Thinking Orange

Okay, so many of you have heard about our infamous "orange" room. Yes, I realize that orange is not for everyone (especially my mother) but when I painted the room a year ago, I did so with a gender-neutral nursery in mind. And I just happen to love it! It's not your everyday color-of-the-rainbow orange, but rather it is a nice rusty color.

When I invited my mom to help me design the nursery, she went straight to work looking all over town for fabric samples that she could make bedding and other coordinates from. One week later (I'm not kidding) she sent me an envelope in the mail with 4-5 different coordinating fabrics that she thought would go wonderfully in our nursery. However, the fabric was accompanied with a note that said, "I couldn't find anything to go with orange. I think you should hold these samples up against your office wall because I think a nice buttery-yellow would be a great choice." Excuse me? There was no way I was going to paint over my rusty walls--especially because I had a bet with Mollie that I wouldn't repaint the room when it was time to make it into a nursery. Part of my decision to stick with the orange was just me being stubborn, but I really do like it!

Enough said, my mom is extremely talented at making all sorts of creations. I "commisioned" her to make a bedskirt for the crib as well as curtains for the closet, but of course she didn't stop there. Just take a look at the crib. How cute is that?! She does amazing work. Thanks, Mom!


I should note that I am extremely proud of all my bargain finds for the nursery. I should have written a book... maybe I still will. It could be called, Designing on a Dime for the Frugal Mother-to-be. Hmm... I'm going to have to work on that title. Anyway, I was able to repurpose furniture that we already had around the house, shop around at garage sales, get hand-me-downs from friends, or friends-of-friends, and last but not least...shop Craigslist on a daily basis. The crib in the above picture I got for $30 from a friend.

The glider is a Dutalier glider, which is apparently top-of-the line and extremely comfortable according to my mom, among many others. New: Chair and ottoman~$800-900. On Craigslist and practically brand-new~$90 for both and the color even matches! That's a deal! There is a saying from Uppercase Living that I want to put above the crib and the picture on the wall is a modern Noah's Ark print that a local artist, who also happens to be a friend of our family painted.

Another inexpensive and crafty project to keep me busy this summer was the fabric wall-hangings. I simply stretched fabric over artist's canvanses, attached hangers and voila. Wall art for the total cost of about $20.

Now, I have a lot of weird quirks, but one of them in particular is that I HATE sliding closet doors because you can only see one side of the closet at a time. So I took the closet doors off and my mom made coordinating curtains which can be pulled back out of the way and tucked behind tie-backs that I attached on the inside of the closet. I love the color that they add to the room. :)

Check out the window valances as well. I made those--starting from 1/4 plywood and a circular saw. I believe the day I tackled that project Ross pointed out that we tend to exchange gender roles on a frequent basis. He had done the laundry and the dishes and made dinner while I was out in the garage sawing and drilling away. My dad would be proud. I must also point out that the total cost of wood for the project was $1.01. You should check out the scrap wood cart at Home Depot if you are ever in need of inexpensive wood for a project!

The dresser in the picture was already in the room. It will serve the dual purpose of a changing table as well.

This is a view from the doorway. I still have a few minor things to get done, but I've already had a lot of fun this summer creating a cozy room for our new little one come fall.

Update

Wow! It doesn't seem like March was that long ago, but a lot has happened since our last post. I am horrible at remembering to take pictures, so you'll just have to hang in there and settle for text. :)

As most of you already know, Ross and I are expecting our first little one in the beginning of November. I spent most of March, April, and May with constant morning sickness. I'm not quite sure why it's called morning sickness since it was 24 hours around the clock, but I am feeling much better in my second trimester and enjoying all of the changes. We have our 20 week ultrasound in a couple of weeks but we won't find out the gender until November. :)

I also completed my Master's program from Drake in May and graduated on the 16th. I originally looked forward to taking the summer off, but then signed up for 9 credits over June and July. Yes, I realize that I am crazy, but I love to learn and I may as well take classes while I still have the time!

So, here I sit on my second official day of summer reaffirmed that I chose the right profession. Sleeping in until 9....or sometimes 10 is bliss. I get up when I want, do what I want, and at the end of the day I smile knowing that I have over two more months to go.