Owen's Nursery.

When we found out that we were expecting Owen, one of the first things that I worried about was where would put him. Our home is a ranch style with a main level and a basement. When our home was built in 1959(!) there were three bedrooms upstairs, but sometime along the way the previous owners knocked out a wall and filled in a doorway to eliminate the tiny third bedroom and make the living room quite a bit larger. That means that our house had two bedrooms upstairs and one bedroom downstairs (two, if we got rid of Ben's golf room... I know, a golf room? That's another story for another day.) 

I knew that I didn't want to put the baby or Dylan in the basement bedroom. Partly because that just seems so far away- I want my babies close, and partly because I didn't want to lose the downstairs bedroom as a guest room, as we frequently have guests and I like having a place where they can stay. Baby and Dylan sharing a bedroom wasn't an option- the bedrooms are tiny and Dylan's bedroom furniture is just too big  to accommodate nursery furniture as well. 

So what option does that leave? 

Yep, put back the third bedroom upstairs! And put back we did. We knew that this was not a project that we could do completely on our own, so we hired a contractor and electrician for the more difficult tasks of creating a doorway, putting up framing and drywall, and wiring the room for outlets and an overhead light. The contractor also put up molding for us, although we (ahem, I) put in some time with covering nail holes, sanding, caulking, and painting.

Here are a few progress pictures: 

{The before view of the living room}

The area to the right of the front door (far right in this picture) became the baby's room. This really works, because I always felt that the space was not really used, other than to be Dylan's play area. 

{We shoved all the stuff into the other side of the room. It made for some close quarters for a few days before we cleared some space in the basement for the brown sectional.}

{The new wall! Even though our living room was about 40% smaller, it really didn't feel cramped at all. Everyone that has been over has commented that the new living room looks like the room is a perfect size.}

{True story, this is Owen's room 16 days before he was born. Poor second child- I think I had Dylan's nursery finished when I was like 6 months pregnant. I definitely left the finishing of the nursery to the last minute.}

Owen's room was definitely not large, but it had enough room for what we needed- crib, changing table, glider, and ottoman. 

Not to fear, Owen's room was finished about 2 seconds before my due date. Seriously, my mom came to town 4 days before I had Owen and we went to work! Here are a few shots of Owen's sweet, little nursery. 

All of the furniture was from Dylan's nursery. I wanted Owen to have a nursery that was all his own, which meant different bedding and decor. The only thing I really had to work around was the green glider and ottoman. I love this nursery, because it isn't at all cutesy or themey. I also love that Owen's nursery doesn't have the most traditional color scheme- black, white, gray, and green. 

Most of the things in the nursery are from Ikea, Hobby Lobby, and Target. I also re-purposed picture frames that I had elsewhere, and I did a little DIYing with the chevron canvas. My wonderful mother made Owen's bedding and window treatment. 

I'm incredibly happy with how the nursery turned out, and I think that Owen loves it too :)