Earlier this year, at nine months pregnant, I was waddling into estate sales, rearranging furniture, juggling contractors, and trying to cram as much as possible into the days leading up to my due date. No first-time mom can evade the quest for nursery and house perfection. Call is nesting or call it insanity, the truth is that I've always been this way. “This way” being in a constant state of collecting and rearranging. Since we moved into our 1930s house in the middle of Atlanta, my husband has been asking when we will be "done" with the house — a tale as old as time. Although the answer is "never," the house DOES feel closer to "done" than it ever has. Lucky him! There is nothing like a baby on the way to speed up all the ideas and schemes you have bouncing around inside your brain and your Pinterest board. 

The Start of a Scheme

Once I found out I was having a boy, the decorating began! It all started with a framed print from an 1800s toy maker's sketchbook that I found on Facebook Marketplace. I loved the bold, primary colors and used this as the jumping off point for a scheme. Shortly after, I found a hand-painted tin waste basket in similar colors. I started collecting books, old tin toys, a wooden trunk, and so many other things in this same vein. As I slowly gathered pieces from estate sales and thrift stores, the reds, blues, greens, yellows, and different textures started to bring the scheme to life.

A snapshot of my nursery collection and mood board

A faux-finished dresser from Wales; sourced from Provenance Antiques warehouse in Atlanta

Paint and Paper

With my initial stash of collected items, I mulled over the right paper and paint backdrop for the room. Dot All Over Wallpaper in Blue was the perfect mix of playful and cozy. The paper's subtle design almost reads as a solid from certain points which is ideal for a space where you're going to be spending a lot of time, day and night. Sister Parish had paint matched Farrow and Ball's Oval Room Blue, and with little to no time or brain capacity to choose a different color, I went with it for the trim and the doors. No design journey is without bumps in the road and this is where mine started to have issues. The biggest being me ordering the wrong amount of wallpaper (my own fault) and scrambling to get the rest (luckily in the same dye lot!) while making sure I could schedule my paper hanger to come back and finish the project. It all worked out in the end, but I’m reminded that these moments of panic make the final product that much better. 

Dot All Over Wallpaper Blue and a Sister Parish bunny; vintage rug under the crib

Nursery trim and doors in Farrow and Ball Oval Room Blue

The Magic of Fabric

There is a lot of pressure on selecting the "right" chair for your nursery. It must rock, glide, recline, swivel, charge your phone, and make your dinner! — social media says. For me, non-negotiables were comfort and one that I could make my own. I found a Lee Industries chair off of Facebook Marketplace that someone had used in their own nursery. It was a tired piece with an old navy slip cover that had certainly gotten some wear. But, the bones and price were good! I used Mahalo performance fabric to bring it back to life and give it a second go in my own nursery. I love the notion of it continuing on in a similar space. I opted for reupholstering the chair rather than creating a new slipcover — creating a sleeker look and less laundry for me. 

Putting it all Together

Surprise to no one, I went into labor before I could finish all of the details in the nursery. See: old white blinds still up on the windows, no art on the walls, no bed skirt, etc. The essentials were in place, and that was really all that mattered. I had a neighbor drop off dinner during the early days with a note that reminded us to surrender to the “sacred slowness of the newborn season.” Now almost five months into life with a baby, I’m learning to settle and surrender to this slowness my neighbor so aptly described. My son is changing every day, and it’s hard to believe so much time has already gone by. This isn’t my family's forever house, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t value in wallpapering, painting, and collecting for a space where you live your life. I believe it’s so important to decorate for now. When we’re up together in the middle of the night, I look around his room and love what I’ve created. I’m so excited to see how the room evolves as my son grows and I step further into motherhood. My husband only hopes it’s before we move to our next house (ha!).