Whew! It's finally finished We had set ourselves a goal of finishing this loooong before Dutch's arrival but we kept getting stuck (like all projects around here, starting one seemingly sets off a random string of events requiring our immediate attention!)
Anyway, we are finally done and the fact that Dutch is nearly 2 months old is neither here nor there. It's done AND best of all, we stuck to our budget (of under $100!) using mostly stuff we had around the house.
We decided to go with a nautical theme in here, after all, this handsome boy was named for Dutch Harbor in Daddy's home state of Alaska.
Our biggest expense in the room was the paint, but I L*O*V*E the color so it was well worth it in my opinion! Cam painted for what seemed like months and then I set about decorating. Dutch's room was previously our guest room/catchall room. It had tons of random things in there, including, thankfully for me, the most comfortable bed in the entire universe. This was my bed back in my single days and it's so very comfortable. I threw an old quilt of Meg's on there and used the blue sheet set I already owned to dress it. These days I sleep up there (more on that later) right next to Dutch's crib.
We also purchased the anchor vinyl to put above the bed from Groupon! Regularly $30 (at
DaliDecals.com; whom I highly recommend) we got it for $10!
This is my favorite nook in his room. We had some little odds and ends that we hung on the wall above his crib. A seashell wreath I bought years ago, a frame that was in storage with a ship's wheel glued to it (a gift from my
sister), a cute rowboat that my BFF Emma Underpants gave me ages ago and a canvas I made out of materials I had laying around the house (the canvas idea came from
Pinterest). There was a funny little space there in the middle which I filled with a white letter D from JoAnn's.
This beautiful oil painting was done by a friend of mine from high school. She's an amazing artist and I have had this hanging in every apartment I've lived in for the last 10 years. I love it. The frame was from my mom and it matches the nursery furniture perfectly! This picture is hanging above my glider that was also a gift from my homey Janna when Clementine was born. My mom recovered the white cushions with blue fabric.
Right above Dutch's changing table is a shelf I had hanging in our office. It's been repurposed up here in Dutch's room as it too matches the nursery furniture too perfectly to pass up!
On top of the shelf is a pair of real Alaskan Mukluks made by Cam's aunt Chris and Uncle Ron (thanks guys!), a vase full of seashells and a bottle from the shower Meg and Emma threw for me before Dutch was born. They had everyone write a little message in a bottle for Dutch; I consolidated them all into one bottle so I could put it on display. Also up there on display is this sweet little ceramic seal I bought on the day I found out I was pregnant with Dutch!
And on his changing table is a lighthouse nightlight from my mom's garage (!) that gives the perfect warm glow we need at night and an organizer (can't get enough organizers) from our Nautica Zachary nursery collection (also a gift from my sister).
I tried my hand at doing a little painting on canvas inspired by one I saw on Pinterest. I added a sailboat to mine. I think I like the original better, frankly. I may still try tweaking it a bit.
That's it! A little tour of Dutch's thrifty nautical bedroom.
