Nursery update: construction complete

DH put in long hours last week finishing up the nursery so that it is now all prepped for the final decorating touches. He has probably put more effort into this room than any other in the house. His goal going into the project was that the room look great - like a professional did it. I would say he succeeded but you be the judge...

The first step was to rip out the closet built ins and rebuild them. The first time around DH built 3 drawers and some shelves. Here is a picture.

Original closet built in

We both weren't happy with it for a couple of reasons. The primary one being that the drawers were really shallow and would be hard to use. DH has also gained in knowledge and number of power tools over the past year and a half so he knew he could do a better job. I also had a better sense of what I wanted for storage. So we re-designed the built in and DH went to work. It went much faster than the first time around. This was due in no small part to DH knowing what he was doing and having the correct tools. The two best tools? Table saw and nail gun.

New closet built in

While DH was working on that, I was planning the design of the nursery. I found a great 8x10 rug on Craig's List that coordinated with the fairy prints I had framed. We bought the changing table/dresser off of Craig's List as well. That website is a gold mine! It had quite a few marks on it so DH sanded it down and re-stained it. New hardware completed the look. The crib is new but we got a floor model and a really good deal. Plus it converts to a toddler bed so we should be able to use it for many years. The other knickknacks I found through HomeGoods.

The next big decision was the paint colors. I was thinking about two different colors but ended up picking two shades of purple. We used Glidden's "Touch of Violet" for the base color and "Elevator" for the contrasting stripes. The base color was flat but the stripes were in semi-glossy to give them a little extra pop. That was DH's idea and worked really well. He also removed the shoe moulding and base board so that he had more room to work with and didn't have to cut in the walls as much. We planned on getting slightly higher baseboard anyway. The shoe moulding was easily removed and reused. Total cost for the baseboard and the chair rail was $140.

DH and I set up a chalk line around the room to represent the chair rail. Once that was set he drew 6 inch lines to represent the stripes and starting painting. One thing we learned from hard experience is that you can't leave painter's tape up very long or when you peel it off it will take paint with it. So DH did a few stripes at a time. As a result it required very few touch ups.

Stripes, in progress

DH also removed the door and the bi-fold closet doors. He sanded them down and painted them. Twice actually since the first time around he used flat paint. Glossy paint is the norm for that type of woodwork. I told him that it looked fine with the flat paint but he was in his perfectionist mode so Saturday morning was repainting time. The chair rail, baseboard and shoe moulding went up easily. Thanks, nail gun! You've paid for yourself!

Then it was time to bring in the furniture. The crib took us about an hour to assemble. It was a lot bigger than I remembered. That made furniture placement a little more challenging. We are still going to bring in a glider and ottoman (thanks Scott and Penny!) and a small table and lamp for next to it. Other than that, the room just requires hanging the pictures and mirrors. We may be replacing the ceiling light/fan as well but it depends on what Lowe's has in stock and on sale.

The finished (almost!) product

So, let's hear it. What do folks thing about our little girl nursery? DH thinks that she will be sick of purple but I think it works well. Of course, purple is one of my favorite colors so I could be biased.

Here is a link to all before and after photos. You need a Snapfish account to view.