Final Before and After - Elliot's Closet Nursery (Clursery)

Okay, final before-and-after photos of the world's tiniest nursery (probably really not the world's tiniest nursery)!



Elliot, you can come out now.  The nursery is ready for you. 



Thank you to this San Francisco blogger for giving me the inspiration to build the crib loft!  Much appreciated.



While I'm thanking people - thank you, Amazon, for selling everything I want with "free" (pre-paid) 2-day shipping with Prime.  Specifically, I'm thinking of the baby gate here.



Thank you, Costco, for selling high quality cubby bins at affordable prices. 



Thank you, Picmonkey.com, for making a free, user-friendly site to make collages on.

 

Thank you, family, for buying this adorable bedding with wall decor!



I love Cocalo, the same makers of Lucy's bedding.  This design is called "Alphabet Soup" and is so perfect.  



Thank you, Heidi, for making me custom-sized crib sheets for the custom-sized crib mattress.



And thank you, Becky, for the changing pad and covers!



I know I am forgetting to thank some of you.  I am grateful for you friends and family that have given us so much support during this time of growing our family (and fixing our foundation and floors, etc. etc.). 



That's all I have to say!  Elliot, we can't wait to meet you.  Please come soon, before you weigh 9+ pounds.  It would be so nice of you.



Enjoy the rest of these final "after" photos!  Leave me comments and questions, and I will respond to you! 


 
 
 

 

 

Clursery (Closet-Nursery) Update - Stripes!

Woohoo!  The stripes are finished!  And the chair rail is installed.  I'm going to paint it red.

Tips for painting stripes:

Remember - if you're going to paint stripes, it is vital to first seal the tape to the wall using the color of paint that is already on the wall (under the tape).  If you don't, the new color you're painting will seep under the tape and make a yucky-looking line.  This is true, whether you use the fancy, expensive Frog brand of tape or the regular blue painter tape.

Also - touch ups are pretty straight-forward with a sponge brush.  I wish I'd realized that sooner, because it would have saved me a lot of effort and time applying more tape and more paint to smooth the stripes' edges.

Finally - if you attempt multiple different colored stripes like I did, buy a couple extra brushes so that you don't have to keep washing your one brush between each different color.  You might think it's a waste of money, but it's not - buying a couple more brushes saved tons of time and boosted my morale considerably.



Can't wait to show you more of this little closet-nursery!  I want to wait until I have it a little more settled, and then I'll update again.

Progress and Painting in Elliot's Clursery (Closet-Nursery)

The nursery is painted!



Doesn't it look like a beautiful clean slate?  



We added a new shelf where the other one used to be.  This one is better because it doesn't have a million nails in it.





We also added the plywood to make the bed of the crib loft and changing station.



And we added a headboard to the crib-loft.



We routed out a long notch in the 4x4 post and then slid the headboard into that notch, which should help stabilize the 4x4 post and also close the gap that was there.



 I like this Cocalo brand of bedding -- it's the same brand as Lucy's bedding.  This particular pattern of bedding is called "Alphabet Soup," and I love the colors in it!  



So my plan is to incorporate some of that bedding into the nursery, and below the chair rail, I'll paint stripes to match the stripes on the dust ruffle.

I think it will be super cute when it's finished - a teeny, tiny space for our teeny, tiny baby Elliot.

And after I wrote this post, I made more progress!



So here are the stripes, in progress.



Something I learned is really important when painting stripes:  you must... you must paint the original color of the wall over the edge of the tape first, before you paint the intended color.  If you don't, this is what will happen (above).



Since each stripe requires multiple coats of paint, and since you have to paint the underlying color over the tape's edge first before painting the new stripe's color, this is a very slow process.  I'm doing a little bit each day and think I'll be finished sometime in the next 5 years.  Not really.  A couple weeks, tops. 

Progress in the Clursery (Closet-Nursery)

I got a cold that really knocked me off my feet, so progress in Elliot's closet-nursery was slower than I'd hoped this past week.  

Still, I managed to get a few things done.  Namely - I installed the 2x4's that will become the base of the crib loft and the base of the changing station shelf.  

I also ordered the baby gate that will act as one of the sides of the crib-loft, and I'm hoping to install it soon.  

I also got the cubby shelf re-situated in the corner so that the crib/loft can brace against it.  I need to put a piece of plywood at the head of the crib-loft to close out that open space.  I think I have some plywood that will work for that, but I'm debating about how exactly to do that.  Should I cover it in fabric, so it'll be softer for baby?  I'm not sure.  I have mixed feelings.  

I am SO glad to have my hanging clothes moved back into the closet and out of our reading nook.  Our room still looks like a disaster area, but less so than when all this stuff was in there, too.