Pepper Design Blog

Project Nursery: Fabric Adventures

The fabric for the curtains has arrived! I was so excited as I cut the shipping paper off of the thickly wrapped bolts of Baltic Stripe fabric. I had purchased the lining for the curtains last week and was ready to get started (and get this nursery finished).

And then I had the most unfortunate discovery… instead of vertical stripes running top to bottom along the length of the fabric:

I quickly found that the beautiful, soft pastel lines actually ran horizontally across the width of the fabric:

I shed a tiny tear as I realized that I wouldn’t be able to create the curtains I had envisioned for the space. The horizontal lines meant that the fabric was only 54″ wide if I attempted to sew vertically lined curtains. I didn’t want a seam half way through the fabric and I thought horizontally lined curtains might conflict with the horizontal wall stripes:

But I quickly moved on to plan b and found a solid fabric that I thought would add just the right feminine touch with its soft pink/coral color to balance out the other patterns and stronger colors (in the form of playful wall animals) in the room:

The fabric pattern is called Malibu and is from the Laguna collection at Thibaut. While the color I chose is referenced as ‘peach’, I ordered a sample and discovered that as I suspected, it appears much pinker in person and really compliments the rest of the room (and the fabric palette picked out here) well. As for the stripe? I have much in store for that fabric.

Other fabrics that arrived recently included the Malay Ikat that will create the perfect cushion covers for the nursery’s glider:

The fabric is just beautiful! I hope that there are a few extra swatches after creating the cushion covers (a must for a glider that’s bound to get its fair share of spit up, etc) for throw pillows and what not.

I thought that these fabrics would look beautiful as crib bedding:

The other ‘extras’ that will help incorporate patterns into the nursery space might include basket liners, a pillow for the glider, a laundry bag/basket – even fabric book pouches for the walls.

And while I won’t tackle all of the sewing on my own (I have an amazingly generous aunt and an awesome local seamstress to help me out with the really tough stuff), these projects will keep me busy over the next few weeks!

If you’re catching up on Project Nursery, here’s a link to the fabric board, curtains part 1, rocking horse find, new pendant light, vintage wall art addition, changing table makeover, nursery wall striping tutorial, painted animal project, the initial inspiration board and the before picture posts.

Project Nursery: Rocking Horse Love

Look what arrived in the mail!

Ever since I spotted the little wooden rocking horses in several of these nursery inspiration rooms, I decided I’d love to track one down for Liv’s room, too. There’s just something about an old-fashioned wooden rocking horse that is the iconic symbol of a kids room (besides the fact that it’s soo adorable).

And a modern, plastic version won’t do. It needs to have that vintage, antique feel that stands the test of toy time (I’m not a huge fan of the box store plastic toys, anyhow.)

I did a bit of Craigslist searching and even some antique shopping but only came across pricier, not-for-kids collector models. Wooden rocking horses are not easy to find!

Then a friend, knowing I was on the hunt, sent me a link to Zulily – a daily deals site for moms, babies and kids (just like Gilt and One Kings Lane, but for the babes!). KidKraft was one of the featured sellers for the day and they had the perfect wooden rocking horse for $32.99. Sold. (I found the same rocking horse on Amazon today as well – ironically it’s called the Modern Wooden Rocking Horse).

Liv doesn’t take much interest in it now, but I think she’ll love it here in a few years.

She helps me out a lot in the nursery these days – and by helping out I mean she finds a comfy little nook and passes out while Mom compares fabric swatches and organizes bins of clothing & toys.

I’m considering painting the horse a complimentary color (but not matchy matchy) to the curtains, which are in the same palette as the wall animals. Perhaps a more saturated tone? Or maybe I’ll leave it white?

Decisions, decisions. Until then, it’s back to creating those curtains!

If you’re catching up on Project Nursery, here’s a link to the fabric board, curtains part 1, new pendant light, vintage wall art addition, changing table makeover, nursery wall striping tutorial, painted animal project, the initial inspiration board and the before picture posts.

Project Nursery: Prints & Patterns Part 2

The Thibaut swatches have arrived! I feel like a kid in a candy store amidst all of these beautiful prints. Olivia was overwhelmed too.

After laying out a variety of different color ways, it quickly became clear that a coral, tan and brown palette was the way to go. The strong, saturated colors (mixed with a few softer pastels) would help to feminize the space while complimenting the colors of the wall animals.

Left to right: Pearl Trellis in brown, Baltic Stripe in pastel, Malibu in peach, Pearl Trellis in coral, Coco in natural, Malay Ikat in beige,  Metropolis Stripe in brown and Times Square in brown.

Now which to choose for the curtains…

I knew which fabric that I thought would look best lining the windows… and I was so happy when Liv agreed.

Thibaut’s Baltic Stripe – Pastel on Cream it is!

Now I’m off to pick up some lining from Joann’s Fabrics today to get this party project started.

If you’re catching up on Project Nursery, here’s a link to the initial fabric board, vintage wall art addition, changing table makeover, nursery wall striping tutorial, painted animal project, the initial inspiration board and the before picture posts.