The Mulligan: Skylar's Nursery Reveal

So, if you were sorta, kinda following me through the One Room Challenge link-up, you know I didn't quite make the deadline to showcase my One Room in all its glory.
In my case, it was my baby girl, Skylar's, nursery.
There was a snafu with the wallpaper hanger's schedule, and I was bummed I couldn't reveal with everyone else who participated, but I got over it quickly when...
It happened.

 Remember, her room is barely ten feet square - it's so tiny, it's really tough to photograph without distortion. 

I decided on simple styling - you could easily go overboard with such a small space, and why would I try to compete with that wallpaper?   The other side of the room holds the closet, and her changing table, which I'm still in the process of refinishing (read: barely sanded).

 The crib linens are the Katie from the uber-talented, Bailey and her Biscuit Homegoods.

 The Fiery Red is perfection, isn't it?

 Is that a Skylar in there?!

 

We painted the walls BM Mint Julep, and the rug was an Overstock find - it's nice and cushy, but has a major shedding habit.  The crib is the Babyletto Hudson.       

The brass floor lamp is vintage, and may I mention my husband hates it, can't understand why I'd buy it.  As Skylar gets bigger, standing up in her crib, etc, I'm sure it'll find another home.

If Ben has his way, it'll be by the curb. ;)

I'm so in love with this little jewel box of a room.

I'm even more in love with its inhabitant.

I think it's safe to say we have one satisfied customer!

 

What do you think?  Was it worth the extra wait time?

One Room Challenge: Week Three

Week Three. (ORC, hosted by Linda at Calling It Home)
More like Weak to See.
Not a ton of pretty progress to feast your eyes upon this week.
Sorry.
The rug did come in, and I'm fairly pleased with it. The colors are slightly different than they appeared in the product image - more purply-lilac than the pinky-lilac I was aiming for. Then again, it could be that the sweet, mauve color currently on the walls is giving the rug the heebs.
For a wool rug, in the odd size I needed, and the under $300 clams category, it'll work just fine. It also offers such a nice, plush contrast to my (ahem, haven't been vacuumed/mopped in over two weeks) hardwoods.
No judging.

 In other news....Our stuff arrived from Brazil - woo hoo!  We're still up to our ears in unpacked boxes.   Progress is sloooooow with three Little People in the mix.

BUT

My old changing table made it through Giese customs.  Sweet. 

 I have big, shiny plans for her - hope you'll approve.

And, that's about it.  I really, rully gotta get the walls painted.  I don't mind painting, and the three itty walls should be easy to knock out, it's just a matter of getting the ball rolling.
Thus, the call of the ORC.

One Room Challenge: Week 2

Have I mentioned I'm a little indecisive these days? Welcome back to the One Room Challenge link partaaay: Week 2.

As of last week, I had jumped on this ORC bandwagon as a way to focus my energies on getting one room in our house more or less completed. We moved in from Brazil in August, and the "to do" list for our circa '70s builder-grade home is long and distinguished.
Giving myself a six-week time limit via the ORC may or may not put me on the road to madness. Either way, it should be fun for you to watch.

As promised, I put together a design board, with the key feature of the room being the c'est magnifique wallpaper from Anthro. The more I put the sample against the wall behind the white crib, the more I thought there wasn't enough contrast. A quick polling of family & friends furthered that notion.

So, I kept thinking what other papers I love that would be a better contrast.
Perroquet, duh.
I do love me a good parrot.

And so it shall be.
Since I'm using the black colorway, I'll pay extra attention to lighting choices in the room to keep it from being too gloomy. Maybe I can get the hubster to spring for some sconces.
So.
Paper ordered.
Rug ordered.
Hope I can get my paintin' pants on sometime soon!

Mental Hygiene

Just in case you were wondering, there's no baby news yet.  I'm a week from Due Date today, so the official Kettle Watching has begun.  As I waddle around our neighborhood, I catch glimpses of passersby with that look of 'Wow, you're about to pop - don't do it here, please."  Good times.

Things have been really hectic 'round Casa Portu-Giese.  We've had to attend to some major issues in our US affaires, and all of it has had both Ben and I mentally drained.  It's times like this when I tend to pull back from things like blogs and (to a lesser degree), Pinterest because I feel like I let them unduly influence my scope of reality.  You could say I'm performing a little mental alignment hygiene.
Summer is a good time to do that.
Pre-baby is a very good time to do that.

I've also been reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield about overcoming inner creative battles.  So often, people who are called to creative endeavors are challenged by severe inner Resistance that keeps them from being their Ultimate Self.  If it sounds hokey to you, you've perhaps been lucky in not experiencing it.  I have it in droves, but instead of just calling it Resistance, I call it my Gremlin.  That nagging inner voice that lives to create self doubt anyway she can.
Anyway, so far, the book is very promising, and I'll share my take when I'm done. 

That's not to say I'm totally forgoing internet eye candy.   How perfect is this Globetrotter wallpaper?

I know.

Stay tuned for Baby G updates...

Finally....Isla's Nursery

I figured since Isla will be six months old next week, it was time for me to post pics of her nursery. It's not perfect, and certainly not perfectly styled, but, who am I kidding? More than likely, it will never be. For now, it's a pretty and pleasant space for our baby girl.

Almost everything is on its second tour of duty, although a couple pieces have been freshened up with new paint or upholstery.

I'm so glad we kept the map of Paris artwork in this room, rather than move it with Avery's bed - it works soooo much better!

There's just some things I have to live with - like hideous air-conditioning units - but the floors sure are nice.

Reupholstering the glider in the gray ikat, and adding the yellow pouf in lieu of the standard ottoman certainly helped the scene.

My changing table is a repurposed, small buffet. In Avery's nursery, it was white. For this time 'round, it got a gray paint/brass hardware facelift.

I may tire of the wall color at some point, but right now, I'm so in love with it! In the morning, it's fresh and crisp, but as night falls, it takes on a jewel-box quality. (Don't be hatin' on my sad lampshade - it's on the to-do list)

I just finished up the "art installation" above the crib the other day. Remember that I'd been inspired by de Gournay wallpaper, so I wanted to reference Chinoiserie, as well as giving something interesting for Isla to see. Not sure I have a calling as an artist, but you get the idea. Do you think the canvas should be a different color? Ben says deep blue might look better...

Did'ya notice anything else??

Tee Hee... that's right, the munchkin all this fuss is about! Little bit worth it! ;)

I'm Lovin' It: Nursery Glider B&A

We picked up the nursery glider from the upholsterer's yesterday. It has already brought me a good dose of happiness. BUH-bye blah brown.

Two (design) roads diverged...

I have a habit of changing moods midstream. In college, I changed majors (majorly) two years in. In my working life, I went from medical sales rep making good dough to broke law school student. It's no surprise, then, that I often get halfway through the decision process of a project, and take a left turn, so to speak.
That happened with Isla's nursery. I was going down the path of gray this, gray that - soft, neutral, yada yada when one afternoon recently it just hit me: jade green. With touches of gold, and fuschia and clever art. Heavily inspired by de Gournay wallpaper goodness. Knowing wallpaper, especially something that exquisite, isn't part of my limited budget, I've decided to do my own riff off the look.
I was inspired by images like these:

kelly at home

enlighten me as to source

desire to inspire


massuco, warner, miller

So, here's where I'm at....At least for today

How can I do this face wrong?

Details Geek Needs Help!

Two things going on at Casa Giese: Isla's nursery and the "office/playroom"

First: I had a burst of get-it-done energy last weekend, and tackled Avery's old changing table with a new coat of paint. It's a small, vintage sideboard we picked up in Virginia for $25 before Avery was born. It serves perfectly as a changing table. I was ready to see the shabby look go, though, so it got a coat of gray paint.

Before: Sanded-down white with glass knob hardware

Partial After: Light-ish gray

I intend to change the hardware, but have hit a stumbling block - and this is where I need your help....

If I go with ring pulls, similar to these on the drawer:

What do I use for the cabinet doors, where the the same ring pulls won't fit?
Egg knobs in the same finish?

Round knobs?

What about a sleeker, cleaner, but also shinier situation? (Dare I go polished brass???)

Need your thoughts!

Also, I was thinking of keeping the "canvas" of the room very neutral in all grays - gray walls, gray changing table, and a gray and cream ikat on the glider (waiting to be reupholstered) and then letting colorful art take center stage, but it that TOO much gray?

Should I repaint the changing table black, or at least a very deep, charcoal gray, to add some more contrast? (Think that polished brass hardware = yum!) Yes, I'm noting the difference in hues between the fabric and paint...yet another dilemma...

I think in my haste, I'm not really thinking the design through, and need some guidance - so dear gurus of style.... Lead me!

*I'll let you chew on this for a day or so, then I'll follow up on the office/playroom situation soon!

Bummers...and Silver Linings

Yesterday, a few fabric samples arrived in the mail - one of them being an ikat I hoped to use on the skirted glider in our nursery (oh yeah, remember THAT project?)
The online image made it look just right...

...But, when the swatch arrived, this is what it looked like in person

Ugh. Can you see the sheen it has? Much less true ikat, much MORE granny than I had in mind. Don't you hate it when that happens? Bummer.

How-EVAH, I was catching up on blogs last night, and lo and behold, saw that Jenny is offering to pick up and ship some of this fantastic (and all-too-perfect-for-my-chair) gray and cream ikat. Laaaaa!

Truly, a Silver Lining.

In other news...Please give Jessica over at Lavender and Lilies some love today - she has kindly selected me to participate in her Featured Bloggers series.

And LASTLY...I'm debating whether or not to head to the Warrenton Antiques Festival tomorrow. I try not to miss the twice-yearly offering of all things vintage, eclectic and cool - it's one of my favorite treks. I'm especially driven to go in order to scout some pieces for a room redo, but I'm sitting at 36 weeks prego, dilated to 3+ cm, and having quite a few (what I hope are) merely Braxton-Hicks contractions.
Dare I traipse around open fields for hours on end? My gut says, GO! (And, OB on Tuesday said I'm probably OK) But there is a part of me that wonders if I'll:
a) Be mistaken for one of the grazing cattle
b) Have the sort of fortune that'll cause my water to break with nothing more than a Volunteer Fire Dept. retiree within 30 miles.
What would YOU do? ;)

Executive Decisions

You might be wondering where I am on the workings for the nursery... I hate to admit it, but I decided not to do anything until we return with the new baby. I know, kinda disappointing BUT, I'm hoping that by just taking my time looking at fabrics, art, etc the room will be more of what I envision, rather than a room I threw together in a fast, furious few weeks.

Here's a basic mood board of where I'm at right now, but, I reserve the right to continue to be indecisive - so the finished room may end up looking nothing like this. Guess we'll ALL have to wait and see!

Giese Baby #2 Nursery by atexski on Polyvore.com

Secondly, a few of you have asked if I've heard from the midwife group in Houston with a "verdict" on whether or not they'd take me as a patient. I have, and they will. Great news. However, after A LOT of inquiries to multiple practitioners, I've decided to let Nature and The Man Upstairs handle this - I'll stay in my hometown for the delivery of Baby #2.
I've had a lot of reassurance as to the type of care I can expect, and I'll have a slew of support - not to mention having an aunt who is a head RN in Labor & Delivery at the hospital. Taking every logistical, health, and sanity issue into account, I feel this is the best way to go this time round. Yes, I'll miss my first midwife horribly, but all will be fine, I trust. Thank you all for the sweet and supportive comments you left me regarding this decision - it has not been easy.

Lastly, I'm super-excited to have a potential design project to work on when I get to Texas! It's a clean slate so-to-speak, and looks to be challenging but fun. Here's a few of the idea pics the "client" is liking...

all images via cote de texas

Can't wait to keep you posted!