I don't consider myself an expert interior decorator. In fact,I'm quite an amateur, but do enjoy do-it-yourself homedecorating. When my husband and I found out we were expectingtwins, we were both very excited to decorate the babies' bedroom.
My husband and I compromised on a nursery theme. We agreed thateven if we had boys (which we did end up having--two!), that Icould decorate the nursery with a Beatrix Potter theme, but aftertwo years it was my husband's turn to re-decorate their room with a race car or airplane theme.
We started out by choosing a paint color for the walls. We chose"Pooh Bear Yellow" made by Behr paint. We painted all of thewalls yellow. We then painted a white strip, approximately 12inches wide, all of the way around the room in the center of thewall (see photo). Above the white strip we sponge painted whitepaint over the yellow, and below the strip we left the wallsyellow. The white sponge painting gave the walls a cloud-likelook. Never tried sponge painting? It's easy! Here's how:http://www.frugal-home-decor.com/articles/080501b.shtml.
We decided to decorate the nursery with white furniture, whichgave the room a very clean look. We purchased two white cribs,and painted two old wood dressers white. Grandma bought us awhite changing table as a gift.
While shopping on Ebay, I found some Beatrix Potter cutouts todecorate the walls and furniture. Do a search on Ebay for"beatrix potter wallies", and you will find what you need. Theseare great! You just wet them and stick them where you want them,and they are removable. We placed these in the white strip onthe wall. It looks like Peter Rabbit is hopping around the room. We also put them on the white dressers we painted (see photo).
I also purchased some Beatrix Potter poster prints on Ebay. Ibought some white wooden frames for them at a local craft store,and they turned out beautifully.
I decided to sew new curtains for the windows. At Walmart Ifound some very inexpensive yellow fabric that had tiny littlebees on it. It is so cute. I just sewed a casing at the top forthe curtain rod and hemmed the bottom and they were done. Youcan tie them back with ribbons or knot them in the middle.
Last but not least, we found some Beatrix Potter bedding sets forthe cribs. One set I purchased at a local consignment shop thatsells baby furniture and clothing. I purchased the other set onEbay.
When your baby is older and starts standing up you'll find thatyou might have to move some of your nursery decorations. As soonas one of my boys was old enough to reach out and grab at objectshe was pulling the bunnies off of the walls. I figure after thebunnies are all gone it will be time to re-decorate!
Note: Photos for article here:http://www.frugal-home-decor.com/beatrix-potter-nursery.shtml
Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of four. For easydo-it-yourself home decorating ideas for busy moms, visithttp://www.frugal-home-decor.com
Source: www.isnare.com
