Purple Baby Nursery (and free printables!)

While I enjoy some snuggles with my new baby girl, why don't you take a peek at her baby nursery!

Creating a budget-friendly nursery has been a fun project for me. From the moment I found out I was having a girl, I knew I wanted a purple baby nursery with white furniture. Purple purple purple!!! But I let some other colors creep in too :) We also wanted to keep things relatively simple - not too flashy - and I think the end result is pretty much perfect for our tastes (and more importantly, our wallet).

The Furniture

We purchased the dresser used and cheap. It was originally a mid/light wood color and was missing a knob. I painted it white, painted 4 of the original knobs purple, and then bought 2 new knobs for the middle drawer. Compare before and after:

 

My favorite part about this dresser is that it doubles as a changing table. 2-in-1? Yes, please!

I went through a similar process with the crib. It was a hand-me-down (hooray for freebies!) from my neighbor and was originally a light wood color before I painted it white. Once again, here is a before/after comparison:

I think both furniture pieces look better white. Don't you agree? These were my very first re-paint project pieces! Not too shabby... at least I didn't butcher them, right?!

The other piece of furniture in the room is this glider chair. The color of the fabric matches the color of the walls, and even though I would have loved white wood, the dark wood frame still matches the baseboards and doors in the room.

During the whole last stretch of my pregnancy, I would sit in this chair late at night and look around the room, imagining how it would be to finally have my baby girl in my arms. I'm glad I don't have to imagine any more!

The Decorations

For the letter "N" above the dresser, I wrapped some multicolored yarn around a wood letter from a craft store and added some flowers for a bit more of a "girly" touch. I was going to turn this wall into a photo wall, but then I decided to keep it simple. Who knows... I might add a few pictures as time goes by. We'll see.

The picture on the wall above the crib - the one of Jesus surrounded by little children - was something my grandparents gave me when I turned 8 years old. Someday I'll get a dark wood frame so it'll match the baseboards, doors, and chair frame.

The mobile took a bit more time to make than I expected, but I love how it turned out! I used this DIY paper mobile tutorial to make it (and yes, I used the same color scheme because it fit with the nursery best out of all the options at Michael's). I used slightly smaller embroidery hoops and a 1.5" hole punch instead of a 2" punch, but it still turned out great.

Isn't it fun? I'm kind of jealous that Nicole has this fun mobile dangling over her. Hmmmm, I have plenty of paper, string, and yarn left... It's cool for married adults to have mobiles above their beds, right? Right???

Moving on.

This is easily my favorite wall in the nursery. It's so simple, but so fun!

 The fabric pennant banners were actually made by my aunt for my wedding (I helped pick out the fabric, if that counts for anything) and they just so happen to fit in with the nursery!

For the canvas prints on the walls, I designed a couple simple images on Photoshop (I'm definitely a Photoshop novice) and then had them printed out through Tiny Prints, the site that happens to be known for their photo Christmas cards. 'Tis the season, folks! I must say that I really like how the canvas prints turned out, especially considering that I never do graphic design. I just love how they seem to pop out from the wall... it gives the space some dimension, ya know?

I made sure to use timeless quotes so that Nicole can hang these canvas prints on her wall for as long as she wants instead of just when she's a baby.

If you want to use the prints for your own decorating purposes, here are some free printables! I've included the two you see on the nursery wall, plus a third design that we didn't end up using (although I think I like the third one better than the "smiles" printable).

Audrey Hepburn Quote printable (5x7 PDF)

Smiles printable (5x7 PDF)

"Dream Big" printable (5x7 PDF)

Future Additions

This furniture set-up works great for now, but I kind of want to find a small bookshelf/side table to go against the big wall under the banners. That way we can store her books on it, as well as a little canvas box for her toys. So... I'm keeping my eye on KSL for a used piece. It would be great if it were already white, but I still have more paint if I end up needing it!

I had fun putting the nursery together! I'm normally not the most crafty or design-savvy person. Interior decoration is not my thing. (Laura, do you want to come out here to Utah and redesign my whole apartment? K thanks). That being said, I am pretty dang proud of what I've done with this little apartment bedroom. Nice and simple, but perfect for our family!