Baby Upton #2

Baby Upton #2 is on the way!

Which means more decorating is to be done

Good thing Restoration Hardware doesn't ship to Australia - We'd be broke!

All images & products from www.restorationhardware.com

Baby Boy!

A huge congratulations today to Ang & Andre who had a baby boy yesterday!

We just can't wait to meet the little fella.

I'm sure you all will meet him too, at either Wicker & Stitch or Baby Child Of Mine

Puggle, We can't wait to see what little haven your Mum creates for you. You are so loved already. I hope you are ready to be absolutely smothered with kisses and cuddles.

Love from your littlest of friends, Isabelle xx

images via decorpad

Mobiles

My sister made me the most beautiful mobile for our nursery out of paper cranes, it looks so beautiful hanging over our change table.

Of course, I love the look of handmade mobiles but if you're not so confident at making your own there's plenty avaliable on etsy.com

I attempted to make these birds but I am so terrible at sewing. Luckily my sis is a bit better with the origami! Anyway, the pattern is avaliable here

http://www.spoolsewing.com/blog/2008/05/16/bird-mobile/

And you can also buy the birds ready made on Etsy!

Easy to make from cardboard, paper or even MDF. You can find pre-cut shapes from any craft shop or even Bunnings, then just paint or cover with scrapbooking paper.

So gorgeous! You could buy readymade butterflies that you see at the $2 shops and just hang from the ceiling using fishing wire.

Cut out of Plywood & stain (Great project for the hubby even!).

Again acieve this look out of MDF shapes with scrapbooking paper stuck on.

You would have to be very confident at sewing for this one so I have no tips! Except why not look out for small toys , buy them, add some ribbon and hang off a hoop? No sewing involved!

Paper Cranes! I love it! There's over 60, 000 hits when you google "Origami Cranes" so no excuses not to find a pattern for this one! You can find scrapbooking papers at Lincraft & Spotlight for $1-$2 a sheet, or do what my sister has done and use the beauiful Japanese papers you find at any good art shop.

This is just too cute! Simple cardboard or balsa wood that you pickup from the craft shops. The simplicity of the materials is what makes it!

The birds again, I just love them! And how fun searching for the perfect branch to hang them on!

Nursery Chair

The one comment that EVERYONE had was "Get yourself a really good feeding chair"!!! I think especially as we are having a winter bub, it is going to be lovely to curl up on a big comfy armchair in the middle of the night.

But I did make sure that the chair is something that I can use again outside of the nursery (It is perfect colour & style to go in our living room later). You also need to make sure that you have plenty of room and choose something suitable as some of the armchairs are huge! So I've tried to include some small but just as gorgeous chairs here, and I think all of these could be used outside of the nursery and look just as good!

Changing!

One thing I really wish I had done is spent a bit more time thinking about my change table. I bought a very practical change table that matches our cot but it is boring! I LOVE all of these change tables that are a little more quirky and original and so easy to do.

A chest of drawers, old dresser or hall table can be prefect as long as you get the right size. A change mat needs to sit on top - they vary in size but are around 50x80cm . Make sure the height is comfortable for you - about the height of your hips so you can pick bub up easily. Ikea and Ebay are definately the best places to start! And don't be afraid to re-paint, change handles etc.

Most importantly, think about the layout of the room, how you will be changing the bub and accessing the change table and make sure you choose a pieces suitable! No point having a gorgeous change table if it's squished in a corner you can't use!

Hemnes chest of drawers from Ikea

You can buy these baskets from Bed, Bath & Table (They come in green, blue & pink)

Decoupage! Who'd have thought it could look so good!

Wall Stickers

One thing that everyone comments on in our nursery is our wall sticker! Most people think that I've painted a tree on the wall but I have to tell them nope, it's just a really big sticker. But it looks great on our dark wall and gives a bit of a break from more framed art, canvases etc.

The best part I think is that most of them are removable, which means if you're renting you can still use these! And they are becoming so popular I have seen stands in the middle of shopping centres, and limited bits and pieces at big department stores like K-Mart and Myer. So you can do it onan absolute budget.

But of course, my favourite place to find wall stickers is Etsy.com - I ordered mine from Israel! There is SO much choice so you do need a bit of an idea of what you're looking for to start searching (I searched for Bird Sticker Wall Decal and had about 2000 results!). The prices vary dramatically depending on size but best of all for most stickers you can specify the colours and even which way around you want the sticker to go, so you really can get exactly what you want.

Anyway enjoy these little bits of inspiration!

Bubby Upton's New Room

This week is a little tribute for our bub-to-be who is due next week!

Each day will be a different aspect of decorating a nursery.

Starting off is our nursery, which I just love. We are so blessed to have a new house which we moved into just before christmas, and I have been decorating the nursery ever since. It is directly opposite our room so bub is going straight here when he/she comes home!

The nursery is a room which is not just for Bub but for Bren & myself as well (As I'll be spening a lot of time feeding in there!). So I've kept away from bright colours and prints, the bub can have that when they're older!

The colour palette is soft greys and whites with little punches of turquoise. We had to make the room gender neutral, so it's likely I'll add a little more colour once the bub arrives. Everything is birds & nests! So cute. We've stuck to a budget with a few splurge items so I've tried to let you know where you can find all the bits and pieces!

My sis made the gorgeous mobile that sits about the change table. And my friend Pip made the large owl toy. So many clever people! I ordered the artwork wholesale but you can find similar at allposters.com.

The wall colour is Taubmans "Foxdale", trims in Dulux "Antique White USA"

Cot & change table in simple white, you can find it at Target or Babies Galore or even Ebay - and they ALWAYS go on sale so keep your eyes peeled :) At the moment I have LOADS of white sheets but can always add colour here.

Wall sticker we ordered from Etsy. This was the first thing we did after the painting and set the bird theme going!

I love this little shelf, not sure what to fill those tiny drawers with but I'm sure I'll find something! Shelf from Freedom, baskets from Bed, Bath & Table.

My splurge item... Custom made armchair and ottoman!

The chair fabric is Warwick Loft Granite, and the ottoman is Marco Bracken Navy. Then the same fabrics used for the contrast piping.

It is SO comfy and will work in our lounge room when the kiddies are older! And I love it next to the big window the sun comes shining in just after lunch and it is a great place to sit :)

Curtains are readymade from Freedom on a pole from Spotlight.

So there's our nusery! Check back each day this week for more nursery ideas!