What I Did This Weekend

D and I decided Saturday night that Sunday would be a good day to paint the nursery. I have planned on painting in there for months, but for the longest time it felt like jumping the gun, like it would be weird to have a finished nursery and just be a couple of months pregnant. Then, all of the sudden, I discovered that I had become VERY pregnant, with no weekend in sight to take care of such a big project. So Sunday was our day.
I was inspired by this nursery in Pottery Barn Kids:


Sigh. I would live in Pottery Barn if I could. But I really liked the way the color only went partially up the wall, and I liked that it ended in an interesting motif. I knew I wanted to do orange, and having all of the walls orange seemed a little too much. Also, the ceiling line in our room is weird, and I didn't want to mess with it. (A scary number of my decorating decisions are based on not wanting to mess with things.)

Pottery Barn has a Peter Rabbit silhouette in their room, which is way more intricate than anything I would ever do. I settled for half-circles. Here's how it turned out:


I wanted a motif that echoed the big half-circle window on one wall, since that window is sort of the dominant thing in that room. Oh, how that window has been a decorating challenge. But that's another post. To outline the pattern on the wall, I got a scrap piece of paper and a dinner plate, traced the plate and cut out the circle, then folded it in half. We decided how high up we wanted the scallop pattern (higher than most of the furniture, low enough to not have to mess with the tops of doors and windows), measured and marked the height around the room, and D held up a yardstick while I just traced the half-circle onto the wall with a pencil. I tried to not make it perfectly match up in any corner, so it wouldn't look like I had obviously started at one point.

Here's the big half-circle window:


We went with Behr satin finish paint in "Poppy Glow." (It took almost two gallons, at about $25 a gallon.) This is after weeks of raiding Home Depot's paint chips and taping them up all over the walls to consider. I wanted something bright and fresh, but not overwhelming. Right now it looks perfect for Chester Cheetah's nursery. But I think it'll tone it down to get all the furniture in there, and curtains, and the crib bedding, which is all brown and white and tan. . .


So I think it was a successful venture. It looks whimsical without being too cutesy. It makes me think of a gingerbread house. Not a scary kid-baking one, a fun one.
The whole time we were painting I just kept thinking about scaring away potential buyers when we put the house on the market - is it a normal new homeowner thing to be obsessed with resale value? Probably. We now have one bedroom that's Cheetos orange, and another that's mint green with polka dots. Not everyone's taste.
But I have to say, D was a champ. Painting's not really his thing, but he totally pitched in and did whatever I asked him to do. Basically, I spent the day painting the scallops and he painted the rest of the room. And he went to buy paint and supplies. And he finished the second coat for me after I just crashed. (It's always surprising to me when pregnancy is actually physically limiting, instead of just being a good excuse to go back for more lasagna.) So kudos to D. I think he was just excited about not hearing me talk about needing to paint that room anymore. :)

Next up for that room: furniture, bedding, window coverings that include something to go over that blasted half-circle part. . . It's all going to be owl-themed - lots of browns and creams, with orange and yellow. I have a couple of art projects planned - one big owl painting, and a bulletin board repurposed as a card-displayer. And I'm warning you now, I'm calling the window treatment an "art installation." So, get ready for that.