one room challenge linking event week two: paint problems and difficult decisions

Time always seems to fly while participating in Calling It Home's One Room Challenge Linking Event, and this week was no exception!

In last week's post, I shared my inspiration and plan for our baby girl's nursery(!) and this week I am going to pick up where I left off with the before photo of the room I am transforming...for obvious reasons:

Onwards and upwards.

Here is the design board I created to keep me on track while transforming the space:

Originally I was going to go with a gray paint--I never had any intention of painting the nursery pink because I feared it would be too predictable and I wanted to push myself to create something fresh, so when we moved into our home I had the walls painted in Benjamin Moore's "Portland Gray," which--as the name suggests--I thought would be gray. Here is the sample against the dark blue walls, which I think must have been what threw me...

...because alas, "Portland Gray" was not gray, but purple. Don't get me wrong--I have nothing against purple, but I didn't want a purple nursery! As I said, I was set on gray. But then I discovered how hard it is to find a good gray, so slowly I started sneaking some pink samples into my masterpiece:

And although I did find some good grays--including Ben Moore's "Rodeo," "Pale Oak," and "Balboa Mist"--I still wasn't convinced they would be bright and colorful, so I ultimately caved and drank the pink Kool-Aid... (that sounds so good right now. Who am I?!)

Goodbye practically 50 shades of "gray!":

And hello pink! After much staring at and sighing over what seemed like 20 samples of the same pink, I ultimately chose a Glidden color called "Pink Inkling"...

...which was very pretty, but still not what I was going for--I wanted more of a peach-y pink. So the search continued until I found Benjamin Moore's "Sun Washed":

Benjamin Moore "Sun Washed"

Here is the "Sun Washed" chip up against the wall painted in "Pink Inkling"--my painter and my husband were all "bless her pregnant heart..."

...but when all was said and done, they agreed there was a big difference, and although these photos don't do it any justice, the color is perfect!:

Third time's the charm!

We also replaced the ugly gray carpet with a less ugly tan carpet to match the rest of our second floor. Sigh. But in all honesty, I don't mind the wall-to-wall carpet under my feet upstairs during the six-month long winters in Maine.

Now onto some other progress!

Today I'm going to give you guys the rundown on the furniture and some other important elements I chose for the nursery design, so we'll start big and get smaller from here on out:

I began by searching for the perfect area rug. I wanted to find something colorful and contemporary, so I looked for geometric patterns, such as the ones found in Kilim rugs. 

I loved the colors (and the "H's!") in this one from Urban Outfitters, but it was a bit too small for the space, so sadly I had to pass:

Urban Outfitters

Then there was this beauty, which was a close second to the rug I ultimately chose, only because I thought it was a bit too bold:

Sophie's Bazaar

And finally I fell in love with the following kilim rug, which I found on Etsy. After a bit of negotiating, it was mine, and although it arrived (from Turkey!) a bit darker than pictured by the seller (below), I am still happy with it:

"NTF Arts" on Etsy

Next up was the crib, which I admit I've had picked out for years...

I loved the Oeuf Sparrow, which is kind of the cadillac of the sleek modern styles:

...but we ultimately decided to go with the much more affordable and still safe Babyletto Hudson Crib. The Hudson has such a similar look to the Sparrow crib--one I almost prefer because of the absence of the solid panels on each end of the Sparrow. I was finally able to order it in the "Washed Natural" finish in the nick of time (like, a few days ago) after it had been back-ordered for. Ever. Fingers crossed it arrives soon so we (well--let's be honest--my husband) can assemble it in time for next week's post...or at least for the baby! 

Babyletto Hudson Crib

For the dresser, I wanted to find something to compliment the contemporary look I am going for, and if I had had no budget or deadline (and if it hadn't been so hard to ship from Europe or find them in the US), I would have gone for one of the following two styles from Moulin Roty in France and Nobodinoz in Spain because--well--this:

Moulin Roty

Nobodinoz

Ultimately we purchased the Honest Dresser with Changer Top, which still achieves the more modern look, but was also easy and affordable--and considering I have heard rumors babies are hard and expensive, easy and affordable works really well right now. The dresser arrived in a million pieces (think Ikea on steroids), but looks a little more like this now:

The Honest Co

As for a glider, I was looking for something comfy (duh) and upholstered with the option of purchasing a matching ottoman. I fell hard for the gray Milo Glider from Land of Nod:

...but at almost $3,500 for the chair, ottoman and shipping, I just couldn't rationalize the splurge, so I went with my next favorite, the Graham Glider and Ottoman for about half the price (and free shipping!) from West Elm. The Graham has small wings on which I can rest my head, and low arms, allowing for more snuggling and stretching room for baby. And perhaps the best part is that we were able to pick the upholstery to match our West Elm headboard in the master bedroom, so the chair should coordinate effortlessly in either room. 

West Elm

And last but not least, I gave a lot of thought to what I was going to do for window treatments. Roman Shades? Valances? I thought curtains would soften up the space, but I knew I would also need shades to help filter the light and provide options. I came close to buying Pottery Barn curtains with a tassel fringe, but then I saw this photo on Pinterest and have decided I am going to DIY it (always a good idea in the third trimester of pregnancy).

leaf & letter blog

So--that about covers the big stuff, and next week I will talk more about assembling and start showing you the smaller design components in the nursery! See you then!