Over the weekend we finished up Ellerie & baby girl number two's (who we are 99% sure has a name but I'll most likely not share it until she's here) room. I am so happy with how it turned out and really happy that it was a fairly inexpensive make-over.
You can see what Ellerie's room looked like before she was born here.
The biggest changes were the tape walls and some furniture re-arranging.
Originally, I thought I would do a "baby side" and a "toddler side" with play stuff in the middle but it ended up being an awkward use of space. So we switched everything and now have a pretty clear sleep side and play side. The result is what feels like almost two rooms! It feels like we gained a lot of floor space this way, which is great.
The current plan is to get Ellerie sleeping in the toddler bed sometime over the next three months. The baby will sleep in the crib for some naps but mostly sleep in a bassinet in our room for the first eight weeks. The girls will share that dresser/changing table (diapers on top, baby clothes next, then Ellerie clothes in the bottom two drawers). Because the baby will be in our room for nights, we are also going to have a small changing station in there.
I kept the same curtains, bookshelf and striped rug, but added an additional rug (from Target) in front of the dresser where there is a lot of foot traffic. The frames and art are mostly the same with some new fun additions. I'm still working on a DIY rope rug that I'd love to add into the space. We'll see if my sewing machine will handle it.
With more floor space, I was able to bring in a small table and chairs - $25 from Ikea, are you kidding me? It's the same set that Ellerie is used to at daycare and it's been a huge hit. The Pottery Barn cubbies are getting a lot of use too.
I moved Ellerie's art wall over to the opposite side of the room. The art is just taped up with red masking tape, nothing special and it holds well without marking up our walls.
I ended up hanging just three gods-eyes because I found that with the tape, we didn't need much extra. I'm happy with how they turned out in just one corner. When we get closer to the due date, I'll paint a similar "you are so loved" canvas to hang next to the flamingo canvas over the crib.
That tape itself was super easy. I cannot stress how easy. I bought two rolls of three colors (mint, orange, and peach) and it was enough to do five stripes of each color on my walls. I angled it to match the ceiling but didn't measure or worry too much about it. Overall, it's great to work with. Just attach to one side then hold on and walk to the other side of the wall. Pull tight to get it straight and stick into place. Then go back and smooth it out. Here's a stop motion video of me attaching some. If it doesn't look right, you have some flexibility (at least my walls did) and you can move it around a bit. I didn't do anything special to "prep" the wall and I don't plan to use anything special to keep it up. It's tape! If it falls or peels, it falls or peels. I'm not worried about it.
Again, I'm so happy with how it came together. We have a three bedroom house and I work from home and need the office space so there was never any plan to give the kids (regardless of gender) separate rooms. I love that they are sharing and can't wait to see them together.
PRODUCT SOURCES : hanging lamp, toddler bed, table, bookshelf, easel, curtains, curtain rod, dark brown frame are all from Ikea. striped tape from oh happy day shop. dresser is vintage. crib is babyletto. striped rug and pink striped basket from Home Goods. diamond rug from Target. wooden cubbies from Pottery Barn (and still on sale!). large frames are from Aaron Brothers. teddy bear from Costco. California bear print from 3 Fish Studios. elephant print from Fox Hollow Design Studio. Flamingo canvas was handmade but prints available here. chalkboard printable art from Caravan Shoppe. quilt, canvas and gods-eyes are mama made.
