Baby Otto #2 - Nursery Reveal

I'm down to 3 days until my due date and I finally got the nursery mostly ready for baby boy #2.  It was a lot slower this time than with Charles' nursery because I had to first move sweet Charles to his "big boy room."  With him went his rug, animal accessories (art, figurines, hamper, etc).  So contrary to Josh saying we didn't need to "re-do" the nursery - we really didn't do as much as he thinks - just some fresh paint on the walls, dog accessories, art & rug.  I really wanted Charles' stuff to stay with him - especially the giraffe painting my parents did for him.  I'll show you his big boy room soon!

A reminder of Charles' nursery HERE

And a reminder of where I started with my little idea board for nursery #2 HERE

I really stayed pretty true to where I started with my ideas for this room...

Some details...

In keeping with the dog theme (which I may have gone a little overboard with...oops), I also made some round monthly dog themed stickers for the little guy.

Sources:

First of all, the biggest change is obviously the blue and cream stripes.  My buddy Robert Corprew painted them for me and did a fabulous job - it almost looks like wallpaper.

1 Felt Dog Heads Over the Crib - Fiona Walker England - I ordered mine from South in Chapel Hill.

2 Jenny Lind DaVinci Crib (from Charles' nursery) - Amazon (love this and the pricetag, only thing I changed was the casters - see that here)

3 Glider (from Charles' nursery) - Pottery Barn Kids Comfort Swivel Rocker (cream twill with white twill piping)

4 Pouf by Glider (from Charles' nursery) - Serena & Lilly Square Gingham Pouf in Oatmeal no longer have it, but lots of other great options!

5 Rug - I bought a remnant of a Stanton wool rug from Eatman's Carpets & Interiors in Raleigh

6 Changing Table (from Charles' nursery) - Furbish 

7 Throw on Glider - Sarah Louise blanket - I got at Shutterbug's in Raleigh, but found online here.  I may end up getting a different throw for the chair (brighter blue?), but this is fine for now.

8 Elephant Table beside Glider (from Charles' nursery - the only jungle animal that stayed!) - I spray painted an elephant planter I already had, but you could get the Serena & Lily Ellie Side Table for the same look

9 Baskets on changing table - the Serena & Lily belly baskets (holding diapers and other changing needs) were getting a little droopy from so much use with Charles, so I got these sturdier Threshold baskets that have a similar look from Target

10 "Naps fix everything" print (from Charles' nursery) - this was a shower gift from a sweet friend

11 Changing pad and cover (from Charles' nursery) - Serena & Lily nursery basics diaper changing pad aqua & insert

12 Cocker Spaniel dog mobile - my aunt's friend made the 6 cockers for me (Etsy shop here) and I then assembled them into a mobile.  Maybe separate post to come...Josh was definitely making fun of my "arts & crafts project," but it turned out really cute and was so cheap to make!  

13 Mirror (from Charles' nursery) - Wisteria French Gilt Mirror

14 Pendant Light (from Charles' nursery) - RH Baby Spence Pendant - this and the giraffe painting are definitely the two things that people immediately comment on when they've come in to see the nursery.  I liked that it was different without being too frilly and girly.

15 White lamp on changing table (from Charles' nursery)- another favorite item - from Printer's Alley here in Raleigh (gift from my mother-in-law) and have also seen it at Acquisitions in Raleigh.  I can't find the name brand listed on it though, so unable to locate it online.

16 Baby Wardrobe (from Charles' nursery) - family piece that I painted and changed the hardware on - details here

17 Dog prints above wardrobe - found these on Etsy at Deer & Badgers shop (I framed them myself with frames from Jerry's that I painted gold)

18 Ceramic Dogs - most of these are from Jean's basement that I claimed years ago and had around my house

19 Blue & White Hamper - Serena & Lily La Jolla baskets (this is the medium blue)

20 Dog Rocker - Restoration Hardware

21 Crib Sheet & Crib Skirt (both from Charles' nursery) - Serena & Lily sheet no longer available and I made the crib skirt (no sewing) - details here 
22 Dog Bookends - Jack Russell bookends from Biscuit - sold out, but here are the poodles
23 Dog Breeds book - originally I spotted this on Anthropologie, but went to purchase and it was gone, so I ordered from Amazon

I think that covers it!

Will be back with an update once this baby debuts.  Amazing how much less antsy I am this time about his actual arrival date....he can stay in a little longer :)  No old wives tales yet!  I'm trying to enjoy every minute that I'm not working with Charles, Josh and Ollie.

XO,

Whit

"Treehouse" lantern - gold leafing DIY

I've had my eye on this lantern for years.  I don't even remember where I first spotted her, but it was absolutely love at first site.  

Urban Electric Co. - Hamilton

I think I very briefly mentioned that we added a tiny addition (literally only 140 sq ft...pictures to come, promise) and I really dreamed of hanging her in the new office / upstairs sitting room (affectionately called the "treehouse" now), however, I couldn't swing the pricetag.  So, I had to settle for recreating the look myself for less.

I found this Chelsea House light at South and snagged it during their sale.  I loved the lines of it and the option to have glass or not (right now we are going with no glass...who wants to clean that?!).

To make it look as similar as possible to my light crush I decided to gold leaf all the parts that were white and use a blue gloss paint (left over from highchair project) to the areas that were green.

I got all my gold leafing supplies locally at Jerry's Artarama.

First step - using the Mona Lisa Red Base Coat

Next, paint the sizing adhesive (Mona Lisa Gold Leaf Sizing is what I used) and very carefully sticking pieces of the tissue thin gold leaf to it once it becomes tacky (~15 minutes).  

This is a tedious process and a mess!!  I do think the result is worth it though!

After ~30 minutes I took a wad of paper towels and gently rubbed all over to smooth it out.  Flakes will come off and if it's more than you want, you simply repeat the process of adding adhesive and more gold leaf and then buffing again.  I wanted some of the red undercoat to show through to give it a slightly aged look.

It went from day to night, many times because this was a very time consuming project I did over several weekends and weekday nights...  The small lines of the light and curves made it more tedious than some projects.

I finally finished it just in time for the electrician to hang it for me (the exterior painters were outside working away while I painted, hence the covered windows!).

It's no Urban Electric Co. Hamilton, but overall I'm happy with the end result - it's a great size for the room and achieves a similar look for less.  I'll still pine away for the Hamilton for somewhere downstairs!

Hanging in the new treehouse!

XO,

Whit

View out back

When we bought our house in 2012 the backyard was a mess.  I honestly forgot how bad it really was until I went and dug up these pictures tonight.  How did I ever convince Josh to buy this house?!  The previous owner's landscaping plan was pretty much an acorn fell, a tree grew.  He also had dog kennels with concrete under them and lots of buried treasures - every time Josh plants something it turns into an excavation.  Always an adventure and surprise!

Let's take a walk down memory lane to remind you where we started in 2012.  It was U-G-L-Y.  No wonder our neighbors kids' referred to it as the "haunted house."

The garage (previously hobby shop) structure isn't even the same color as the house.

Josh (with some help from me) has really been the mastermind in transforming our yard into a place we love to hang out as a family and entertain friends.  It's literally taken us years to come this far and it's a never ending project.

These are from this summer.  We have another small reno project going on right now that has our yard a big mess!

The grass is much greener and healthier now & we've added some additional shrubs, but you can still see the huge improvement!

Thankfully Josh has a very good helper in the yard these days. Someone loves mowing alongside his daddy.  So sweet

More to come on the current (TINY!) renovation going on...

XO,

Whit

It's a....

BOY!  

Just as suspected.  Charles is still stunned, but we are thrilled with the news.

I haven't forgotten about my sweet first girl, Olivia - she was horrified by the balloons and hiding under my bed and was even less cooperative than Charles with the picture :)

XO,
Whit

Nursery Round 2

That's right, we are officially expecting Baby Otto #2.  I'm still a bit shocked, but he/she should be arriving sometime late February - early March.  We will find out the gender officially at the doctor next week, but right now I'm thinking it's another boy.  Either way, I'm moving some of Charles' decorative stuff (the giraffe painting my dad did and other jungle animal accessories) so I'm thinking a subtle dog theme for #2 regardless of gender.

What do you think?  

BOY VERSION

GIRL VERSION

XO,
Whit

Family heirloom rocker facelift

When Josh spotted this chair in our garage he informed me it "looked homeless."  It was actually my great-grandfather's and something my parents smartly saved.  After a lot of TLC it will live in Bailey's nursery in Richmond.

I love the goose neck arms - so unique.

I wanted to surprise Bailey and have it painted and upholstered so she could take back when she came to visit in August (she thought that SHE would be painting it herself this weekend, so she was pleasantly surprised!).  This chair was basically drinking up the paint as soon as I put it on and took a ton of coats.  Two days of working on it while C was taking afternoon naps and it was ready to be sent to my sweet upholsterer.

I didn't take the best "after" pictures, but you get the idea.  I got her the same fabric as my dining room chairs - the nubby gray should hold up nicely in a nursery.  Charles was happy to test out the rocking!

I personally think it turned out really well - it's different from a glider, a compact size and has special family meaning.  Looks great in her nursery.

Progress shot...

XO,

Whit

Mom's 60th bday....2 months late!

I didn't intentionally give up on this blog, but I really haven't had anything that exciting or meaningful to write about.  However, in keeping with the party theme, I have to share my mom's 60th birthday that we hosted for her at my house 2 long months ago (sorry, mom!!).  It really was a gorgeous and wonderful night spent with my family.

I promise to be back soon with some DIY furniture projects and more updates around my house.

I hung purple and gold lanterns with fishing line from the ceiling (ordered from Oriental trading company).  I printed more "through the decades pictures," but no birthday hats on this this time.  

If It's Paper in Raleigh was my go-to place for a lot of the supplies.  The "placemats" are actually thick wrapping paper that comes in two sheets that I cut in half.  It worked perfectly!  The ribbon bow "napkin rings", placecards, cocktail napkins, sparkler candles were from there as well.

The best parents in the world

Delicious summer cocktail - muddled lime, cucumber, mint with soda water, vodka and splash of simple syrup.  Refreshing!

Bailey miraculously made delicious almond macaroons she dyed purple and put a gold 60 to stay on theme.  The birthday dessert was a chocolate wafer / whip cream / peanut butter delicious dessert.  

 

XO,
Whit