Finally....Isla's Nursery

I figured since Isla will be six months old next week, it was time for me to post pics of her nursery. It's not perfect, and certainly not perfectly styled, but, who am I kidding? More than likely, it will never be. For now, it's a pretty and pleasant space for our baby girl.

Almost everything is on its second tour of duty, although a couple pieces have been freshened up with new paint or upholstery.

I'm so glad we kept the map of Paris artwork in this room, rather than move it with Avery's bed - it works soooo much better!

There's just some things I have to live with - like hideous air-conditioning units - but the floors sure are nice.

Reupholstering the glider in the gray ikat, and adding the yellow pouf in lieu of the standard ottoman certainly helped the scene.

My changing table is a repurposed, small buffet. In Avery's nursery, it was white. For this time 'round, it got a gray paint/brass hardware facelift.

I may tire of the wall color at some point, but right now, I'm so in love with it! In the morning, it's fresh and crisp, but as night falls, it takes on a jewel-box quality. (Don't be hatin' on my sad lampshade - it's on the to-do list)

I just finished up the "art installation" above the crib the other day. Remember that I'd been inspired by de Gournay wallpaper, so I wanted to reference Chinoiserie, as well as giving something interesting for Isla to see. Not sure I have a calling as an artist, but you get the idea. Do you think the canvas should be a different color? Ben says deep blue might look better...

Did'ya notice anything else??

Tee Hee... that's right, the munchkin all this fuss is about! Little bit worth it! ;)

I'm Lovin' It: Nursery Glider B&A

We picked up the nursery glider from the upholsterer's yesterday. It has already brought me a good dose of happiness. BUH-bye blah brown.

Two (design) roads diverged...

I have a habit of changing moods midstream. In college, I changed majors (majorly) two years in. In my working life, I went from medical sales rep making good dough to broke law school student. It's no surprise, then, that I often get halfway through the decision process of a project, and take a left turn, so to speak.
That happened with Isla's nursery. I was going down the path of gray this, gray that - soft, neutral, yada yada when one afternoon recently it just hit me: jade green. With touches of gold, and fuschia and clever art. Heavily inspired by de Gournay wallpaper goodness. Knowing wallpaper, especially something that exquisite, isn't part of my limited budget, I've decided to do my own riff off the look.
I was inspired by images like these:

kelly at home

enlighten me as to source

desire to inspire


massuco, warner, miller

So, here's where I'm at....At least for today

How can I do this face wrong?

Details Geek Needs Help!

Two things going on at Casa Giese: Isla's nursery and the "office/playroom"

First: I had a burst of get-it-done energy last weekend, and tackled Avery's old changing table with a new coat of paint. It's a small, vintage sideboard we picked up in Virginia for $25 before Avery was born. It serves perfectly as a changing table. I was ready to see the shabby look go, though, so it got a coat of gray paint.

Before: Sanded-down white with glass knob hardware

Partial After: Light-ish gray

I intend to change the hardware, but have hit a stumbling block - and this is where I need your help....

If I go with ring pulls, similar to these on the drawer:

What do I use for the cabinet doors, where the the same ring pulls won't fit?
Egg knobs in the same finish?

Round knobs?

What about a sleeker, cleaner, but also shinier situation? (Dare I go polished brass???)

Need your thoughts!

Also, I was thinking of keeping the "canvas" of the room very neutral in all grays - gray walls, gray changing table, and a gray and cream ikat on the glider (waiting to be reupholstered) and then letting colorful art take center stage, but it that TOO much gray?

Should I repaint the changing table black, or at least a very deep, charcoal gray, to add some more contrast? (Think that polished brass hardware = yum!) Yes, I'm noting the difference in hues between the fabric and paint...yet another dilemma...

I think in my haste, I'm not really thinking the design through, and need some guidance - so dear gurus of style.... Lead me!

*I'll let you chew on this for a day or so, then I'll follow up on the office/playroom situation soon!

Bummers...and Silver Linings

Yesterday, a few fabric samples arrived in the mail - one of them being an ikat I hoped to use on the skirted glider in our nursery (oh yeah, remember THAT project?)
The online image made it look just right...

...But, when the swatch arrived, this is what it looked like in person

Ugh. Can you see the sheen it has? Much less true ikat, much MORE granny than I had in mind. Don't you hate it when that happens? Bummer.

How-EVAH, I was catching up on blogs last night, and lo and behold, saw that Jenny is offering to pick up and ship some of this fantastic (and all-too-perfect-for-my-chair) gray and cream ikat. Laaaaa!

Truly, a Silver Lining.

In other news...Please give Jessica over at Lavender and Lilies some love today - she has kindly selected me to participate in her Featured Bloggers series.

And LASTLY...I'm debating whether or not to head to the Warrenton Antiques Festival tomorrow. I try not to miss the twice-yearly offering of all things vintage, eclectic and cool - it's one of my favorite treks. I'm especially driven to go in order to scout some pieces for a room redo, but I'm sitting at 36 weeks prego, dilated to 3+ cm, and having quite a few (what I hope are) merely Braxton-Hicks contractions.
Dare I traipse around open fields for hours on end? My gut says, GO! (And, OB on Tuesday said I'm probably OK) But there is a part of me that wonders if I'll:
a) Be mistaken for one of the grazing cattle
b) Have the sort of fortune that'll cause my water to break with nothing more than a Volunteer Fire Dept. retiree within 30 miles.
What would YOU do? ;)

Executive Decisions

You might be wondering where I am on the workings for the nursery... I hate to admit it, but I decided not to do anything until we return with the new baby. I know, kinda disappointing BUT, I'm hoping that by just taking my time looking at fabrics, art, etc the room will be more of what I envision, rather than a room I threw together in a fast, furious few weeks.

Here's a basic mood board of where I'm at right now, but, I reserve the right to continue to be indecisive - so the finished room may end up looking nothing like this. Guess we'll ALL have to wait and see!

Giese Baby #2 Nursery by atexski on Polyvore.com

Secondly, a few of you have asked if I've heard from the midwife group in Houston with a "verdict" on whether or not they'd take me as a patient. I have, and they will. Great news. However, after A LOT of inquiries to multiple practitioners, I've decided to let Nature and The Man Upstairs handle this - I'll stay in my hometown for the delivery of Baby #2.
I've had a lot of reassurance as to the type of care I can expect, and I'll have a slew of support - not to mention having an aunt who is a head RN in Labor & Delivery at the hospital. Taking every logistical, health, and sanity issue into account, I feel this is the best way to go this time round. Yes, I'll miss my first midwife horribly, but all will be fine, I trust. Thank you all for the sweet and supportive comments you left me regarding this decision - it has not been easy.

Lastly, I'm super-excited to have a potential design project to work on when I get to Texas! It's a clean slate so-to-speak, and looks to be challenging but fun. Here's a few of the idea pics the "client" is liking...

all images via cote de texas

Can't wait to keep you posted!

It'd be a Cold Day...

...In Brazil before I'd be able to use this WSH fabric on the glider in the nursery (let's just say it's a wee bit cost-prohibitive) - but it IS fabulous, and a girl can dream, right? This is the effect I'd get...

Nice, huh?

Oh, need your input on another chair option. Because the glider was not a high-quality piece of furniture, the padding is not adequate. I always put a bed pillow behind me when I nursed Avery. I've asked the upholsterer to include additional padding in the estimate, and I've even considered having it tufted...

What's your thoughts on tufting with a patterned fabric? Would it distort any sort of striped/chevron/ fabric too much? If I consider tufting, am I limited to more of a floral or abstract pattern? Anyone have any experience with this?

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??