birthday blogger

{thank you flickr for the picture}

Today is my friend Jennie-Marie’s birthday! We both graduated in Interior Design from Auburn (she recently informed me that our program is now ranked 4th in the country).  She is now a stay-at-home mother… but a designer still.  You should see the baby stuff the girl has.  I’ll need lessons from her some day. This Renee Loveseat below (Barclay Butera) reminds me of her. I was looking for something slip-covered but when I saw this sassy tufted pink little number I was sold.  She (like the loveseat) is classy and refined, but also really fun! I wish I had time to "interview" her… but it’s been an insanely busy week… so I just told her to pick a "design" topic and roll with it… so without further adieu… Jennie-Marie:

So when Erika asked me to be her guest blogger, I got real excited but then I realized I had to come up with something, design related to blog about. I admit right now my world revolves around a 14 lb almost 5 month old little girl named Emma Hensley. I’ve been wanting to do a new post about her nursery so I decide this was a perfect reason to do it. I love linens and I love anything baby so of course I loved creating her nursery. I did not want to know what I was having, yes I wanted it to be a surprise. So the comment I always hear is "I’m too much of a planner, to not find out what I’m having." I know there a people that plan more than I do but I am certainly a "planner."

So this post answers the question, how do you do a nursery if you don’t know what you are having?… and it gives away some of my favorite baby shopping spots. I am one of those people that gets something in my head and that is what I want and I will do it when the time comes. Like her nursery, from the moment I moved into this house, I imagined a nursery with pale pale blue walls with white washed diamonds and a fun chandelier. Also I had seen this wonderful ABC sampler by Sferra at Three Sheet in Homewood that I wanted to use. Besides the fact it is so beautifully done, the fact that the "O" had an owl in it let me know it was meant to be. I’m a very neutral person, I love white, and off white. I like to use texture in fabrics and artwork to make statements. Anyone that knows me knows I like pink, just not in paint. So when I found out I was pregnant the ABC sampler came into our home, the office was emptied and I was on the road to Franklin, TN to visit a wonderful children’s store called Plaid Rabbit. On my first visit I found a wonderful linen pillow white with 2 inches of blue dotted swiss on either end. I loved it, bought it, and it became the center of the nursery. That same trip I also ordered our chandelier which I love but I did end up repainting b/c the color was not quite right. Then I got online to visit my friends at Farmhouse Fabrics. For anyone that sews its where all the great fabrics come from and they are wonderful to work with. They sent me 18 swatches to look at with my other pieces. I chose this one for the bottom of the crib skirt and I used this one on the cradle that stayed in our room. I also ordered white pique for the window treatments and bed skirt. I did try to find a great fabric for a big fat fluffy custom made bumper but found one I loved by SDH Purists at Plaid Rabbit I just could not pass up. The sheets are House Inc, shhh I did find my extra one on Ebay, its always worth looking. I thought I wanted the diamonds to be floor to ceiling but changed my mind after redoing our master bathroom and using what I call a "cottage wall" Erika may have a proper term for it {this is Erika, and that is called "wainscot"}. I decided I wanted to do the same thing in the nursery. Don’t be fooled there are not multiple layers on the wall. The sheet rock is painted antique white from the baseboard 4′ up and we painted the rest of the wall Icelandic. Then we put a 1 x 3 around the perimeter of the room at the 4′ mark and topped it off with decorative moulding used upside down to add dimension to the wall. We also put 1" vertical strips up for a little extra detail. Later I had a lady come in and whitewash the diamonds on the wall. Looking back I could have done it myself but it was much easier to let her. As far as furniture goes we were very lucky. The crib was the one I slept in, we just painted it. The wardrobe was my great-grandmother Emma’s (although technically she is named after my grandfather Emmett, we improvise a little). The dresser as much as I would love to say it has sentimental value I found it "junkin" for about $45 dollars, a little paint goes a long way. The changing table I found on Posh Tots and had my little 84 year old builder man build it for me. I love it and it is a solid piece of furniture! The glider is by Lee Industries, I bought it when I worked at Pizitz in Seaside. My mom and I made the window treatments, you may not be able to see but they are trimmed out in extra large ric-rac. The roman shade is monogrammed with Mc, which I love to do. almost forgot, my precious husband made the cornice board, I was pretty proud of him. We did replace the closet doors with a set from Lowe’s that don’t hurt my feelings. I originally wanted to do fabric panels but realized with a toddler I would never be able to keep things put away without doors. The painting above the dresser is my favorite piece in her room. It describes my hopes for her so perfectly, I saw one similar in Annapolis but had someone paint this one for me. I did put a shelf over the changing table a few months ago for all her pretty things, silver cups, poragers, Herend pieces (owls), etc. The shelf actually came from Hobby Lobby I just painted it. I also collect Mackenzie-Childs so of course I put a few pieces in the nursery. My other favorite pieces are the giraffes and helicopter by Pastel Toys, love all their stuff we just got the blocks too. You can order them from The Paper Chase in Decatur So there you have it. When I tell most people the nursery is blue they assume its boyish. Big mistake, I call it "Classic Baby" and as my husband said once he saw the furniture in place and the chandelier hung… "what in the heck am I going to do if this baby is a boy, this is the girliest blue room I’ve ever seen!" I love it, and I’d love it for a little boy too. The trick is to do what you love and it will all come together. I did not own anything pink and when my doctor came in to check on me the day Emma Hensley was born, she said, "it did not take long for pink to fill this room." No matter what you have a boy or a girl you will have plenty of pink and plenty of blue don’t worry. Oh and FYI no baby’s closet is complete without a happy from Eloise and Henry in Decatur!

Here are a few more pics

Thanks E for asking me to be your guest blogger!!! xoxo

Here is one more little fun thing, its a collapsible canvas tote by Two’s Co, great to put pillows and stuff animals in when they are not in the crib or you can store extra diapers in it. Great to store stuff under the crib in.