Have I mentioned lately that a tiny person is coming to live with us in a few months? Don’t you think it’s the weirdest thing EVER that two people have sexy time and then suddenly there’s another person in between you, taking up all the extra space and eating all your food? Well, it doesn’t actually happen all of the sudden… it’s 10 (yes, 10 — count them) months later, and I need every single day of every single month to finish all of the loose ends I have created by tearing up our house and then expecting for all the bits and pieces to fall back to earth, perfectly arranged.
I need to get a grip, y’all. Pri. Or. I. Tize. Hence today is nursery mockup day. Kaboom.
Let’s revisit the most amazing room that I am obsessed with right now:
I want to make love to that folding screen and brass footed ottoman and have artsy fur babies (it would be cool if this took less than 10 months). The tone on tone is check check delicious, and the cobalt pop is perfecto. My kid friendly interpretation:
I’m sure it needs some tweaking, but the bare necessities are there. I tried to make do with what I had, so it can never be as amazing as that amazing room, but hopefully it has a similar artsy cool, comfy breezy feeling going on. Let’s discuss the elements.
1) Wall color is living room neutral, double formula for some extra oomph. Sisalish carpet is what’s already in there.
2) The chandelier is from Ike’s old room. It used to be black, but wondering if I should repaint… suggestions?
3) Vintage dresser is already in there, but it’s a triple dresser and has brass hardware. Hoping it won’t take the vibe too far towards brown town.
4) Shades are plain ivory/white romans with cobalt piping. Not enough room for curtains.
5) I already have baskets as well as the moroccan butt warming stool and Senor Giraffe. He may or may not make the final cut.
6) I already have the six-pelt sheepskin rug. Hoping it will do the trick since it’s light and bright but is amazingly easy to keep clean.
7) The table lamp and crib are from Ikea.
8 ) I don’t have that blue painting. May have to do a poster thingy. Gold frame is a must.
9) And now we come to the chair… this is where things get tricky.
I could of course reuse this guy, who is already the perfect cobalt blue:
However, handsome rocker is A) not very comfortable and B) takes up mega space. This was ok in Ike’s giant old room, but space is at a premium in the tiny new fetus nursery.
OR I could sell the rocker (I hope), and pay bucks to recover this Thayer Coggin chair:
This is the perfect chair, scale and comfortwise. It even rocks and swivels.
So, what do I do? How much will it cost to recover a small barrel chair? I can’t imagine using it in its current incarnation, unless maaaaaayyyyybbe I put it into our soon to be pinkish/peachish bedroom. Honestly, it would really benefit from new fabric, though.
I just don’t know if that’s where I should put my money right now…
Yesterday our second car blew up and we’re now at 5k for car repair costs this year alone. It’s barely May.
That would have paid for a new couch, the table I want, wallpaper, paint, chair upholstery, etc.
So I must spend wisely. I also don’t want to do things 50 times over because I’m not happy that I cheaped out the first time.
Tell me what to do, sage people.
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WHY is that smiley face by #8?! I can’t get rid of it. Gross.
I bet recovering the chair would be $300-400.
Like the plan, like the idea. Go get your cobalt on!
Oh and what about doing the chandy it white? That way it doesn’t stand out too much, but you still get the sculptural aspect.
8 + ) = smiley face with sunglasses, I guess? You could put a space between 8 and )?
That red Thayer Coggin chair looks SO comfy and perfect. Could you get a cobalt throw and drape it over the chair, or a sheepskin? Or is that too simple (aka ghetto) of a solution? I want to curl up in that chair right now, please, thanks.
I’m loving! I vote white for the chandy, too. The chair would look stupid fly in cobalt, and, yes, I think you should go for it for the comfort.
As a side note, I picked up a giant giraffe stuffed animal at a garage sale last weekend for my unborn child’s nursery. Psycho x2.
It really is the best chair. I think I should just suck it up and sell the rocker to pay for new upholstery.
Naomi, does your quote include fabric or just labor?
And a light chandelier would be nice… a little worried about the shabby chic aspect but maybe I shouldn’t be.
I spy a brass thing a ma gig in the nursery mock up that is from Minty?
Looking good.
Marybeth
Unborn and not conceived, I might add.
High gloss that sucker!
Elisa, that fixed the smiley! Thanks. I’m not feeling happy enough for that crap.
Tobe, whenever you DO have a kid, that nursery is going to be tricked out!
MB, I bought the stool at an antiques fair a few years back.
While I love to look at that rocking chair I wouldn’t want to sit in it…especially to nurse. I have one too and it takes up so much space and is not comfy at all, so I agree it has to go. I love the shape and proportions of the Coggin chair….it’d be goregous in cobalt! Sorry about your car! I feel your pain between Jude’s surgery, the hubbys root canal, all my tests and our hot water heater….we’re in the same boat.
Can’t wait to see this room!!!!
I agree about the high gloss on the chandy…anything too matte would be super shabby chic.
Oh and Tobe…I totally bought stuff for my kids before they were conceived.
I agree about the chair. As Naomi said, it would probably cost about 300 to get it done did. Not fabric just labor. If you don’t want to go to the time money effort to get it recovered, you could leave it and see what you think. I like Elisa’s idea of draping something over it. Is it red? It looks red, but maybe it’s pink or orange. I just had a flash of Robert Courturier’s amazing living room that had the cobalt, white and hits of tomato/coral red:
http://pinterest.com/pin/24488391694111843/
I know, that’s not your inspiration, and maybe it’s a little too, you know, red, white & blue (although not the PB Kids version, thank goodness). And I am the only one who thinks the chandelier might look cool brassy/goldy (to add a little more of the gold element)?
I *think* the red will be overwhelming in such a small, neutral space (although I knew exactly what RC room you were talking about, and I LOVE it), but I can certainly try before I buy. Who knows? Could be ok.
As for the chandy, last time I sprayed it chalk white and antique bronze before I sprayed it black. Matte white was def a no go — gloss would help. Antique bronze was cool, but a very different vibe. It looked a lot like the one on my board.
What about a pale warm gray? That might be too weird. Idk. I’ll think on it.
I love where you’re going with this. As far as the chair is concerned, what about fabric paint (a la Mr. Goodwill Hunting: http://www.rashoncarraway.com/2011/11/1499-chair-makeover.html) it until you can afford to get it re-upholstered later on? As long as its totally non-toxic since its going in a nursery…CONGRATS btw!!
Thanks for making me feel less crazy, Katie
I love your interpretation better than the inspiration! In my area that labor would be $350 – $450 but def worth it for your comfort/happiness…
xoxo -e (modern24seven.blogspot.com)
Yea Kathy said it- that’s prob just the labor, but I’m sure you can find some pretty blue velvet-like fabric for not too expensive.
For some reason the chandy in gold makes me think of some sort of alien spaceship, but maybe that’d be a good thing.
I haven’t bought shit for non-yet-conceived baby. I must not be maternal.
I’m also glad my grammar is at the level of a stupid fetus. Oh well…
You got skillz lady! That’s it, I have nothing productive to add.
Sell the rocker and invest it in that chair! I have a barrel chair that rocks and swivels that I’ve held on to for 13 years to get it recovered whenever we have a kid. Our cats destroyed the chair but I know it’ll be the best thing to nursey and rock and baby. Interior Fabrics on Burnet always had pretty good deals on fabric. You might be able to find something interesting to cover the chair.
Thanks for the tip, Sharon!
Sell the rocker and reupholster that sexy red beast. Here in Atlanta you’d probably pay $250-300, fabric not included. Your mock up board looks amazing, Erin. So fresh and sophisticated, but still absolutely baby friendly. I love it.
Sell the rocker and take it from there. You talked about ditching it in the last house, so it’s clearly a beautiful nuisance..once you have that fistful of cash, your inner design fairy will whisper in your ear what to do with it to make the nursery complete.
Sell rocker and recover chair sounds like a plan. One thing about sisal. Though it looks great here….it is not generally enjoyable to crawl on it. Red knees. So once you get to that point, you may be wanting something different on the floor.
Thanks for the advice everyone! Looks like I will be selling the handsome rocker.
Laura, it’s carpet that looks like sisal, not real sisal. Totally agree with you about sisal’s roughness.
I LOVE the Thayer so much!
I adore that bentwood-esque rocker but I have never had to sit on it.
As to cheap upholstery fabric – I KNOW this is not upholstery-weight, but I have the dark blue velvet (100% cotton) curtains from Ikea, and it’s pretty sturdy fabric. $50 for a pair of 96″ curtains and $70 for 108″, which is like 80-90% less than similar fabric at G Street Fabrics. I see this as lending two options: cheap raw materials for professional recovering (if your pro says the fabric is sturdy enough), OR a make-your-own slipcover, by which I mean anything including “I tucked this into the edges of the chair and I don’t want to hear about it.” It would be a vaguely different option than a throw blanket in the sense of massive square footage, so you could really cover the whole chair.