is from Joybird, the curtains are from Amazon, the acrylic wall shelves are one of her favorite details in the space, and the mobile and rug are from Etsy.
“One setback we encountered was with choosing the perfect rug,” Deena recalls. “The room required us to get a rug that was 6 x 7 feet. Many ready-made rugs don’t come in this size, so we had to order a custom rug that was just right, on a budget. We encountered a scam on a Moroccan rug we ordered and thankfully got our money back! We finally found this Moroccan rug that ended up being even better than the original, and we’re so happy with it!”
Beneath the rug, the room before the baby moved in had carpet, and Deena hired pros to replace the carpeting with vinyl flooring. “We had to pick vinyl plank flooring that was thicker and higher quality than some of the cheaper options because of how slanted our old floors are,” Deena says (her home was built in 1873). This raised the flooring cost a bit, Deena says, but it was well-worth it, and the thick vinyl is comfy to walk on, she adds.
In total, for all of the flooring, decor, and DIYs, the transformation cost about $4,000. “I would have loved to get rid of the popcorn ceilings if it was in our budget — one day!” Deena says.
But for now, she couldn’t be more proud of the space she created for her daughter and filled with handmade touches. “I love everything about this room now,” she says — and we’re betting baby does, too.
Inspired? Submit your own project here.