Over the last few months, I have been working on a few projects around our home. The following ones were all to do with the Baby Room. I do have to say that most of the time, I am so excited to get into the project that I forget to take "Before" pictures.
The Crib:
After I found out I was pregnant, I started looking at Craigslist (an area specific website for people to buy and sell or trade) to get a general idea of what people in my area were selling things secondhand for. Initially I didn't have anything in specific that I was looking for, but it soon became apparent that you can find some amazing deals if you know your prices, and check on it frequently. Obviously, you do have to be a little wise about things as Craigslist is known for its scammers. But so far, I have not had any problems. All that to say, after checking Craigslist regularly for months, I stumbled across a post for a crib for $25.
Initially my thought was that it must be a scam, or it was in really poor condition. But I checked it out anyway. The lady had a picture, and she was including the mattress. This was an unheard of deal. Most cribs that I had been looking at were in at least $100, and most without mattresses, which can be another $50 or so. I emailed her to see if she still had it available, and she did. So Sam and I went to check it out. Not only was it in really good condition, but she threw in the bedding and stuff as well. Her daughter had grown out of it, and her husband just wanted her to get rid of it. So we were the blessed recipients of her need to get it out of her house.
The Crib:
After I found out I was pregnant, I started looking at Craigslist (an area specific website for people to buy and sell or trade) to get a general idea of what people in my area were selling things secondhand for. Initially I didn't have anything in specific that I was looking for, but it soon became apparent that you can find some amazing deals if you know your prices, and check on it frequently. Obviously, you do have to be a little wise about things as Craigslist is known for its scammers. But so far, I have not had any problems. All that to say, after checking Craigslist regularly for months, I stumbled across a post for a crib for $25.
Initially my thought was that it must be a scam, or it was in really poor condition. But I checked it out anyway. The lady had a picture, and she was including the mattress. This was an unheard of deal. Most cribs that I had been looking at were in at least $100, and most without mattresses, which can be another $50 or so. I emailed her to see if she still had it available, and she did. So Sam and I went to check it out. Not only was it in really good condition, but she threw in the bedding and stuff as well. Her daughter had grown out of it, and her husband just wanted her to get rid of it. So we were the blessed recipients of her need to get it out of her house.
The crib was a honey wood color. It was nice, but when we got it in the room, it had a very pink color to it. So I had the bright idea that I wanted it black.
And here is the end result...
The Bedding:
The bedding that came with the crib was a light pale pink color. When we picked up the crib, we did not know whether we were having a boy or girl. But it was so light, that I thought, if we end up having a boy, I will just dye it a boy color. A few weeks later, it was confirmed that we were going to be having a boy. So I bought some dye, and dyed it right in my washing machine. I had never dyed anything before, and this was so simple.
Here is the end result...
The Craft Desk:
Before it was a Baby Room, it was my craft room. Before I knew that I was pregnant, I had purchased a table secondhand for $5 to put my sewing machines on, and to have a large workspace for cutting out patterns and such. I have no pictures of the actual desk, but this one is a fair representation of what it looked like.
After we got the crib, I realized that I did not have enough space in the room for my table and the crib, and the other furniture. So I brainstormed. And I concluded that if I cut the table in half, it would fit along the wall in an unusable space between the wardrobe and the wall. So while Sam was at work one day, I pulled out his skill saw, and chopped it in half. To my relief it fit perfectly with one half on top of the other half. It also still fit my machines on it. It has been working well for me, but in order for it to fit in with the rest of the decor, I decided it needed to be black also. My only problem was that it covered half the window, and if it was black, then it would make the room more dark than it already was. So again I brainstormed. Again I concluded that if I cut the top portion in half, then it would fit better. So that's what I did. Below is the top portion once I cut it in half. Also by cutting it in half, I got an extra shelf!
And here is the end result... I still have a little organizing to do with it, but I love all the extra room it supplies.
So the baby room is coming along nicely. I am also working on a couple other pieces that I got off Craigslist, but those are not quite finished yet, so will have to wait for a future post. Here is a preview of the "Before"...
The bottom portion of my China Hutch...
The side table in my living room...
2 comments:
Those are awesome, Nicki! The crib looks wonderful in black -- so old fashioned and classy! The table idea was nothing less than genius, and how did you get the bedding from turning purple?
Looks like you are well prepared! I love the crib in black, looks so "manly". You are making your house into a wonderful HOME!
Do you have a changing table in the works?
PS When Sam was in 8th grade we headed to IKEA and he bought a black desk and chair, black and white comforter and sheets for his his bed for his birthday. He had a room he could be proud of!
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