Then we found out that it's a boy and I started having seconds thoughts about airplanes. I saw a painting of an anchor and was flooded with ideas for a nautical room. My father is retired Navy - as are both of my grandfathers and my husband's dad and grandfathers. Anchors remind me of my childhood as a Navy brat so I couldn't resist the nautical theme.
DIY projects are in italic.
Custom curtains: I already had these two white curtains and instead of buying new navy blue curtains, which I thought would be too dark and heavy for the small space, I bought a yard of navy fabric for $4 at Joann's. My mother-in-law gave me a quick lesson at the sewing machine and I'm proud to say that I did them myself.
View from the door:
The room was previously our very boring guest room with white walls. We first painted all of the walls "Parchment Paper" by Olympic, then Aaron - with his awesome painting skills - added Navy Blue stripes on the back wall. He has all of these tricks to making lines straight and perfect. Maybe one day I'll have him write a "how-to guide for painting stripes."
Here's the finished wall:
I think it's important to have pieces in a room that tell a story. The American flag was given to us by a friend (who is a fighter pilot) when he returned from Afghanistan. It was flown on September 11, 2008 at the embassy.
The paper mache Letter N is from Joann's - it was $5. I painted it and the picture frame with small bottle Black Cherry paint from Michael's.
I had two matching green frames in my closet that I knew would look great in this space with a new coat of paint. Nothing beats shopping in your own house! I painted one Black Cherry and one navy, with the same paint used for the stripes.
The bedding is William by Nautica.
I found the glider and ottoman on Craigslist for $30. Aaron gave it a couple of coats of primer and a couple of coats of white spray paint.
I was on the Nautica website and fell in love with the "N" pillow on the glider- but didn't like the price - a wopping $30! Who would pay 30 bucks for a small pillow? I gave up on it but while at Ross a few weeks ago spotted it on a shelf for...wait for it...$5!!! Woo-hoo!
The glider before:
The side dresser next to the crib is my favorite piece in the room. It holds all of my nursing and pumping supplies, burp cloths, bibs, etc.
The navy blue frame, adorable sailboat and lantern light.
On the wall to the left:
I took the "Noah" picture at one of our favorite beaches - Pismo Beach.
My friend, Nicolette, took the picture of the Pismo Beach pier at sunset.
I adore this anchor! It was a great find at Marshall's. The sand in the bottle is also from Pismo Beach.
On the opposite wall:
My parents bought Noah this white dresser from Target. It's the perfect size for that space and the quality is wonderful. I love that you can only open one drawer at a time to prevent tipping - especially for a little boy's room.
Another great story piece - This sailboat, the Cutty Stark, was put together by my Grandpa (dad's father). It smells just like his house in Colorado! He passed away a few years ago and my parents brought it home after their recent visit to my Grandma Marie.
How cool is this truck? I know it doesn't fit with the nautical theme but it's just too awesome not to display. A friend of Aaron's made it! I know it will be one of Noah's favorite toys.
See the painting in the closet? I replicated the anchor painting that started this all but unfortunately I couldn't find a good spot for it in the room so I hung it in the closet.
The Noah onesie soon will be packed in my suitcase and headed for the hospital where we will have the nurse stamp his footprints on it.
Just like we did with Noelle:
Noah's bag is packed and ready to go when he is!
