Nursery Dreaming

A week or so ago, BabyCenter sent me a pregnancy update email with the to-do list item of starting to plan the nursery.

Um, yeah.

Since we’re living in student housing and have barely enough space for the four of us as it is, the idea of a nursery makes me want to cry a little. When Squirt was born I was living in my first house – with over 2000 square feet and a nursery that I spent months planning. I painted murals on the walls including a castle tower and a large tree, along with vegetation like cattails and mushrooms, and flowers. The ceiling was blue with clouds I slaved over making just-so, the walls had metallic dragonflies in a few locations that only showed up when the light hit just right, and I even painted faux pearls with glow in the dark paint and suspended them from monofilament in one corner to mimic fireflies at dusk. There was more too… let’s just say I had a lot of fun with it. It was magical.

What I’m dealing with this time is a little bit different. With 800 square feet and two more people than before, I get to figure out how to take our “office,” aka junk room, and make it fit for human life.

Think I’m kidding?

Take a look:

I seriously feel like a hoarder.

Ugh. Not exactly a dream come true, and seeing it in pictures makes it seem even worse. 

Clearly this nursery is not going to be quite as personalized as the first one. {We ended up moving when Squirt was 4 months old and leaving that nursery was one of the most difficult material possessions I’ve ever parted with.} I don’t get to paint, we don’t have a surplus of space, and frankly we’re both in grad school – which means we certainly don’t have a surplus of money floating around. But a girl can still dream, right? 

I’ve turned to my best friend, Pinterest, for inspiration. You know what follows; a little bit of giddy excitement, followed by depression, and then a determination to make things work anyway. 

If I could, my little man would come home to something like these:

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How dreamy is that light fixture? Yum. I also love the orange and the globe.

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I just about died when I saw this one. Honestly - I love that bright green, the mobile, and that alphabet pillow is now on my wish list. Actually, I have an idea brewing because of that...

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 The neutral palette and the bright graphic mobile are so awesome. And that little owl on the dresser? So. Charming. The whole thing feels neutral, modern, and just perfect.

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This one is probably my favorite. I love the idea of focusing on adventure and I love pretty much every single thing about it, though I'm not sure the hubs would love having gold metallic polka dot pillows in his sons room. 

I know this little guy will not be coming home to a chic perfectly designed nursery, but it's so fun to look and dream. I did end up with some budget and space friendly ideas brewing though so we’ll see how it turns out! In the meantime, I’ve got a lot of sorting, donating, and Craigslisting to get done before I can even think about it. Anyone want to buy a room full of junk?