Our DIY Nursery

Preparing for baby has made Craig realize that maybe he should have taken that woodworking class in high school after all. A couple months ago, a friend of mine asked me if Craig would want to build a toy box as a gift to our little girl. It'd never occurred to me before but it seemed like an excellent idea. So I asked Craig at dinner that night if he'd like to. At first, he was hesitant. "Yeah," he said. "That'd be cool." But within an hour he was talking about what he'd like to do with the toy box and that night he dragged me along to Home Depot with him to look at lumber, hinges, and circular saws.

Well, about that time, our mold issue reared its ugly head and we became preoccupied with moving furniture and emptying cupboards for the various construction and "deconstruction" crews. Then we were preoccupied with restoring furniture and cupboards. In the meantime, another friend gave us an old rocking chair her grandfather had made years ago and still other friends handed down an old diaper changing table. When we assembled all the baby furniture together, it ranged from unfinished pine to dark cherry to white. So we bought stain for some things and white spray paint for others and got to work sanding, painting, staining, and constructing a toy box. Our sun porch was requisitioned as a temporary workshop, as you can see in the photo, and the windows and door leading out there were kept firmly shut to keep out fumes. Craig ran into problems with top coats and had to start over again on a few pieces, but all in all, everything came out really beautifully. And today he'll apply the top coat to the final piece, the rocking chair. Meanwhile, I'll be busy moving cardboard boxes of medicine and toys out of the closet and into the new toy box and bathroom cabinet respectively. When the nursery is more complete (i.e., the rocking chair and toy box are put in their right places and the stroller has been folded up and put away), I'll post an updated picture. Until then, this is our nursery:

I really like how the brown satin curtains look with the pink walls and brown shag rug. The seashell cabinet actually will be going back to my parents' house in Middle America come July, but until then (and until our dresser comes to us from Middle America), it houses Little Bird's clothes and provides a nice place to display the diaper cake I got at the baby shower. The bird lamp is a nice touch that a friend happened to stumble upon and the white table is an old wedding present that my husband took a can of spray paint to. I've been practicing folding and opening the stroller and off to the far right side, you can catch a glimpse of the Moses basket my grandparents bought us--it'll be Little Bird's bed until her crib arrives.

All in all, things are pretty much ready. Once I pick up a value pack of newborn diapers, I'll be all set. And, given the size of my feet these days, the sooner the better!