Polka Dotty

So here it is, my vision for our room for two. And it's dotty.

Since we're not sure if Baby 2 is a boy or girl, I'll be de-girlifying the room initially to make way for some gender neutrality. We'll keep the same pale blue for the walls (Benjamin Moore Sea Foam, a colour I just love), bring back our white Bloom Alma Mini crib for the baby and maintain lots of the pieces we already have. 

The biggest project is going to be making the back wall the focal point of the room, using polka dot decals to create what looks like wallpaper. We'll move things around to give Eloise and baby a bit of their own 'space' and I'll build Eloise a reading nook on the opposite wall using lots of pillows (darling pillow; fox pillow)and the mosquito net currently hanging above her bed. An inexpensive polka dot rug from IKEA and a rolling utility cart in turquoise will give the room some pop and I'll try (I really will) not to overdo the polka dot thing with linens. Those Kate Spade pom poms though might be a must. 

The vibe for the space will be "fresh new baby, fresh new room", and I think crisp black & white with pale blue is just perfect. We can always add more colour in later but right now I'm ready for a change and more than anything, I want to scale back on visual clutter. It doesn't help that toddlers and children are basically hoarders but this is where under-bed storage comes in.

Presenting the Nook!

Before this whole flood nonsense, our intention was to live in our one bedroom apartment with Eloise for at least a year. We dreamt up the Nook as a way to give our baby her own space and spent countless hours getting every detail just right before she arrived.

The first step was converting our closet. We removed the closet doors, organizer and hanging rod and painted the trim Benjamin Moore's 'Designer's White' (my fav!). We primed the rear wall with sizing for wallpaper and painted the rest of the walls in the same colour as our bedroom - a crisp, ice blue called 'Seafoam' from Benjamin Moore. The wallpaper was installed by Chris and my mom in an evening and totally transformed the space.

A very different BEFORE and AFTER!

Eloise's crib, the Alma Urban Crib by Bloom, was a gift from Grandma and Grandpa and fits in the Nook perfectly. For storage we used an Ikea Lack shelving unit (which is now discontinued) filled with baskets made from recycled magazines and mini-compression rods that fit between the wall and the shelf for hanging clothing. The lamp in the Nook is something I'm pleased to say I made mostly myself. I purchased (on sale, thank you very much) a pack of Martha Stewart Crafts' white eyelet paper lanterns and outfitted the largest lantern with an Ikea cord set to create a pendant light. Chris hung the light from the ceiling and a few days later, mere hours before Eloise was born actually, I finished affixing the cord to the wall with cable clips. Phew! The Nook was finished just in time.

We are so pleased that our creative efforts paid off and can't wait to get back into our apartment so Eloise can enjoy her nook for at least a few more weeks before the big move. Then it's onto the new house and this time, baby girl gets an entire room!

The Coolest Crib

I came upon the Alma Crib by Bloom many months ago and have been smitten ever since. Not only is this crib totally adorable, it also happens to be the perfect size for our Nook at just 19.5" x 37.25".

Bloom's Alma Crib

The Alma folds up for easy transportation (sleepovers at Grandma's!) and is on casters so we can move it all around the apartment. But wait, there's more: Bloom also has a universal change table that fits on top of the Alma crib, eliminating our need for another piece of furniture. Truly the perfect fit for us!

Bloom's Universal Change Table