nest in:

pic found here

since i am still awaiting our “go!” to make the giant leap to parenthood, i’m afraid this post will be a bit understaffed. possibly because i have yet to wrap my head around the occupant of such room?...and possibly because the more i dwell on it the more tedious my desk job feels! :) i have no worries though, that as soon as july/august comes around I sure i will be a-buzz with many more new ideas and eager to share them! as for right now, i am blessed with several dear friends who have recently acquired new little family member and it has just tipped the wheels to turning. here are the very earliest design directions i’ve already gathered for our someday little one…

for the early weeks: friends of ours & brand new parents now studying in st. louis recently rigged up a little bassinet similar to this. it provides bedside access and a gentle sway.

(pic found here)

i am so exited to undertake my diy version of one of these mobiles:

or even this cute little driftwood owl perch: this is another ceiling hung treatment i would love to attempt in a baby room: for a little texture? a playful pattern for an accent wall, abstract ski slopes & tiny trees!
as bedding is near and dear to my heart, i must admit that i have been a little disappointed in the all too graphic & busy patterns i’ve found for crib linens lately. so ideally, i would attempt to make my own! i love the super-easy quilting step-by-step instructions katie (of beautiful blog “katie did”) lays out to make a super simple quilt like this. click the link & check it out.

and reading about it almost inspires me to undertake a quilt like this...

also by katie. (pardon the tiny picture, but i still thought it a worthy mention!) for other cute quilting ideas check out this site: purl soho. they have a neat selection of cottons too. (sigh…why do new yorkers get it all? oh well, we will always have the internet!) more sources for cute fabrics to come in a later post!

here are a few other images i found i had to include for when baby gets a little older…

(all 3 from from baby minded site ohdeedoh)

besides mobiles & quilts, artwork rounds out my top three elements of nursery décor. i love art that you can grow into -art that would work just as well in the living room as in baby’s room. most of the artists i've been enamored with recently have been found on etsy. here are my current top picks with links:

liz ryan landscapes, $150

sharon montrose, $25

bold and noble, $49

ecustudioshop, n/a

(this print entitled, "some animals of the pacific northwest"is much along the same lines of the previous bold & noble print. hubby got it for me for christmas (!!) & i found it worth a shout out. :) though currently n/a i really admired this vancouver artist and will have to keep you posted when she comes out with a new design.)

alicia block, $35

leah giberson, $30

ok, i better wrap this up! sorry for the long dry spell! ...if only i didn't have to bother with this day job... ;) hopefully i sparked a few imaginations!

*ps: just in case i've caused any confusion, no, we are not pregnant... ;) and yes, i am notorious for run on sentences! -l

side note:

as i type, a beautiful set of these is now speeding it’s way to my seattle door. (sigh… thanks hubby!) & after 8 months of waiting, thanks bluefly.com sale plus $20 off online coupon!

oh! and on a similar note, though not currently within my clutches, i have discovered that a (ridiculously overpriced) lamp i fell in love with last summer has now been made available to us mere mortals!

edison lamp, anthropologie , $798 (!! & no longer available!)

candlestick lamp, pottery barn, $130.

yes, i admit to liking the proportions of the first, but is there really a $668 difference between the two? can’t shake a stick at that. oh, anthro, why the huge prices?

cook in:

when ever we walk into a fixer upper i am immediately drawn to the kitchen. (above pic found here) what am i looking for? well, honestly i’m hoping for a large degree of hideousness! i semi cringe at the presence of hastily lain laminate countertops & paint that hopeful sellers have surface applied in an attempt to hide a misfit kitchen. wasted effort. i’m in hot pursuit of a forlorn, worn out, broken up & hopelessly dated kitchen. fortunately (?... or more likely accordingly), in our price range i have met with many such candidates and the prospect is completely thrilling to me (a naïve, creatively pent up architecture graduate). :) i am not easily scared off: mold?, rot? avocado colored appliances? ….dirt outline where an appliance used to be? …i’m game. here is what i aspire to…

cabinetry? well, in the very very (far) back of my mind a still small voice pipes up to remind me that new custom cabinetry is likely not in my cards. ..but with an orbital sander, paint, and elbow grease i have high hopes that a two tone effect like this (found here) is somehow attainable:
if the cabinets are beyond salvage i’ve also considered this minimalist (almost french country) & economical undersink “cabinetry” solution: (found here)
to accompany this, as well as accommodate my vintage glassware habit, wall mounted shelving something akin to these: (found here)
but possibly more inspired from this image:
and perhaps this a little of this one mixed in:

capping it off, i dream of a practical subway tile accompanied by completely impractical marble countertops (pic from here) :
and a light fixture exactly like this: