Thursday, January 14, 2010

Do Hormones make you Indecisive?

You all have been so eager to hear my plans for Baby Girl #2's nursery, I feel like admitting my lack of a coherent design will be a great disappointment...
Truth be told, my brain has been inundated with the logistical high-wire act that is involved in a Government Overseas MedEvac (what they call my transfer to the U.S. to have this kiddo).
I'm also wavering on my choice of OB/GYN for delivery. Avery was delivered by a Certified Nurse Midwife (in a hospital in NC), and it was perfect. I'm not convinced the MD I selected in Texas is willing to participate in recreating a similar birth scenario, so I'm currently weighing all my options to achieve that goal...
Oh, and Ben and I can't agree on a name for Giese Girl - what I love, he hates, what he wants, I'm lukewarm on (ugh!)

Needless to say, The Nursery has not been as much at the forefront of my thoughts as it might normally be. However, I head back to The States in less than two months, so I need to make some decisions - That's where I hope you'll come in!

For those of you who haven't seen it - this was Avery's nursery.
It was soft and sweet - but not syrupy so.

My tastes have changed, and I initially thought I would sell all the pink bedding, etc and go for something a bit more bold. However, the reality is: the bedding is in perfect condition, it's Italian-made - so wasn't cheap, and practicality (and time) dictate I keep it. Bummer, I know.
I haven't had the opportunity to get my gray on, so thought this might be a good way to do it.
I'll paint the nursery walls a pearly-gray - something along the lines of that middle swatch.

And where I'll save in NOT buying a new crib set, I can spend towards reupholstering this (admittedly hideous) glider, and hopefully a set of curtains.
This is where I hope to get my pattern fix - but which way should I go???

Stick with an overall soothing palette - maybe an ikat or chinoiserie toile - using more texture than color to achieve interest?

...Or, go all out - letting bold color be a foil to the soft pink bedding - maybe the stripe on the chair, the big floral for curtain panels???
Rest assured, I'll figure out some way to make the room less BORING (at least I hope so!) but in the meantime, I need some color guidance ASAP! Can ya help a Mommy out??

21 comments:

Jessica @ Lavender and Lilies said...

I don't think you can go wrong with gray and pink. the bedding is beautiful. You can add a burst of color in the curtains, maybe a pillow or a piece of furniture painted a bright color.

Southern Exposure said...

My daughter's nursery has gray walls similar to the color you are looking at and pink and white bedding. I also upholstered a chair in her room with a bold, pink pattern. It is the only bold thing in the room but it goes nicely with everything else. Another great thing about the gray walls is they don't scream "baby". She will be ready for her big girl room soon and I think I am going to keep the gray walls and just change the accent colors. Good luck with the planning!

Jill GG said...

I def think hormones make ME indecisive... so I know the feeling! Plus, girl, you have a lot on your plate with traveling to have the baby, etc.

I love the grey and pink idea, the first grey fabric is my favorite, you could do some pops of color with wall decor and a throw pillow.

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

Hormones make you indecisive? YES...well no. Wait YES.

The nursery will be a fun foil for ya. Love Nursery nesting! See that gray IKAT...I saw that in linen shumaker...4 bucks a yard (where I found some GORGEOUS velvet ikat for the same price). But seems it was in a more brown than grey colorway.

And the name...it'll come.Trust.

I love the idea of the chair (or maybe just a pillow or throw) in the brights!

Melanie said...

I like the second one and I love gray. I would keep the bedding too.

Taylor said...

I like the idea of gray paint DEFINITELY...I've been looking at fabrics all week, here are a couple fun aqua prints I saw..they might work well with the pink gingham/ gray to add a bright punch... and I love the gray ikat you found too!

http://www.calicocorners.com/product/designer+fabrics+for+the+home/shop+fabrics+by+color/pink/sugar+baby+splash.do

http://www.calicocorners.com/product/designer+fabrics+for+the+home/shop+fabrics+by+color/aqua+and+teal+fabric/lock+splash.do

Tricia said...

You know I'm not big on bright colors so I'm leaning more towards the muted ikat and soft toile gray fabrics, love them both! Great idea with gray mixed with the pink and that middle gray color would be perfect on the walls.

Sarah Ring said...

Grey and pale pink were my wedding colors, so I am sold! Can't wait to see and loving the gray ikat pattern!!

melifaif said...

I am loving the gray and pink palette. I love the gray ikat print for the glider. And I think punches of black would be divine. Best of luck momma. Can't wait to see it! Your first nursery is so soft and inviting...in a non-syrup-y way! You crack me up.

Sam said...

Love your blog - my first time commenting though. I love the chinoiserie toile! Classic and soft. Maybe you could do more vibrant curtains and a pillow?

I hear you, I love color - but, I also like good timeless design to.

Best of luck!

Cottage Dreamers said...

I think you've some really good ideas! The grey and pink seemm very classy and I LOVE the bold prints too! Decisions, decisions.

Averill said...

Hmm...and I can't believe I'm saying this...but I like the softer, quieter gray fabrics. I think they'd work perfectly with the pink bedding and gray walls...one thing that might punch them up a bit though would be to do the welt in a pink. I think it'd really give it some oomph!

pve design said...

So good of you to realize that hormones have a way of messin with our decisive selves. I do love the grey, but also love white- with a mix of patterns. I love mixing seasonally. Looking forward to seeing what your hormones decide to do.
pve

Sarah said...

Personally I LOVE the bold flower pattern. I think that it would make lovely curtains.

sara said...

I think the gray would be perfect - it cuts some of the sweetness. I'm like you - if I had to do it all over again, I would have gone with bright and colorful in my little girl's nursery. Instead, I did classic light pink toile. If our second child one day ends up being a little girl, I'll have to use the same bedding as I had it made and it was WAY PRICEY! By the way, I love the last fabric - I used that print for the shower curtain in my daughter's bathroom!

LindsB said...

I'm kinda loving the bold colors of the second set of fabrics. I mean you live in Brazil, so I say go bold! Either way I'm sure you will figure it out and it will look stunning.

Chic Coles said...

I think you are going in a great direction with the gray and I think a fun bright pink would be really fun!

One of my Hobby Blogs said...

WOW I'm def looking forward to seeing this done'n dusted! gorgeous!!! love those florals

cotedetexas said...

I like the first set of fabrics better. if the chair had a gorgeous frame, then a bright fabric would look good on it, but you don't want to draw attention to its shape since its a glider. Go with the softer fabrics, IMHO!!!!

I love the first nursery - that was adorable!!

Haven and Home said...

You know how I feel about gray!

Jan Jessup said...

Gray is the hot new neutral--and I think it will create a very sophisticated, calming nursery environment. Just be sure it's a pearly gray, not too dark, or it will seem depressing! Try sample containers of paint on white poster board, move them around the room and live with for a few days before making a final paint decision.

For what it's worth, although I like the bright fabrics, I think they're not going to go with the pink bedding and will look odd with the gray walls.

Regarding the fabrics for the glider, I suggest also looking at the Calico Corners patterns CHANDA STRIPE in color Multi and BIPIN TICKING in color Multi. Both are on the website (www.calicocorners.com) and are from the Annie Selke Home collection. Although they don't have much gray in the pattern, I think they'll complement the gray walls as the colors in these stripes are slightly muted. Bipin Ticking is pinker than it appears on the Calico website.

For the curtains, you might check out the following Calico fabrics in pinks, shown online:

SUGAR BABY in either Watermelon or Splash colors - $13.99/yd.

BOXWOOD FLORAL in Pink (Ralph Lauren, $79.99 yd.)

ARBOR TOILE in Pink (Ralph Lauren, $76.99 yd.)

Happy decorating! And one last thought, I'm confident that you and your husband will be able to find a name that you both like if you keep looking...

Jan Jessup, Calico Corners