inspiration galore

You didn't think I'd only do one nursery post, did you? Come on now. I have so many ideas floating around in this mushy pregnancy brain of mine I simply have to post some of them so I don't forget in two days.

I'm still going for the all bright color look in the room, natural wood and all. But what about the actual pieces of furniture? And the actual decor? So many choices, my friends. And like anything else in life I have very expensive tastes.

I think a crib is one of the most important parts of the room since it's where the babe will spend the most time. I want it to be sturdy and safe yet modern and sleek at the same time. Oh, and just because I have caviar tastes doesn't mean we'll be dropping an obscene amount of money on one piece of furniture that won't fit the baby in a short amount of time. I'm also a big fan of a sturdy rocker or glider in the room which could definitely be an anchor piece for the entire room, but used again in the future as regular seating. But just for a second, let's visit my dreamland, shall we?

Ladies and gentlemen, what we have here are the most glorious, modern, sleek cribs known to mankind. They make my innards quiver and quite frankly, I'm drooling a little staring at their wonder. All of these are from Modern Nursery and part of me wishes I would have never run across this nursery mecca website. Why? Because every single one of these bad boys is approximately $1000. 1k. A freaking G, you guys.

Perhaps we should start playing the lottery?

So let's start at the 'If I were a millionaire' category of inspiration. I would first buy this amazing Oeuf crib:


Followed quickly the the equally stunning Sleepytime Rocker. Again, this puppy is over $900 and no....I don't think it gives you a back massage or makes you dinner. It's just a chair but goodness, she's a beaut.


Moving onto the 'midrange price/ maybe we could pull it off' category. I am obsessed with this crib from none other than Walmart. Tell me this doesn't look scarily similar to the Oeuf crib but only 1/3 of the price at $300:


And Target's deep seat rocker is pretty fab:


And finally the 'supremely inexpensive but still our style' category: of course, we are leaning towards this price bracket and good ole' Ikea is coming through with flying colors for the pocketbooks. We saw this crib in person when we drove down there a few weeks ago and although I was afraid it would be flimsy and cheap in person it really wasn't. I love the rounded top rail and the simplicity of it. What do you think? For $100 you seriously cannot beat it.

I've seen amazing bedding dress this little crib right up and some people will even modify the crib to be less cage-like. I'm not sure I want to go through all of that effort in making extra pieces for a perfectly fine crib, but we'll see. Either way, I'm really not a big fan of the HUGE convertible cribs out there on the market today. Some of them just look like a headboard and footboard to an adult bed smashed together to fit an infant mattress. Not my style, so I'm pretty sure we'll go with either the Walmart or Ikea cribs. But it was challenging to find something different in the market for cribs. Who knew?

For an inexpensive rocker, I'm thinking we'll either use an old-fashioned rocking chair and paint it a fun bright color or maybe just white, then add a nice soft cushion with a funky printed fabric. Or perhaps we'll just get a regular arm chair in the room. Who says babies HAVE to be rocked to sleep? In fact, I've heard if you get them into the habit of always being rocked to sleep they won't be able to fall asleep any other way.


And another Ikea favorite: this pimped out rug. Seriously, this might be my staple piece right here, working everything else off this guy. Love the bright colors since the potential is endless with other matches. And seeing this one in person did not disappoint, either---it's soft and plush and perfect for a little baby to destroy.


Before we move away from Ikea, what if I ditch the idea of a rocker/arm chair altogether and go for a little sofa? More seating, so both Nate and I can sit in the nursery together. Plus, if we got a cute pull out like this one we'd avoid the dreaded air mattress for our out of town guests. I'm still not sold on that idea, but I know we cannot fit a full bed in the nursery with everything else. Thoughts?

I mean, any old chair or couch can be dressed up with adorable little throw pillows, such as this one from Etsy seller ManicMuffin Tote's:


For a changing table, I saw this amazing nursery on Spearmint Baby and cannot stop thinking about having my father-in-law make one of these things.

(photo by Gail, on Flickr)

We'd of course need a dresser of some kind, too, and maybe I'll just plop a changing table tray on top of the dresser. But I really like the idea of this style, too.

And as far as accessories and fun decor, I absolutely want to make fun flags like this (and wish our ceilings were vaulted for the same effect):

(found on Spearmint Baby, photo by ourheartbeat and her flickr page)

Then I'll go over to Etsy and go buck wild. For instance, their nursery prints can entertain me for hours on end and inspire me to make my own baby art. Or at least make some and buy a few pieces, too, since I really want the eclectic look to add lots of character. Here are a few of my faves:

( from seller Ferntree Studio)

(from seller babybyrds)


(from seller prettymod)


(by seller trendypeas)


Oh, and the mobiles on Etsy. Don't even get me started.
(from seller giftsdefine)

So yeah, these are just some of my ideas. I have new ones every day but because it's really too early to get rid of our spare bed and convert the guest room into a nursery, I'll just let most of the ideas marinate for now.

Any other ideas much appreciated. Especially thoughts on the rocker versus glider versus stationary chair versus pull out small-ish couch. I'm totally debating this one to death.