one room challenge linking event week one: a nursery!

Hello again, friends! Long time no see!

When I published my last post in early September (yikes), my husband and I had recently moved to Maine and were immersed in our second house hunt in two years. I claimed that I planned to get back to blogging because the real estate market was slowing down...along with my hopes of finding a home! Well, the day after I published that post I found out I was pregnant, and the day after I found out I was pregnant we put an offer in on our home. I kid you not. It has been a crazy couple of months, but it's not about to calm down because Baby H is due in 6 weeks!

The last time I participated in Calling It Home's One Room Challenge Linking Event was two years ago when I designed my home office, and boy did I have a blast! Successfully completing The One Room Challenge Linking Event was one of the most validating things I have done.

So I'm back for more, but this time it's to decorate our baby GIRL's nursery! And frankly the timing couldn't be...better? considering both the baby and the room reveal are due within days of each other.

Am I crazy? No. (Hormonal? Maybe a little...) I figure it's got to get done either way, so I might as well document it as a guest participant in this spring's One Room Challenge Linking Event!

So here I am, with a stronger desire than ever to pick up where I left off, but with a fear an understanding that my life is going to be turned upside down--yet again--but in the best way possible.

So without further ado, I bring you my big plans for our little girl!:

Baby H's nursery is going to be a bit more contemporary than the rest of the rooms in our home. Typically I gravitate toward traditional decor, but when looking for inspiration, I found myself drawn to more modern nurseries with eclectic accents. No frills, no fuss...no florals! (Gasp!)

Here are a few of the nurseries that drew me in:

Heather Merriman Saba

Simone LeBlanc by Paige Jones in Mother Mag

New Blooming

DomaineHome

Amber Interiors

Emerson Grey Designs

Sarah Ro Interiors in Southbay Magazine

Clearly I am having a major geometric/kilim rug moment, ha! The following are some of the other nursery details I love and plan to incorporate in my design:

Let's be honest--no nursery is complete without a Little Darling print (or eight) from Sharon Montrose's Animal Print Shop, right?! And that oversized giraffe! 

Grant K Gibson via DecorPad

I think the following is such a fun way to display adorable little dresses:

La Dolce Vita via Babble

These stuffed animals from Restoration Hardware are so sweet:

The Glitter Guide

Here is another pretty shot including the "Charming Baskets" from Land of Nod--I love Sara's color palette (and I think we all know how I feel about Imperial Trellis):

Sara Platt Design 

Some Babar for good measure:

Kohl's

These paper lantern balloons put off such a soft glow and would be another perfect nod to Babar: 

Alina

SO--back to reality. When we bought the house last fall, the room was dark and cavernous with a dingy gray carpet...

...fine for a teenage boy, but about as far from a baby girl's nursery as you can get!

The plan is to transform the room into a bright and colorful, but feminine nursery over the next six weeks!

I created the following design board to help me avoid the effects of pregnancy brain and stick to the plan:

#Goals, right? To be completely honest, I got a little bit of a head start because it is getting harder and harder to complete certain projects (think sitting on the floor, hunched over a dresser that arrived in a million pieces while trying to read a wordless version of so-called assembly instructions through tears).

So bear with me...and my huge belly--we'll do our best! I'll be back next Thursday to show you my progress!