House of Hydrangeas

My long weekend in Charleston was an absolute blast and only the start to my crazy travel schedule in May.  I got back home Monday afternoon and Jon and I will be leaving again tomorrow to attend a wedding in Atlanta this weekend.  This is the first of three weddings I'll be attending this month and the only one I won't be decorating.  It's going to be a crazy (and beautiful) ride! Because of my busy schedule, I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update the blog, but I'll try to give you guys some peeks into the craziness as much as I can. Today I want to share with you another update from the nursery in Dallas I've been working on.  When searching for a rug, I knew I wanted something simple, yet visually interesting.  After a little hunt, the winner became the  Dhurrie Diamond Soho Rug  in taupe and ivory.  The pattern is perfect and the natural tones work wonderfully with the color palette in the room.  Below is the photo of the ...

I received some more photos from my clients last week showing the arrival of some more of the nursery furniture and a few accessories.  So now it's time to show the updates to you guys. The original room design had a bookcase in a vintage buttercream finish, but unfortunately when the clients went to order it, they found out it was on backorder until August, a month after the baby's due date--not going to work. If there's one thing I can tell about the design process (whether it be rooms, weddings, etc.) it's that no matter how well you plan, something is bound to go wrong.  There are so many variables that go into a design that one of them is bound to not work out. And that's okay.  There's always another solution, sometimes even better than the first.  In this case, the finish was switched from the vintage buttercream to an antiqued charcoal brown, and it worked out perfectly. Here's a closer view. The dresser/changing table was already selec...

We finally finished the portable crib that Cohen will be sleeping in when he comes to visit at my mom's. The bed has a lot of sentimental value because Cohen will be the third generation to sleep in it. My mom, my sister and I all slept in it when we were babies, and soon it will be Cohen's turn. As you can imagine, with time comes wear.  So it needed a little updating. We completely took it apart, sanded it down, re-stained it and then repainted it (the wooden balls). The decorative balls were originally pink, canary yellow and robin's egg blue, but we decided a nice coat of white (non-toxic, of course) would look better and be more appropriate for a little boy. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a before picture, so you'll have to use your imagination. But here's the finished product. We added to the update by getting some new bedding.  My mom made the trimmed blanket to match the white Minky Dot bumper set we purchased, and the monogrammed pillow is from ...

After spending the weekend at my sister's, we have the nursery almost done!  With the exception of the glider (which will be in the right corner by the lamp) and a rug, everything is in place.  Welcome to Cohen's room... Okay, Cohen.  Now all we need is you :) Source List: Bedding- Harper by Pottery Barn Kids Dresser- Hemnes by Ikea Rugby Stripe Storage Bins- The Container Store Changing Pad Cover- American Baby Company Navy Cable Knit Blanket- Nautica at Buy Buy Baby Rocking Chair-family antique Tiger Stuffed Animal- Nojo at Buy Buy Baby Giraffe Head- Anthropologie White shelves- Lowes Floor Lamp- JCPenney Lamp Shade- Target Curtains- Overstock Animal Prints- JennaSueDesign on Etsy

In honor of Baby Smith's big gender reveal tomorrow, I thought I'd share some of my favorite nursery designs with you.  I can't wait to help put together he/she's nursery!  And as far as inspiration goes, I have a ton of it!  One tip for designing nurseries, is to pick furniture that will grow with the child (aside from the crib of course).  Accessories can easily, and often inexpensively, be changed out over the years, but furniture is a big investment.  Remember your child will only be a baby for a little while, so think of designs that will carry them through the years. Images via Chic & Cheap Nursery , With Two Cats , Belclaire House , D Magazine , DecorPad , DecorPad , Belclaire House , YoungHouseLove , Life & Style Magazine, Aubrey + Lindsay's Blog And here are a few more that I stashed away prior to my Pinterest days so I don't have the sources for them.