Baby boy is due to arrive in less than a month, and his nursery (which is also our guest room and my office) still looks like this. Why are we so unprepared?
I suppose it all comes down to a combination of denial and procrastination.
It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that we’re having another boy. I used to “joke” that one reason I was hoping for a girl was because the nursery was already painted pink, a color I chose before I was even pregnant. I couldn’t deal with the thought of bringing more boy-related things into the house, and selfishly, I didn’t want to lose my girly space.
Plus, when we learned the baby’s gender in the fall, my due date of February 20th seemed so far away. “We have plenty of time to prepare,” I foolishly told myself. But once we turned the corner on Thanksgiving, time sped up, and before I knew it, we had entered 2014.
And now it’s nearly February.
Rather than let myself experience full-fledged panic, I’ve decided to give myself permission to not have the baby’s room ready before his arrival.
See, we need some of the furniture from Levi’s current room (the glider, the crib, and possibly the dresser), and I haven’t started thinking about redecorating his space either. (Surprise, surprise!) But the baby will be sleeping in a bassinet in our room in the beginning, so he doesn’t actually need a completely decorated nursery, as nice as it would be to have.
(Although the room will need to be tidied up for my mom, who will be moving in with us for a month or longer.)
So I’m finally doing what I should have started months ago: planning.
Combining what we already own with items from some of my favorite brands, I created a nursery inspiration board for the space that will continue to serve as a guest room and office. To play down the pink walls (which I refuse to paint over — they’re so pretty!), I’ve chosen a navy, grey, and white color scheme with pops of turquoise. What do you think?
1. West Elm desk (already own) | 2. West Elm chair | 3. Lamps Plus table lamp | 4. Serena and Lily duvet and shams (for queen bed already in the room) | 5. BabyJive mobile | 6. Blabla knit doll | 7. Land of Nod dresser | 8. Land of Nod crib (similar to what we will be moving from Levi’s room) | 9. Land of Nod art print | 10. DwellStudio crib sheet | 11. Land of Nod basket | 12. Hazel Village stuffed animal | 13. All Modern floor lamp | 14. Land of Nod glider (already own and being used in Levi’s room) | 15. Land of Nod nightstand | 16. Blabla cloud pillow | 17. Land of Nod pouf | Note: Color palette via Color Collective
I love the color combo and the decision to leave the walls pink. I think it works great paired with dark navy for a little boys’ room / office. No worries about getting it done before the baby comes. Having your mom there will give you some time to work on it!
Thanks, Haeley! I’m so exhausted that I physically can’t do much more than browse the internet for ideas and furniture right now, so the room makeover will definitely have to wait until after the baby is born!
Better yet, have your mom work on it while you take care of the baby. 😉 Hang in there these last couple weeks!
I’m such a control freak, especially when it comes to decorating, that I don’t think I could give up the reins!
I agree w/ Haeley- having your mom there will give you an extra set of hands & you can work on it when you’re ready. Plus, it’s not like he’ll know that his room isn’t decorated. 😉 I’m in the same boat, but worse– Maggie is almost 3 months & I’m still working on it… Oops! 😉
You hit the nail on the head — the baby won’t have any idea that his room isn’t done! He won’t even be sleeping in it for a couple of weeks, at least! Can’t wait to see what you’ve done with Maggie’s nursery when you’re ready to share.
Love the nursery inspiration! and love the color pallet
Thank you! Fingers crossed it translates well in real life!
I think I want to move in. Gorgeous!
Thanks, Stacey! Hopefully I can get it all finished while the baby is still a baby… 😉
It’s gorgeous! I love the pink with the rest of the blue/green!
Thanks, Erin! That means a lot coming from you — you have such a great eye!