BABY ROOM REVEAL

I'm so excited to finally share the baby room with you today! I've been working on this room for several months, on top of the boy's room (which you can see here if you missed it!), and I'm so happy with how it came together.

I wanted to create a really simple and peaceful nursery, and since already owned the gray rocker, the gray pouf, and the white and brown dresser from Foster's nursery, I went with gray and white as my color palette. Since there's very little color in the room, I wanted to add a lot of different textures and subtle patterns to keep the room visually interesting, so I chose this diamond patterned rug with a sheepskin rug layered over it, the water hyacinth basket, a white faux fur pillow (that's unfortunately no longer available), some neutral blankets, a mirror (which also makes this tiny room feel bigger), a big tropical plant (a pop of green makes a room come alive!), and of course the stripes on the ceiling.

I'd seen stripes on the ceiling once a long time ago on Pinterest and thought it was such a good way to add some pattern in a unique way. The only bad part is that no one wants to paint the ceiling, let alone measure and tape it all off and then paint. So when I heard about Walls Need Love and their Easy Stripes, I knew it was the perfect solution. They're vinyl strips that you can just stick on and cut down to size -- no measuring, no paint fumes (which is perfect for pregnant mamas), and not permanent so they're great for rental properties! I put these up by myself and although it took three or four stripes to get the hang of it, I got better and faster and had all of these up within a few hours. And I love how they really complete the room and add that unexpected but subtle pattern. They have different widths and they come in a ton of colors that you can see right here, but they also have tons of other decals including murals, maps, and more.

The only thing I wish the room had was a mobile over the crib. Since we have earthquakes here in California we didn't want to hang any picture frames over the crib, so that space still looks a little empty. That amazing handmade felt ram's head from Heart Felt Creations was a perfect addition to the little wall space, but I still think there needs to be something in the other wall above the crib, I just haven't found anything I've loved or had the time to make one myself. Maybe one day!


I linked to everything in the room below, but if I missed something leave a comment!

WALLS NEED LOVE STRIPES - 5" in PEBBLE, c/o WALLS NEED LOVE
RAM HEAD c/o HEART FELT CREATIONS
CRIB c/o DELTA CRIBS
RUG c/o JOSS AND MAIN
IKEA DRESSER (painted by me)
MIRROR
ROCKING CHAIR
FLOOR POUF 
RAD AND HAPPY QUILT (on the crib)
GOLD ANIMAL FIGURINES C/O JOSS AND MAIN
WOODEN NOAH'S ARK
SHEEPSKIN RUG
PLANT
WATER HYACINTH BASKET c/o JOSS AND MAIN
STRIPED THROW BLANKET c/o JOSS AND MAIN

MY OUTFIT: JEANS  ||  LACE TOP

thank you to walls need love for partnering on this post!  |  photos by rad and happy 

PREPPING FOR THE BABY

DETAILS: STRIPED TOP  |  CRIB  |  MAMAROO BABY SWING  |  RAD AND HAPPY QUILT  |  OWLET BABY MONITOR  |  STRIPED SWADDLING BLANKET  |  MIRROR  |  PLANT  |  GOLD ANIMAL FIGURINES  |  WOODEN NOAH'S ARK  |  RUG  |  SHEEPSKIN RUG | IKEA DRESSER (painted by me)


I've been in nesting mode for what seems like forever. For the last few months I've been purging and organizing my house, and then in the last few weeks we've been re-arranging rooms, putting the boys together, and designing the nursery. And now that all of that is basically done, it's time for the really fun part -- the part that makes all of this feel so much more real. Time to fold the baby clothes, take the breast pump out of storage, time to wash the swaddling blankets, hang pictures on the wall, and get all of his things in order.

In the six years since B was born, and almost 3 1/2 since Fos, so many new products have popped up. We have most of the essentials like a nursing pillow and a bumbo, so I'm loving learning about new big products and testing them out with this baby. One product in particular that I've heard about a lot over the last year is Owlet. It's a little foot monitor that checks your baby's heart rate and oxygen and is designed to alert you if your baby stops breathing.

At first I thought about how stressful that would be if the alarm went off, and how I had no interest in having one. But after mentioning it to my husband, he told me how amazing it would be because even though you never want to hear that alarm, it's so much better than the alternative of not knowing that your baby stopped breathing until maybe hours later. Plus, it's motivating me to brush up on my infant CPR knowledge so that in the case of an emergency and the monitor goes off, I actually know what to do.

Obviously we haven't tried it out yet, but I'll be using it as soon as the baby arrives and will share a full review of how we like it! And although I'll be sharing this then too, you can snag yourself one right here and save $20!

in collaboration with owlet |  photos by rad and happy

MERRICK AT HOME: NURSERY TOUR

When I was pregnant with Foster, we planned to have the boys share a room. We decorated our house in Utah accordingly, and then when we moved to California we did the same. 

But about two months after he was born, we decided that them sharing a room was better fit for their older years, since they were just constantly keeping each other up at night. So at Christmas time, we rearranged the bedrooms a bit and put Fos in his own room. 

About six months after the switch, I finally got around to painting the dresser, which was formerly a light oak color, and was Philip's before we got married. And then about six or eight months after that I bought frames for the gallery wall. And then eventually I hung a few things. A couple of months ago I finally tackled one corner, which I showed here. Then, after more than two years of being an almost completely empty room, we finally got a rocking chair and rug, and the room was almost complete. A few final touches last week, and the nursery is finally done. Hallelujah. 

Now I'm so excited to share it with you -- I love how it turned out! 

DETAILS: 

DIY painted letters (above the bed)

Babies R' Us Crib (old, no longer available) 

Land of Nod chair, c/o

Zebra pillow, c/o 

Land of Nod Pouf, c/o 

Green quilt, made by my mom

Land of Nod rug, c/o 

IKEA sheepskin rug c/o

Play Corner Details, here

Target White wire basket

IKEA dresser, painted by me

Noah's Cruise, gift from my mom

Rhino bookends, c/o

Lamp, c/o

Frames (purchased from ikea and Michaels)

Prints: 

- elephant, stacked cars, New York and London prints -- IKEA

- bicycle print via caravann shoppe, c/o

- gold foil feather print via Bella Adele Co, c/o (giveaway coming next week on instagram!)

if I didn't list something above and you want to know the source, please leave a comment below!

MERRICK AT HOME: NURSERY, PART II

Last week I shared a little master bedroom update, and in addition to that home update, I've also been doing a little updating of Foster's nursery. Well, I probably shouldn't call it "updates" since it's just never been done.  Slowly but surely this room is coming together...it's only been 2 1/2 years in the making. Yikes. But it turns out that I actually like doing home decor in phases because it helps me avoid rash decisions and spend all my money at once.

I've been sharing updates on the nursery along the way, both here and on instagram. I shared his easy wall art right here, and his lampshade right here, and I'm slowly working on filling all the picture frames in his gallery wall, but this week I've been working on the little corner next to his bed. It's this weird section of the room that up until now I've had no idea how to decorate.

Then a few weeks ago I ran across this pin and loved the idea of the three stacked cubes. I ordered these ones from Amazon and love the super simple and clean storage they add to the room.

Then we teamed up with Munchkin and they sent us one of their Arm & Hammer diaper pails to use in his nursery, and it fit right into the little corner and suddenly this little awkward corner was filled!  Except it was just a little too all-white, and the diaper pail looked a little too diaper-pail-ish. So I did a little diaper pail personalization and added some simple washi tape stripes, and suddenly it totally fits into this little corner and doesn't feel like a diaper pail at all!

We've never owned a real diaper pail before, and my boys are obsessed with it and always fight over who gets to throw the diaper away (weirdos). And I love it because it legitimately does not smell since it has the little arm & hammer baking soda dispenser inside, and it's the best thing ever to not have to walk all the way to the back of our house every time we need to take out a diaper, or leave it outside the front door to take out later and run the risk of a disgusting opossum ripping it to shreds....not that that's ever happened before....ahem...

Also, while I was decorating the diaper pail with the washi tape, I realized how awesome it would have been to make it look like R2-D2 from Star Wars, since it's totally the right shape for that, and I was this close to doing it but that doesn't exactly fit with the feel of the rest of the nursery so I restrained myself. But if you get one of these diaper pails, please decorate it to look like R2-D2 and send me a picture. Thanks in advance.


ROOM DETAILS: 
arm & hammer diaper pail: c/o munchkin
cube storage: amazon
rocking horse: ikea
succulent: ikea
green quilt: made by my mom
sheepskin rug: ikea
freshly picked moccs, c/o

leave a comment if you have a question about anything else not listed above!

this post was created in partnership with Munchkin

MERRICK AT HOME: PAINTED LETTERS WALL DECOR

My baby turns two next month, but his poor nursery is still a work in progress, and pretty far from being done. I'm so indecisive when it comes to home decorating, so I've been putting this room off forever, and just doing little projects here and there when I find the time. But the wall above his bed was has been looking so empty and lonely for so long that I just had to do something. 

I've seen so many cardboard letter projects, and although most of the time I think they're a little too cutesy for my style, I liked the idea of something lightweight (read: earthquake safe) above the crib. I debated on colors for them for weeks (seriously -- I told you I was indecisive), but finally settled on an apple green and light gray, and I love how they turned out. Simple, modern, and perfect for a little boys room. Plus they're SO easy to make, so today I want to share with you how to make them!

Find the easy tutorial after the jump!

The Nursery

There were still a few things that needed to be done for the nursery in these last few weeks, but when we found out we were moving to California, those got put on hold. Namely: curtains, a rocking chair, and a rug, since the size and shape of the boys new room will determine these purchases. So once we're there and settled and everything is 100% put together, I'll post new pictures. But for now, I wanted to document what I'd done in this house. 

For Peanut's nursery back in the day, we went with bright and fun colors. And although I loved that at the time, I wanted to go for a more light, soothing, and contemporary feel this time. I love how it turned out and I'm excited to get the last few things done once we're in California so it can be completely put together!

Paint Color: Glidden "Pebble Grey"
Toddler Bed: IKEA
Crib: Babies R Us
Dresser: 2 IKEA Malm dressers put together, knobs from Lowe's
Peanut's Bedding: Target
Arrow Pillow: Target
Bike Pillow: Made by me
Monogrammed Pillows: Made by me
Baskets under the bed (one for shoes, one for diapers/wipes, one for stuffed animals): Walmart
Stuffed Bulldog: IKEA
Train Painting: Made by me (inspired by a train painting I saw in a local restaurant a few years ago)
Blackout Shade: Home Depot (best purchase of my life)
Lamp and lampshade: Target
Yellow giraffe and elephant: Walmart ($1 each!) and spray painted by me
Sunshine Print: free printable I found a few years ago -- can't remember the source
Piggy Bank: Target
Noah's Cruise: Gift from my mom (purchased at a boutique in Salt Lake City) (found here)
Blue Crocheted Blanket: gift from my grandma
Stuffed Towel Elephant (in the crib): handmade gift from Erin
Other stuffed animals: gifts from grandparents
Crib Bumpers: Made by me
Crib Skirt: Made by me (tutorial coming soon)
Two small watercolors: done by Peanut
ABC print: Wondercloud on Etsy

. . . . . . . . 

Don't forget about the SHY Boutique giveaway this week! Go here to enter.