Does Your Crib Look Naked?

[luvbeinmama]

I like your idea for the walls, and with so much furniture in a small room, I would definitely go with dust ruffle & sheets. I think The Company Store also sells items individually, but I don't know how much crib stuff they have. LOL at your mom's reaction. A lot of people think the same way. I never considered it an issue, and never re-considered my decision. I remember when DS was scooting up in the bed, I would start him at the bottom, so he wouldn't get all the way to the other end before waking up. He actually got a leg stuck through the rail once during his really active phase, but he was not hurt and he never did it again! Now at 2 1/2, he's pretty calmed down about how he sleeps, which is great since I'm moving him to a bed next month!

[ct]

Just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in about decorating. When I did our nursery a couple years ago I too wanted something simple but also non-gender specific so that I don't have to redo the nursery for each child we have. I am also not a big fan of themes as a lot of them are trendy and may seem outdated after a bit of time. Our nursery is very small, so pretty much all walls are covered with either furniture or doors - too much decoration would have been wasted in it. I painted the walls a solid color (in my case a cream color) and bought little wooden stars and hearts from a craft store in various sizes (2 sizes of each type). I painted the wooden pieces various pastel colors and then created a border near the ceiling with them (2 rows, staggered, varying the colors, shapes and sizes). I used double-stick foam tape to hold them up there (and they are UP there - I'm afraid they'll rip the plaster off when I decide to take them down! :)). Anyway, it was kind of a pain (painting all the pieces, laying out the design on the walls, etc.) but the 3-D effect is really cool. It really didn't take that much time and I'm very glad I chose to do it rather than a wallpaper border. One of my girlfriends did the same thing with little wooden leaves in her dining room. Just another idea for you. Best wishes...

ct

[Tondi G]

I felt the same way when we were looking to decorate the nursery... I didn't have a theme really so we painted the walls a tan color... called Beach (Behr~Home Depot) and the mouldings and floor boards Crisp white and then painted the ceiling Blue (never got around to either stars or clouds... hehe!) But it is a very nice neutral calming color combo! I ended up finding an older pattern "seahorses" quilted crib bumper from Potery Barn Kids on E-bay and I payed less than 40 dollars for it... by the way their bumpers are very thin and have top and bottom ties ( a friend has a really thick (designer)bumper and it used to scare me!). I then bought some awful knit Gerber sheets... and eventually happened into a PB Kids store and found some adorable sheets that were on sale for 15 dollars or less... bought 2 and have been using them and just rotating when one was in the wash.... they have held up great!!!! I had originally planned to get a crib skirt... and I'm glad that I never did cause once my son moved into his crib after being in our room we had to lower the mattress and a skirt would have interfeered with our drawer under the crib and we probably would have taken it off! If your crib has a drawer you may want to opt for a bumper instead of a skirt! We got a dresser and a nice tall book shelf (from IKEA)that matched our natural wood crib perfectly... the Bookshelf is ancored to the wall of course (you might want to look into one...they get lots of toys and books!!!) and we re-framed some pictures, in a light wood to match the furniture, that I had in my room as a child (my mom still had them!) and got a blue rag rug (also from IKEA) and the room was perfect not over done and didn't scream baby either! Either way check out E-bay... many items are brand new in the packaging and great prices!!!! Good Luck!

~Tondi

[camommy]

Now here is my 2cents about decorating. FOr my son's room I wanted to do a sports theme, so I got baseball pennents and hung them on the wall. On the two shelves inhis room I put baseball hats. Target sells wall decals with baseballs, footballs, basketballs and stars. Target also sells drawer knobs that are baseballs, soccerballs, footballs, amd basketballs. It looks real cute. I got a denim dust ruffle and a crib sheet and bumper from BRU that has sports theme on it.

[suzska]

Oh, I forgot about the drawer knobs! I got (now discontinued, of course) pig and cow drawer knobs from Target for the dresser. Since I had 16 knobs and didn't want to spend that much money, I only bought two of each design and put them on the four small drawers along the top of the dresser. The rest I painted in bright colors.

Target has a line of kid's bedding/furnishings right now that has stars and moons. It's probably intended for girls, but if you just buy the knobs or the wall decorations I would think it wouldn't look too "out of place." The little shelf and bookends are kind of cute, too. Here's the link:

http://www.target.com/common/catalog...ush&navCount=7


Right now you can get a Lands' End Flannel Crib Skirt on clearance for $14.00 in Sunlight (might go with those yellow stars on the walls).

http://www.landsend.com/cd/ov/prod/0...38068492102740

And Lands' End has flannel crib sheets with Stars and Moons on them. They're 2 for $34.00 right now--a little on the "high" side, but you might get lucky when they come out with their next pattern (not sure when that might be) and get these on clearance before baby's due. That's how I got my "Quack! Oink! Moo!" sheets--when they went on clearance.

http://www.landsend.com/cd/fp/prod/0...38068492102740

Which looks a lot like the Pottery Barn stuff:

http://ww1.potterybarnkids.com/cat/p...BY%7CcBDG%7Cp1

Oh, I found this crib skirt on sale $15.99--it sort of goes with your "theme." You could just solid sheets to go with it. Of course they don't have the matching bumper anymore.

http://ww1.potterybarnkids.com/cat/p...BY%7CcSAL%7Cp1


And of course Company Kids (The Company Store) has the really cute, but somewhat expensive, IMO) "Wish Upon a Star" quilt and bumper. (But they don't seem to have the sheets pictured in a crib/toddler size.)

http://www.thecompanystore.com/index...%2FIBed%2DBoys


Okay, I'll stop now! But I can't help myslef....:-)

[kathsmom]

These ideas are terrific! Thank you so much for all the decorating tips. Sue B. thanks for all the links in your post. I checked them all out - I agree that the Company Store is a little too pricey for me. I obviously have not looked around enough at Target - I haven't seen any of the things that you all have mentioned. Of course, I haven't been able to do too much looking around - DH travels a lot and I have been trying to get DD ready to start kindergarten.

I went to BRU today after my dr.'s appointment and looked at some of the bedding sets, but they were a little too pricey. The cheaper ones did not look well made. DH wants to go with the "naked" crib look and invest in the Lands' End sheets or the Stay-Put sheets and decorate with paint and a window treatment. At this point, I am inclined to agree with him, especially since he found out yesterday that the job transfer we thought was going to happen this summer (but fell through), may happen this fall or winter (I have already told him that I am NOT moving until after the baby is born!).

Sue, I did order the Lands' End coverlet in white flannel that was on clearance for $12.50 and it came on Wednesday. I really like it, but it is SO big, that I can't use it for the baby right now. I had ordered the Sunlight cotton coverlet (also on clearance), but they were all out of it. I will keep checking the site for other clearance items.

I probably need to make a trip to the PBK outlet about an hour from me, but I just don't feel like driving!! Ebay is just so much easier!

Thank you everyone for all the ideas, opinions, suggestions. You are really helping me out a lot, and I appreciate it!

Toni -mom to Katherine (5/19/96) and baby boy on the way (9/30/02)

[suzska]

The Target stuff is by the kids furniture, of course. Which means in our Target it's tucked in a corner in the back next to the bathroom storage cabinets, toiler paper holders, and light bulbs.

I just thought of another thing I did. I had an "old" smallish brass lamp that was in very good condition, but had just a plain beige pleated shade. Not very exciting for a kid's room, and I didn't want to spend the high prices for a lmap that "matched" the nursery. So I got a lamp shade at JoAnn's (yes, I shop there a lot--have to support the quilting habit!), on sale, that has adhesive on the outside. You buy your own fabric--I picked out something from the calico wall that had "cartoony" country cows on it (cuter than it may sound), cut it using the pattern provided with the shade, and smooth it on to the adhesive on the shade. You can also add ribbon or trims if you want to get fancier. I think I just used a white "tacky" craft glue to attach the fabric to the inside (after you wrap it around the edges). I didn't think a gluegun would work too well.

Another thing I've used (but not in the nursery--not enough wall space since it's on the second floor of a Cape Cod) that I really like are these quilt hangers:

http://joann.com/catalog.jhtml?CATID=24992&PRODID=11911

Yes, that's my review on the site. :-) You can paint them to match the theme of your quilt. Or stain them to match your woodwork.

If you have a JoAnn's nearby, sign up for their mailing list (the snail mail kind) and they'll send you flyers every few weeks. They often have coupons for 50% off the regular price of one item. That's what I use to buy the quilt hangers (which normally sell for $9.99 around here). And you'll know when the other stuff goes on sale as well--or you can read their flyers online I think.

I think that's all the ideas I have for today! LOL! :-)

P.S. The wood letters are currently 25% off and acrylic paints are $0.79 each at JoAnn's through next Saturday, I think.

[kathsmom]

Sue,

Thanks for the idea about the lamp. I have a white lamp that would be great, but is boring. I'll have to look for that lamp shade. We do have JoAnn's near us. It is the JoAnn's ETC, which is HUGE. A lot bigger than the JoAnn's fabric stores.

I was up very late last night (until 3:00 a.m. - indigestion and heartburn - gotta love it!). Anyway, I thought I could spend my time wisely on ebay. I saw a Boynton Farmyard Animal crib set up for auction. Is that yours, or just a coincidence? It is so cute! Or was that luvbeinmama who had the Boynton crib set?

DD wants to do the baby's room in periwinkle. I have told her that that is a difficult color to find in baby linens. I did see a blue gingham Pottery Barn Kids bumper that reverses to chambray on ebay for a good price, as well as solid blue chambray or blue gingham crib skirts. I could probably get the bumper and crib skirt with S/H for about $60.00. Considering that I went to the PBK store (not the outlet!) when I found out we were having a boy and spent over $200.00 for a complete crib set, I think that is a pretty good deal (I made my husband return all of it!).

I am glad to see the letters on sale, but at this point, we are still undecided on a name. Maybe we could go ahead and get the middle and last initials - it's the first name we can't decide on!

By the way, I am in love with the Barnyard print at Lands' End. Love, love, love it! Unfortunately, the set would be more than what we want to spend.

Thank you so much for your decorating and crafting ideas. I am one of those decorating/crafting challenged people who needs help for new ideas, etc.

Toni

[kathsmom]

Sue,

Thanks for the picture of Evan's room. It is adorable! Where did you find the dresser? I looked for a dresser that could double as a changing table and could not find one. We went ahead and got a regular changing table in a natural wood tone (our crib is white, but I have a friend who used her changing table in the play room to store toys, books, etc. in plastic bins - our wood furniture in other parts of the house are natural/light wood). Also, was your armoire an unfinished piece of furniture, or did you get an older armoire and refurbish it with paint?

UPDATE ON THE BUMPER/DUST RUFFLE FRONT!!

DH has now decided that we need a bumper, because the crib just won't look right without one. He could care less about the dust ruffle. He thought about this after we were in the Pottery Barn Kids store on Saturday. I now want to just do the dust ruffle or have the naked crib look and get some really cool/safe sheets (like the Stay put, baby-be-safe sheets or maybe the Lands' End barnyard sheets that I love? My only concern is that Lands' End scored so poorly on the Good Housekeeping pull test!). Of course, I will change my mind again about all this as soon as this message is posted. Did any of you change your mind about everything several times during your pregnancies? I just can't bring myself to spend $40-$60 for a bumper that I know will probably have to be removed 6 months after I put it in!

Anyway, thanks to you all for your help. Like I said in another post on the Gerber vs. Carters sheets, I know I am being paranoid, but this information was just not out there when my DD was born. I am surprised she survived infanthood with all the mistakes I made!

Thanks again!

Toni

[Momof3Labs]

Toni,

If you love the Lands' End sheets, but end up having a problem with them, send them back! Don't they have a 100% satisfaction return policy?

And on bumpers, I found an adorable on for $25 at the Company Store outlet. Do you have any outlet malls/stores near you? I wasn't going to buy one either until I found this one, it is adorable and was half off of the catalog price (brand new, nothing wrong with it).

Lori
due 10/12 w/ #1