I've been spending a lot of time lately in Chloe's room. It really is the nicest room in the house...dreamy yellow walls, plush carpet underfoot, and now - soft, soothing spaces to lounge on.

Gail the seamstress did a fab job on the bench cushion, curtains and accent pillows. The cushion is covered in a subtle diamond and gingham print. It coordinates nicely with the swirly pattern of the curtain in shades of taupe, cream, and yellow. I figured that the bench cushion and curtains would be long-lasting (while some of the accent fabrics could change over time), so kept them fairly neutral. 

The slight sheen of the curtain adds a touch of luxury to the space - and the dim-out lining makes the curtain highly functional for a baby's room. We haven't installed the shelf above the window nor the curtain rod so for now, we just 'mocked up' the curtains and have the curtain hooks resting on the top of the window casing. 

Getting this room completely finished is a bit slow going these days ;)

My favourite fabric though is the pattern on the glider. Its bold, fun, and graphic. The pattern will help hide and stains or spills that are bound to appear when there's a baby around :) And boy, is it comfy! Chloe seems to like it too and falls quickly asleep as we rock away.

We had some bolster cushions and an accent pillow made with the leftover fabrics. Repeating fabrics and using them in various areas in a room really helps to create a cohesive, finished look. I think rooms feel best, feel more complete, when there are fabrics used. 

I'm surprised too at how many different fabrics and patterns you can use in a room. I worried that with all the polka dots, stripes, swirls, and other graphics Chloe's room would look a bit of a jumbled mess. But luckily it doesn't. It looks and feels just right :)

Its been a while since my last post, with good reason. Let me introduce you to the little lady that has had HandyMan and I preoccupied the past week...

24 hours...that's how long my doctor told me I likely have before I'm in the throes of labour. And that was at my appointment 10:00am this morning so if we do the math people...yes, Baby HandyLuster is likely on his or her way :) All signs point to Go. I've had some symptoms of impending labour - things have dropped, things have loosened, and things are starting to feel really really really uncomfortable :o\ And if the experience of my mom and sister with childbirth are any indication - things are gonna happen really really really fast!!

So, this is probably my last post before we (cross my fingers) become a family of three. What a strange, surreal thought.

Time to show you all the room Baby will be coming home to. Its not quite done... the banquette cushion, curtains, and glider fabric won't be done until Wednesday. And we haven't figured out the radiator mesh or the shelf above the window yet. But its good for now. We'll be co-sleeping in the beginning, with baby's crib in our room. That explains why this doesn't look like your typical nursery. Instead, it'll be our calming escape room. A room for Grandma Wanderluster to stay the next few weeks as she helps me learn the ropes as a new mom. A room for HandyMan for when he just needs a full night's sleep and mommy and baby aren't letting him have one ;) A room for me and baby where we can lie on the bed, window open, breeze blowing, birds chirping outside... and I can just sit there and look in amazement at this tiny little thing that came out of me. How wonderful is that :)

The room before...

And the room after...








You can see the Ikea Pax wardrobes we made to look like built-ins. The baskets will eventually sit on a shelf above the window and the banquette will be a comfy spot with curtains, pillows, and cushion. The wardrobe on the left houses linens and the one on the right has baby's clothes. I've put some stickers on the drawers to help keep things organized.













A few of my favourite details around the room...









I especially love the picture ledges and the art wall. On the ledges, we have some of HandyMan's childhood books, a painting I did, a photo of the Eiffel tower taken on our honeymoon, and a moon and star handmade by baby's Aunt Kim and Uncle Kevin. I love personal touches in a room. And if you look closely, you can see some of the potential names we've picked out for baby ;)


On the art wall, you can see the Catherine Ledner armadillo print, my favourite little painting of a nightie and stockings on a clothesline by Alison MacKenna, and some etsy prints by munieca and mariajanosko.


And that's the baby's room. All we need now is baby :)


*****

HandyMan and I are doing a bit of nesting and cleaning this long weekend, at our house and MIL's house. MIL has these chairs from the 1970's. We love the lines but the chairs definitely need to be restored... the wood needs refinishing and the stained leather replaced with new leather, or maybe calfskin or suede.

So you'll have to settle for a few more sneak peeks in the meantime.  First up is the crib.  This actually isn't going into the room because we plan on having Baby's crib in our room.  That's the plan anyways :)  Hopefully we'll all still manage to get a good night's sleep.  The Pottery Barn Kids gingham crib sheet and bedding was a $50 steal on Craigslist, I found the monkey at a local bookstore, and the custom blanket was made by etsy seller whynottsewn.