The Nursery: Paint and Curtains

*Note:  This post was actually written in November 2012 we when completed the nursery remodel, but  I didn't want to share them immediately since we decided to keep the gender of our baby a secret.  I figured I wouldn't have the time or energy after our sweet little one joined us to post pictures and share all of the details.  Some of the after photos may be different now because of this, and I promise a current post as soon as we are all settled in.*

Blair and I spent four days painting the nursery, hanging curtain rods, and making curtains.  I love to paint, however, I was still on rest at the time, so I had to take it slow and let Blair help.  We spread it out over several days to make sure I wasn't over-doing it and to accommodate his very busy schedule.

I started early by spray painting the curtain rod I purchased.  I loved the bird finials, but hated the finish.  I wanted to make sure it had plenty of time to set and off-gas before we brought it in to hang.

Bird Curtain Rod

From Lowe's, painted in Valspar's Golden Maize spray paint

Getting the paint on the walls normally would only have taken me an afternoon, but we spaced it out doing only one wall at a time.

Wall Paint

Valspar's Sparkling Sage in flat finish

I absolutely adore how the curtains turned out!  I spent a week in October with my parents in Knoxville, and my mom and I went to Joann's together to find fabric.  This pattern is nothing like what I originally had in mind, but I'm sooooo glad we found it!  It's a twill and stitched up like a dream.  Each panel is two yards long and backed with a simple white, flat cotton twin-sized sheet from Wal-Mart.  Eventually, I may get some curtain hooks to hold them back, but for now they look so sweet and simple off to the side of the crib.

Curtains

Made by me with home decor fabric purchased at Joann's

The day after we finished this part of the work, I spent several hours sitting in the rocking chair in here with my knitting.  I found that there was a cool, calmness to the room that I truly enjoyed.  Before, it was just a cluttered up "office space" catch-all with a paint color that reminded me of our first cruddy apartment.  A fresh coat of paint and window dressing made such a huge difference in the overall feel of the room. Blair commented that evening that it might just be his favorite room in the house.

I hope you have enjoyed this part of our little "nursery tour."  I'll have some more pictures for you soon!