Nursery reveal

I posted some pictures of the finished nursery on Facebook last week, but now it's time to show what went into the project. There are so many fun details that I want to tell you about. It is wonderful to have it all done. We've come a long way from this room being a very girly yellow and pink nursery and the design decisions I needed help with a few months back.

The green chair in the corner is formerly the pink chair that I made a slip cover for back when I had plenty of energy. I got the fur leopard pillows at Costco for $11 for 2. I tried very hard to keep the safari theme subtle, but I couldn't resist these pillows. The basket/end table is the one from Goodwill. It is great for storage and I'm glad I snatched it up even if it almost blew my budget at $20 (it was new with a Target tag still on it for $49.99).

Above the crib I put a bunch of bamboo (also from Goodwill) to hang Baby's first initial. It looked really odd with nothing hanging there at all, so I put up a picture that is about the same size, just to give the idea. We're keeping the name a secret until he is born, which is a good thing since we just changed our minds a few days ago.... again.

My Grandad (mom's dad) made this changing table for us when Emma was born. I gave him a picture of one in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog and he he came up with this beautiful piece of furniture. I found the baskets on a super sale for only $7 each at Shopko, now 5 years ago. This contour changing pad has seen it all and still works great. A new safari cover and it is ready for another round of diaper changes.

We have plenty of African artifacts to use in the room from our trips and also gifts from Jeff's aunt who lives and works in Mozambique as a missionary. It is really fun to have a room where I can display some of these things.

Even though I didn't have a shower for this little guy, many people have given gifts. A friend from MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) gave me the little green giraffe and it is perfect for the space. The mobile is from a friend who lives and works in Uganda. I love these little touches that make the room so personal and special.

My energy and creativity is about shot, but I managed to pull together a few craft projects for the room. I covered an ugly wooden picture frame in this giraffe print fabric. A little Elmer's and hot glue and I have frame that looks great.

Another fun gift came in the mail from my blogging friend, Shawna. Although we've never met in person, she sent a couple things that are just perfect for the room. This giraffe is from Cloud B and is a white noise maker. It is really cool. I was almost lulled to sleep as I tried it out myself.

Another "real" African item is this rug that we bought for pennies on our last trip to Africa 2 and a half years ago. The prices were so cheap at the market that I was buying things left and right hoping that I could someday find a place to use them in our home.

Our Mozambiquan friends gave us a painting because I made them real American hamburgers -- some folks are just easy to please. The painting is by a well-known African artist, but unfortunately it didn't make the long trip home with us in very good condition. Notice the rip above the Impala's rear-end. It's been sitting here, there, and everywhere around the house as we tried to figure out what to do with it.

I was inspired to use the painting in the room and was able to frame the canvas in 2 pieces using frames that I already had. I painted them with my free quart of Glidden paint (a random promotion that a Facebook friend clued me in to a few months ago). I asked my blog audience if I should add touches of green to the room and everyone said, "Yes!". I'm glad that did. The baby's first innitial is also painted the same green. It is a yummy color -- thanks Glidden.

Another unexpected gift for the nursery came from my friend Hillary who sent the perfect curtain valance. She has the same one for her son's room and I saw it on my visit to their home a few weeks ago. I commented that it would work perfect for the nursery I was working on and she promptly went out and found an identical one. I'm blown away by my many friends' thoughtfulness and generosity. I couldn't have pulled it together without them.