nursery | myMCMlife.com

Hair Accessory Hanger for Nursery

05/30/2016

I saw this idea on Pinterest a while ago and thought it looked pretty simple. Like most Pinterest projects, it took a lot more effort than I expected. I’m happy with the outcome though.

Steps: I bought a frame from Goodwill for about $1 and threw away the glass. I sanded it a bit to take off the coating over the wood stain, and then painted it with three coats of craft paint. I cut some strips of ribbon and hot-glued them inside the back of the frame where the glass had been sitting. I pre-drilled all the holes for the tiny cup hooks along the bottom and hammered a sawtooth picture hanger onto the back.

Full tour of our Double Nursery for Almost Irish Twins.

1 Comment | Art, Art: crafts, Art: new home nursery, Family, Family: Nutter Butter/JoJo | Tagged: baby hair accessories, crafts, headbands, nursery, organization, pinterest | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Double Nursery for Almost Irish Twins

04/20/2016

Isaiah and Josephine will be almost irish twins—more than a year apart but only by 2-3 months. Since they’ll both be using the changing station and be rocked in the rocking chair, it made the most sense to put them in the same room for this stage. (Though JoJo will sleep in a Moses basket in our room for the first few weeks or months while she’s feeding frequently through the night.) The other reason I opted for the double nursery was space; two cribs and two dressers fit more easily into this room than adding a crib and dresser into big sister Alianna’s already-quite-full bedroom. Much to her dismay because she desperately wants to share her room with her sister. That day will come, Ali, I promise.

Zay is now in the full size blue crib, the same one Ali used for her first two years. It’s from IKEA, called Somnat. The little green bookshelf was a thrift store makeover I did a couple years ago. The French Paper monkey poster was a gift from a friend. I made Isaiah’s name sign while I was pregnant with him last year. The album cover is from my favorite band Needtobreathe’s recent Steams in the Wasteland, based on a passage of scripture from Isaiah that I love. The canvas was a gift from my friend Steph and says, “Take a deep breath, you’re home now.” I see it every day while I’m rocking and feeding Zay and it reminds me to pause and be thankful.

The green fleece (cut up strips from a blanket) are to protect the crib rails from my little beaver who likes to teeth on wood. I saw the cheap, no-sew idea on Pinterest.

The black acoustic guitar is mine from high school. The tall dresser currently has Jo’s clothes in it but I’m going to swap them right before or after she’s born so her clothes are easier to access during diaper changes. Isaiah is big and wiggly enough that it’s easier to dress him on the floor most of the time. The walrus painting was a gift from my sister-in-law for Zay. The bike riding deer poster is from IKEA. The rocking chair is from Amazon. The rugs are both from IKEA. Green black-out curtains from Target.

Josephine will get the portable mini crib to start out. I use the storage boxes from IKEA under each crib to store sheets and blankets. I made the name sign for Josephine. I bought the rubies print from Etsy and painted the frame from a thrift store. I took the glass out so it wouldn’t be heavy or easily breakable since it’s right above the crib.

The walls are Sherwin Williams Ellie Gray, same as our first nursery at our last house. I use a sound machine and a CD player with Jason’s Acoustic Lullabies album to muffle the household noises and help Isaiah sleep. I’m hoping it will help to cover the sounds of two babies in the same room and keep them from waking each other up very often, too.

Nesting is in full swing over here, thanks to Spring cleaning and 2nd trimester energy. I know it’s going to get harder to get around and be motivated to do home projects in the next 2-3 months so I’m doing all that I can do now. Twelve more weeks to go!

1 Comment | Art, Art: interior design, Art: kids room, Family, Family: Froggie/Isaiah, Family: Nutter Butter/JoJo | Tagged: bedroom, double nursery, kids room, nursery, shared room, zay and jo | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Finishing Touches to Baby Boy’s Nursery

02/23/2015

I love to sneak off into the nursery and make little adjustments and finishing touches, preparing all the details, waiting with excitement, nesting.

I added a couple pillows and a quilt to my favorite Baxton Studios rocking chair so it’s comfy for rocking, snuggling and feeding my little guy.

Late one night I quietly assembled this bouncer seat. It’s one of the few bigger items I requested. We’ve borrowed random bouncy seats for the past 4 babies so I know we’ll get a lot of use out of one of our own—a cute one—the Fisher-Price Deluxe Bouncer, My Little Snugabunny. This was a gift from my mom.

The bookshelf is stocked with books that Ali has outgrown, new and hand-me-down baby toys, a CD player loaded with Jason’s Acoustic Lullabies, the precious little lamb my mother-in-law crocheted for our son and a soft light for late night diaper changing.

Speaking of diaper changing, that station is all set up and ready to go, too, with wipes, diapers, hand sanitizer, Butt Paste and a changing pad on top of the dresser. The lower shelves of the supply cart have burp cloths, bibs and receiving blankets.

Another item that we’ve borrowed for the past couple of babies is a Moses basket. My sister gifted us with one at my baby shower and I am looking forward to using it with our son. When a friend first lent us hers for baby Firefly last summer I thought it seemed unnecessary but it turned out to be a new favorite baby item. It’s pretty, light and easy to move from room to room when the baby is tiny. This one I chose didn’t have a very nice liner or cushion so I padded the bottom with blankets and used one of our mini crib sheets. It works great because it’s jersey so it’s super soft and stretchy.

There’s a little collection of lovies in the corner of the crib. The monkey is a Cloud B soothing sound machine that we inherited from my nephew Jack.

Above the crib I added some of the decorations that my sister-in-law Ginger made for my baby shower. I wrote about the record album in this post. The “Take a Deep Breath You’re Home Now” canvas is from Hobby Lobby and was a gift from my friend Steph.

OK, I’m ready now! Baby just needs to finish growing so he can come out and hang out in his new room.

1 Comment | Art, Art: interior design, Art: modern design, Art: new home nursery, Family, Family: Froggie/Isaiah | Tagged: baby room, expecting, nesting, nursery, pregnant, preparing for baby | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Home Tour: Guest Room

11/13/2014

In a matter of five minutes our Next Kid’s Room can be converted into a guest room by removing the portable crib, crib storage box, changing pad and diaper changing supply cart.

This little night stand was bought at a yard sale and made over when I was putting together our first kids’ room back in 2011. I like this clock in here because it has a sleep timer with ocean sounds, rain or radio.

I debated about leaving the rocking chair, but it could be moved out easily as well. (It’s currently only $78.25 on Amazon!)

The black acoustic guitar was a gift from my parents on my 16th birthday. My professional guitarist husband thinks it’s trash but I say it’s sentimental. If any of our guests get inspired to bang out some tunes on a cheap old guitar with rusty strings, they can feel free. Otherwise, it’s art.

This mid-century modern dresser was a vintage store score from our first kids’ room as well. I love it because it’s changing table height (which is why I moved it into this room) but also because it’s beautiful, sturdy, solid wood and in great condition. I picked up the bookshelf from a thrift store and gave it a new life with paint to match the nightstand and a stained plywood back.

RELATED POSTS:

Home Tour: Next Kid’s (or Kids’) Room (this room with the baby elements added back in)

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: Bedoom for Foster Kids, Art: kids room | Tagged: baby, baby room, foster care, foster parenting, interior design, kids, nursery, room planning | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Home Tour: Next Kid’s (or Kids’) Room

11/04/2014

This room makeover is finally complete and ready for our next inhabitants—our next foster placement, baby Froggie due in April or overnight guests. The room includes the rocker I bought when baby Alianna arrived. We replaced the shower curtain we’ve been using in our foster kids’ room for the past 3 years with these textured green light-blocking curtains from Target.

I stuck to my floor plan pretty closely but I decided that a footstool took up unnecessary space.

The double bed is low and close enough to be used in place of a footstool.

A second rug gives a fair amount of soft play space on the floor. The poster is by French Paper Co. and was a gift from my art school bestie, Renata, for our first kids room.

I’m still a very big fan of this crib, which I nominated as The Ideal Crib for Foster Parents last year. It’s smaller than a typical crib and can easily be folded down to move into another room or store flat to about a 6″ depth. The poster and storage toy box are from IKEA.

That blank spot above the dresser/changing table is begging for some artwork. Both rugs in this room are from IKEA. The vintage metal cart between the bookshelf and dresser holds diaper changing supplies, burp cloths, bibs and receiving blankets. It’s easy to move around as needed and is still stocked from Pumpkin.

The bulletin board above the bookshelf is a collage of family photos, separated by “Who Lives Here” on the left side and photos of our former foster children on the right side. I have temporarily hanging here the first and so far only gift I have bought for our belly baby “Froggie.” It’s such a simple phrase to put on a bib but for foster and adoptive parents it’s always loaded… because we are not the only mom and dad in those cases. With baby Froggie, for the first time, we’re the only Mom and Dad. Our baby can wear this bib without anyone getting offended, feeling left out or jealous, and without raising any questions (unless we’re questioning his or her feelings about Jason and me, I suppose!).

I’ll come back soon with a second part of this room tour when the room is converted into a guest room. I don’t think I mentioned in previous posts that this room is approximately 10′ x 12′. It can accommodate three people with a double bed and crib, night stand, dresser, bookshelf, rocking chair and standard size closet.

RELATED POSTS:

A Room for Baby… or Whoever Arrives Next (my current mood board and floor plan for this room)

A Room for Baby… or Whoever Arrives Next – Part 2 (progress photos)

Room to Grow: Making a Bedroom for Foster Kids (this room a year and a half ago before it was occupied by Buzz and then later Bee, Firefly and Pumpkin.)

Preparing a Bedroom for Foster Kids: Furniture & Decor (planning our first bedroom for foster children at our last house)

Preparing for Foster Kids: Bedroom Tour (photos of the above mentioned room that ended up generating a lot of interest on Apartment Therapy)

A Room for Baby… or Whoever Arrives Next – Part 2

09/24/2014

Yesterday I moved some furniture around to start pulling this room together. The baby side is pretty much set. I am going to sell the green dresser and move Ali’s vintage mid-century modern dresser in here just as soon as we get a bigger dresser for her room. I don’t plan to have all of that stuff in/under the crib. I would like to replace the curtain above with a light blocking one. This works OK but it’s actually a shower curtain and I’d like to get something simpler. Other than that, this area is mostly done.

Here’s the shameful side of the room. The blue crib needs a new home but I’m too emotionally attached to it right now. I need to figure out where to hide it before Jason gets home. This bed will move into Ali’s room and we’ll put a double bed and a night stand in it’s place. I taped the floor to show where the double bed will sit. It’s going to be tight but I think it’ll work. I’m also planning on adding another rug at the side of the double bed. When we have guests we can move the crib, changing pad and changing supply cart out in less than 5 minutes. Once I sat in the rocker I realized adding a footstool would be too crowded and not necessary since I can put my feet up on the end of the bed if I want to recline.

RELATED POSTS:

A Room for Baby… or Whoever Arrives Next (my current mood board and floor plan for this room)

Room to Grow: Making a Bedroom for Foster Kids (this room a year and a half ago before it was occupied by Buzz and then later Bee and Firefly.)

Preparing a Bedroom for Foster Kids: Furniture & Decor (planning our first bedroom for foster children at our last house)

Preparing for Foster Kids: Bedroom Tour (photos of the above mentioned room that ended up generating a lot of interest on Apartment Therapy)

5 Comments | Art, Art: kids room, Art: Bedoom for Foster Kids | Tagged: interior design, kids, baby, foster parenting, foster care, nursery, room planning, baby room | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

A Room for Baby… or Whoever Arrives Next

09/23/2014

I call it “the next kid’s room” when it’s not in use. It’s our foster kid’s bedroom and it will most likely be our baby’s room. Much like our next kid, it is in a state of flux. Meaning: I’m not sure if our next kid will be the one I’m carrying or if we’ll get a call for another foster placement before then. I suspect we will get a placement soon since the longest we’ve ever waited between placements was 4.5 months. (We’re just shy of 3 months now.) We have a twin bed in here that I want to move into Ali’s room, a dresser I want to replace, and a crib we don’t need anymore. I plan to move a couple pieces of furniture (dresser and night stand) in from Ali’s room when I move the twin bed frame into her room. I want to replace the current curtain with a light blocking one. Jason and I decided that we’re going to put a double bed in the next kid’s room so that it can be a more suitable guest room option. All of these changes are so fun for my planning addiction and my interior design hobby. I’ve pinned everything I plan to purchase to the Nursery board on my Pinterest. I put together a mood board last week to help visualize all the pieces are parts coming together.

I’ve also been planning where to put the furniture to make it all fit. I have a plan that I’m pretty excited about.

Now to plan our next IKEA shopping trip…

RELATED POSTS:

Room to Grow: Making a Bedroom for Foster Kids (this room a year and a half ago before it was occupied by Buzz and then later Bee and Firefly.)

Preparing a Bedroom for Foster Kids: Furniture & Decor (planning our first bedroom for foster children at our last house)

Preparing for Foster Kids: Bedroom Tour (photos of the above mentioned room that ended up generating a lot of interest on Apartment Therapy)

3 Comments | Art, Art: Bedoom for Foster Kids, Art: kids room | Tagged: interior design, kids, baby, foster parenting, foster care, nursery, room planning, baby room | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

New Home Tour: Nursery (Alianna’s Room)

03/05/2013

This is the only room of the house that I couldn’t photograph during Ali’s nap so she’s demonstrating how she uses her room. She loves her pushing buttons on her CD player and yanking the pillow and blankets (for Mama’s comfort) off of her rocking chair so she can climb up in it to look at her books.

Here’s a floor plan in case anyone likes them as much as me. Her room is about 10×11 ft not including the doorway.

About this room.

I fell in love with colored cribs when I was planning a nursery the first time around. This one (SOMNAT) is from IKEA a couple years ago, no longer available.

The pink blanket in her crib was made for her by her Great Aunt Janice. The white Care Bears blanket was her first baby blanket from her birth mom. The stuffed brown spaniel was bought by us for our first baby, before we knew she existed. The white bear was a gift from the magistrate who granted us custody of Ali. The aardvark was a gift from good friends and her birthday buddy Jonas has the same one.

The hand painted name banner above the crib was an adoption gift from a high school youth group friend of ours.

The flower on the wall and the “A” pillow on the rocking chair were adoption gifts from a co-worker. She made the pillow. The green quilt on the rocking chair was made for Ali by her Great Aunt Linda.

The crocheted toy and the two cross-stitch pieces framed on the wall were made by Nana (Jason’s mom). The butterfly wood puzzle above the frame and the owl wall hooks that hold her backpack were gifts from Aunt Jess (my sister) and Uncle Jeff. The monkey poster was a gift from the same friend who gave Ali the aardvark. The heart banner I made for Valentine’s Day and then moved in here because that big white wall was driving me nuts.

The Eames replica rocking chair was from here. (I love it!)

The dresser, night stand (painted by me) and yellow lamp are vintage. It took me months to find a changing table height dresser that was narrow enough to fit in the kids room at our last house. I’d be happy to have a longer one here now.

The curtains are IKEA and were discontinued. I based the whole color palette of her room on them before purchasing so thank God for eBay! They tie together the blue crib and rugs, pink wall and yellow lamp. The book ledges (RIBBA), rugs (TOFTBO) and toy boxes are also from IKEA.

…

FYI, our architect is Ryan Thewes.

New Home Tour: Kitchen

New Home Tour: Living Room

New Home Tour: Dining Room

New Home Tour: Den/Playroom

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: house tour, Art: interior design, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design, Art: new home nursery | Tagged: ali's room, alianna, baby, home tour, house tour, kids room, nursery, precious | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Art for Ali’s room

01/07/2013

I don’t feel like I’m ready to do a “real” photo tour of any rooms in our new house until we have art hung. Is that weird? Ali’s room is the closest to finished. I hung a few more pictures the other day. We still need to get a curtain rod… then I’ll take better photos with my camera! Hahaha… for now, this is how it’s looking with phone photos:

She loves to look at herself in that full length mirror. She got the owl coat hooks as a housewarming gift from Aunt Jessica and the owl backpack for Christmas from Nana. The alphabet poster below is from Petite Collage. I won it from Design Mom years ago.

Ali loves monkeys and immediately said, “Ooh ooh ooh!” when she saw this French Paper poster that was a gift from my friend Renata. The needlepoint art was an adoption day gift from Nana. The polka dot blanket on her rocker is a gift from Ali’s great-aunt Janice.

The flower (below) and the A pillow (above) were adoption day gifts from my co-worker Dawne. The hand-painted burlap name banner is a gift from my high school youth group friend Emily. And you can’t really see it, but the quilt that she sleeps with in her crib was a gift from her great-aunt Linda. Wow! That’s a lot of thoughtful gifts!