DECORATING A SMALL SPACE // OLIVIA'S NURSERY.

Seeing as I've finally finished Olivia's nursery I thought I'd do a post about it. After doing a lot of research online about decorating 'small bedrooms' it became very apparent that small did not have the same meaning to most people. Olivia's nursery is approximately 6.6ft x 6.8ft in size, so I didn't have much space to work with at all! In the end I put all my effort in (with the help of my lovely mother) and I'm really happy with the outcome. 

This is Olivia's nursery - very pink, very girly; very cute. To make the room look as big as possible I chose to paint the main walls white and have one 'feature wall' (using Dulux 'Sorbet'), I chose to do a striped design which I believe helps to make the nursery look bigger.  As I had to be conscious of space, this IKEA armchair was perfect and so comfy! I obviously covered it with a throw blanket in case of spit ups or spills. Also from IKEA is this pink flower wall-lamp, I think it complements the room nicely and makes it look so cosy at night.

I loooove this bunting, I didn't want to ruin the stripes by painting on them so this seemed like the better option. I cannot find the online shop for this particular one but there are so many on Etsy and Ebay.

EMILIA'S PLAYPEN.

We recently purchased the 'BabyDan Configure Gate XXL Black' from Safetots. We previously had the Infantastic playpen which we're keeping for when we travel and for when Emilia stays at her grandparents' house. We decided to get a bigger and sturdier playpen as Emilia is walking now and has quite a lot of toys. I wanted to be able to keep an eye on her and for her to play happily and safely whilst I'll be caring for the new baby. I believe this type of playpen was well priced (£89.99) and I'm extremely happy with our choice. 

(This is the old playpen, which has served it's purpose and would probably have stayed as her playpen if we weren't having another baby)

HOUSE PROGRESS // BEDROOM, HALLWAY AND BEAUTY ROOM.

I've recently been doing some painting, it kinda feels like I've been desperate to get the house perfect so I can finally relax and enjoy my beautiful daughter and this lovely weather we've been having - nothing wrong with that I guess. There's still a lot to do, but I'm getting there each month. This month I've painted the entryway and landing, the beauty room and our bedroom.

Before...

THE PROCESS OF DECORATING EMILIA'S NURSERY.

After scrolling through Pinterest for nursery ideas we took a trip to B&Q, Wilko, Next Home and some other shops to get some supplies, then I got to work As you can see the room was previously this ugly (IMO) shade of pink. I detest it so much and there were Disney Princess stickers all over the walls - it needed to go! I started by lining the outsides of the carpet and the bottom of the wall with masking tape and used some old towels to cover the carpet in the surrounding area. The first step I took was glossing the skirting boards to make them look clean and finished - I used a brilliant white non-drip gloss from Wilko which usually ranges from £5-10 depending on which brand you choose. I used a synthetic paintbrush to prevent shedding and long brush strokes to avoid noticeable marks. I allowed a couple of days for the gloss to completely dry and set (even though it says 12-24 hours to dry).

NURSERY IDEAS AND WHICH INSPIRED US THE MOST.

We moved into our new house in early February. As our bub was 4 weeks old at that time and was sleeping ALL DAY I decided that it was time to start decorating the house. I started with the downstairs toilet, then that got old, so I decided to move onto Emilia's nursery. I knew we were going to have her sleeping in her own room by about 6 months so I wanted to make sure that her room was fully decorated and ready for her. (note: I've realized that preparation is key when you have a baby, like down. to. the. hour.) I downloaded the Pinterest app on my phone whilst waiting for the internet to be set up - I became obsessed with it and started to look for nursery decor inspiration.

1. I love this nursery. The grey walls, the basic white furniture and the bright contrasting patterns. I think this is quite a modern nursery and to be honest, this could be a great girls nursery as well as boys. I really love the hardwood flooring along with the grey rug! Not a fan of the shelving above the cot as I'd be scared that things would fall onto the baby, but it does look very nice!

2. Again, I love grey walls, and I love that this is girly but not in-your-face pink princess room. White furniture has always been a favourite of mine, I believe it looks great in any room of the house. This room is very spacious and I think it'd be a suitable room for a child to grow in. I also love the idea of the armchair instead of your usual wooden feeding chair, it gives the nursery more of a comfy feel.