My Son’s Nursery: True Confessions
Months ago, Amanda posted a great peek into her daughter’s beautiful nursery. I was so impressed with how cute and practical it was. Recently, another friend of mine redecorated a room in her house to create a second nursery for her new son (nursery #1 is now her todder son’s bedroom). I was practically drooling at the colors, the theme, and the pristine, matching furniture. This weekend, I read the new People magazine, which featured “Baby Yearbook 2008″, covering celebrity baby lifestyles from fashion to nursery decor. I marveled at J. Lo’s extravagant nursery for her twins, and then imagined what it must be like to have two other houses with two other nurseries decorated exactly the same way (Max & Emme won’t be confused at any of their three homes.)
My reality is altogether different. Here are my true confessions:
- We’re renting a house. This means major decorating is not only restricted, it’s kinda pointless. Therefore, we make do with what we have. And what we have is funny. It’s hilarious watching peoples’ reactions to the wallpaper in my son’s room. Three walls are a masculine, somewhat dark pattern, w
hich is fine. One wall, inexplicably, though, is a repeated pattern of pictures of colonial American buildings. Let me say that again: it’s a repeated pattern of pictures of colonial American buildings. It’s a bit like having a giant, permanent history poster in your bedroom. On the plus side, Eli has a better sense of our country’s past than I ever did at that age. So, bonus! - The crib bumper is adorable. It’s green, blue, and red, which we bought at Wal-Mart. It doesn’t match the wallpaper, of course, or anything else in the room, for that matter.
- There are no curtains for the window. I wouldn’t even know how to hang them if I had some.
- I find random baby room decor at Target when it’s marked down, and occasionally, I buy it. So Eli’s room has a few animal plaques here, some safari animal clings there, and a wooden sign that says “Thank Heaven for Little Boys” over his window (this sign was a gift, actually). All of this is hung on top of that wallpaper. (Sometimes, if you stare at the walls long enough, you can make out new images, like those old Magic Eyes books.)
- We’ve moved a few times since my kids were born. Therefore, Eli’s room is also our storage/junk room. This is fine for now, since he only uses the room for sleeping. Other than the crib and wall decor, it’s pretty much my dumping ground for extra books, picture frames, and boxes. His closet is our extra storage closet.
- My daughter Lucy’s room is painted blue. Go figure.
- I try to stay away from Pottery Barn Kids, Babies R Us, and other baby specialty shops as much as possible, to keep my envy in check.
As much as I wish I could have a nursery that is airy and bright and serene and precious, with gliding rockers and lullabies playing, it’s just not in the cards for me. And frankly, the kids just don’t even know any better.
Have you got any confessions you’d like to share? Anyone out there in a similar boat?
p.s. I recently painted these letters to add to the decor, and I am pretty proud of them.
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Great job on painting Eli’s letters. Painting is a lot harder than it seems. I was vry excited last week when I saw an alphabet painting at Babies R Us very similar to the one I did. I thought I was so cool. I was in style and didn’t even know it. And mine is personalized.
Dude, that is some awesome wallpaper!
For the record, there are MANY rooms that have not been done yet in our house. We have been getting out of debt instead of decorating. My next project will to be a girly room for Ace in the guest bedroom next year. I can’t wait!
Man, no fair. My miss matchy rental rooms look yucky. Yours look like a funky design magazine. Well except for the stuff piled in the corner!
dawn, i love you post! it makes me feel so un-alone! we’ve never done a nursery for either of the kids, part of it is money, part of it is priciple – i mean really, will they remember in 15-20 years the trauma of having a bumber that didn’t match thier sheets? or a dresser that didn’t match their crib? their furniture is a combination of hand-me-down and garage sale finds.
we did a little art project last spring and formed the letters of each of the kids’ names with brightly painted popsicle sticks. then glues those to small boards we bought from michael’s and painted too. it’s not fancy at all, but the kids helped make them and it helps make their room feel like thier own.
Ditto to Jenny’s comment! Your post made me feel so very UN-alone, too. Melodee had her own room when we were in the States, but we’ve been living with someone else for a year and three months now. Now it’s the hubby, me, Mel, Kaitlyn, and next month (drum roll, please) baby number three all living in one room. And a regular sized room at that. The girls are just lucky to have their own bed! Ha! I was reading up on “Bringing your new baby home” to refresh on the things to expect, etc. and found myself chuckling at the recommendations to: create a nursing space in your baby’s nursery with a comfortable chair, table (to place lamp, book, and refreshing beverage on), and some sort of music playing device. So, I appreciate the fact that there are other mothers out there who either by choice or because of circumstances are living the not-so-Martha-Stewart life. And I must say, love the 18th century wall paper!
Hurray for mismatched rooms! I actually WOULD love to decorate my kids’ rooms with themes and whatnot, but my fear is painting. For starters, I’m a novice. And there’s no Home Depot or Lowe’s to go to and get painting help. Also, I think I would have to strip the paint off of our walls before painting, and that just seems time-consuming and not at all fun. Maybe when my mother-in-law comes for a visit, we can make that our project.
I think you’ve done a fine job Dawn. I love the look of themed rooms as well (Pottery Barn Kids, Land of Nod, and Restoration Hardware Baby & Child). I kept my kids rooms very simple in decorating. Mainly because #1 – I’m not a creative person, #2 – at age 4 and 14 months, my kids don’t have a preference nor do they care what their bedrooms look like since they only sleep in their rooms (no toys in their bedrooms), and #3 – we’re a military family, so I don’t want to put a lot of effort knowing we will have to uproot in a few years.
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