Olivia's Nest--Finally Finished!!

This has been a long time coming!  We had a blast putting this room together, and it is by far my favorite in the house.  The paint color is definitely a little more mustardy than I have been able to capture, but you get the general idea!

I envisioned a space for our girl that reflected us, but also gave her room to be herself.  Not too girly, modern, or whimsical, it is just the way we imagined it.

We spent about three months pulling the different elements together, and purposefully so--we spread the nursery budget over a few months of income, but also wanted to have plenty of time to scour the deals and find used items.

The majority of the time and budget went to this built-in.  Ben did an incredible job implementing exactly what I had in mind.  It definitely adds depth to the room, and works like a charm to efficiently use up the dead space made by the angled wall.  The baskets hold all of her clothing, and the bin to the left stashes taller items.

This angle is taken from the window over the built-in.

We couldn't be happier with our crib!  It was the floor model from Sugar Snap Pea (www.sugarsnappea.com), a local children's boutique here in Charleston on King Street.  Right now, we have it set up as a bassinet, but it comes with the parts to turn into a full-sized crib when we are ready for the transition a few months down the road.

We found the Ikea chair at a yardsale for $15 bucks, after a long and grueling search for a cheap glider that wasn't totally maw maw.  It is comfy and will hopefully be a good option for nursing.  Ben threw the table together last week with materials he had left over from the built-in.  Brilliant!  You can also get a glimpse of the rug in the room, which was also given to us.  So many blessings can be found in this room.

I love how the window looks out over the side yard.  There is a huge oak tree right outside her window.

Cue the adorable photos of her parents, before we hit the awkward middle school years please.  These were both taken around the same time, when I was two and Ben was four.  Awww.

This was part of one of our baby showers, all of the guests wrote a blessing and hung it on her tree.

Another adorable shower gift we received was the pink piggy bank on the far right.  Our sweet friends wrote pieces of advice on cards and deposited them in the pig--I will look there for encouragement very soon!

Another view of the lamp my sister and I painted, and the side table Ben built.

Tucked in the corner by the doorway is this tiny little school desk that came from Ben's parent's garage.  I'm sure there is a story behind it, but Ben remembers using it as a child--so we were excited to have a spot for it in O's nest.  Oh yeah, and that's "Teddy", given to Ben when he was wee little, by his brother and sister.

Her closet is jammed full of stuff that isn't hers, but at least there's room for her dresses!

We were so excited to choose scripture to claim over her life, and can't wait to teach her all about the Jesus who gives us freedom and life.

Thank you thank you Naptime Diaries for the awesome sales that afforded us the chance to hang some beautiful words in this room!

Here is the built-in mystery compartment, that will eventually be used for toys and blankets.  Right now it is FULL of diapers and wipes.  Woohoo!

I wanted to give a more detailed view of the top of the built-in...this is the seam of the secret compartment.  I may be a little biased, but I am so proud that Ben made this for his girl.

I found these pillows at Costco, and couldn't believe how well they coordinated with the curtains (from World Market)!

We have purposefully saved the space above the changing table and dresser to fill with something thoughtful and fun.  We just aren't sure what we want to place there--maybe a big print of some kind or a montage of photos of Olivia.  Who knows!  The changing table was given to us by longtime friends about six months ago, and Ben knew that would be its purpose from the first second.  We couldn't have found anything better or more meaningful.

The lighting is really terrible in this room, so we are still on the hunt for a floor lamp to place next to the changing table. 

Now all we need is the babygirl to make it perfect.  Which is really all we needed in the beginning.  All of these things are just extras!