The Nursery of Little Martha
Posted: November 12th, 2009 | Author: ab | Tags: bedroom, interiors, marlo huff, not my house, nurseryI know many of you are waiting to see this baby’s room, so I’ll keep it short. A few weeks ago my friends Allison and Chris adopted a baby, and I immediately sprung into action to help Al plan a nursery. Here is what we ended up with. I think it’s a pretty cute room for a pretty cute girl.
We didn’t have a lot of time to plan, so most of the items in the room were sourced locally or ordered somewhere online that offered quick shipping. I arrived in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon and had to leave Tuesday morning, so we had a tight schedule to get the room and crib painted, hang shades/curtains, and assemble everything. I would just like you to know that, although we achieved our goal, tomorrow I have to have my gall bladder removed. THE SACRIFICES I MAKE.
The crib is a Jenny Lind, which we painted a color called “Bumblebee” from Lowes’s Valspar spray paint line. (Dear Valspar, Your spray paint color selection is fantastic.) There was a communications mix-up between me and our workers (Vince) at home base, resulting in the purchase of 12 cans of spray paint requiring trips to 3 different Lowes stores. The tale of Vince and the Spray Paint is best told by Allison, so I’ll leave that to her. Maybe she’ll tell it in the comments.
The crib bedding and lamps are from Target. The glider is from a place called, I am not joking, “New Baby Products.” The yellow Ikat pillow is from the awesome Fabricadabra, and thank you Raina for that tip! The dresser is from Babies R Us, and we love it because it doesn’t look like baby furniture.
The rugs, bookcase (Expedit, what what!), and white grommet curtains are all Ikea. The uglydolls are from Heliotrope Home. The pink chair is Vitra from Hive Modern. The most excellent cardboard moose head, which took me approximately 40 years to put together, is from Uncommon Goods. And finally, the walls are “Atlantic Fog” from the discontinued Martha Stewart line at Sherwin Williams.
I wish I had gotten better pictures of the bed, and the room from other angles, but we woke up in the middle of a HURRICANE, so there was very little time and even less light. I did get a shot of one of my favorite things in the room, the Mason jar full of twinkle lights, which was Al’s inspired idea.
Welcome home, Marlo. I hope you love your new room.
So lovely.
So cute! Did the crib come that color or did you paint it? Either way I love it. A nice change from the white and wood grain so normally used in baby furniture.
It’s gorgeous! I adore the crib, the rocker, the twinkly lights…just everything. Oh, and the little bird painting too. Fabulous job and thank you so much for posting these!
This is gorgeous! I can’t believe how much you guys got done in such a short amount of time. (Especially with the organ failure, and all. Does someone end up having something removed every time you all get together? Wasn’t there an appendix incident at some point?)
I’ll get some pictures this weekend! I can’t wait to see it in person. FRABULOUS.
Gorgeous! I can’t wait to see more HB pics
GORGEOUS! Thank you for sharing. Can’t wait to see more!
Oh, the yellow crib is inspired.
Love it! Don’t be knocking my New Baby Products, now.
I never expected anything less than the perfect nursery. I bet Al and Chris are thrilled with it, and here’s hoping Marlo has many (MANY) a happy hour sleeping in that room!
Seriously, New Baby Products has long been awesome. My new baby turned 18 last week, and for us it was A Major Source.
Do they still have the humongous crib on the roof?
So sorry about the g.b. Feel better soon!
Sorry to hear about the gallbladder problem, but that yellow crib is fantastic. The whole room is, actually.
I know “New Baby Products” well. Terrible name, but located next door to a killer discount fabric place (Gail K)!
Hope you recover quickly!
Oh my god, Gail K. That place is the greatest fabric store on the planet and I sincerely hope you had a chance to pop in there, AB. Unless you were at the Snellville NBP, which is not next to Gail K (on Cheshire Bridge).
LOVE the Mason jar! And I love that some of them hang down, lighting the lower shelves! Super cute room! Good luck with surgery!!!
Wife in Another Life,
What can I say? Simply stunning. Why do I think “Bumblebee” is going to be zingin’ around the blogosphere for the next few months as THE crib color to have?
As an adopted person, I tip my hat to Allison and Chris for making such a giving life commitment.
Hugs and inappropriate groping,
Raina
P.S. “Marlo” was my #2 on my baby name list. Awesome choice!
I love a jenny lind crib, and the yellow makes it nice and fresh! Great room!
Holy smokes, that’s gorgeous!
Oooh I love the crib! So bright
Teri — it was the Snellville NBP, which is not next to Gail K, but IS next to a bra fitting store. Who wins?
The room is so amazing in person, I can’t even say. It’s so inviting, and we absolutely LOVE it.
It is almost impossible to tell the story of Vince and the Spray Paint, because there is so much math in it, it’s like an SAT word problem. It caused me at one point to just sit down on the kitchen floor and laugh at him. Briefly: early in the day we bought four cans of paint for him to use, showed him the bag, and left. His mind, though, doesn’t work like the minds of others. He saw one can sitting on the table and thought that was the only can. So he judiciously applied one coat to each piece of the bed with one can, later texting us a confusing message about how he just needed one more can per side of the bed. AB was like, “so you need four more cans?” And he said no, he just needed ONE. Obviously, he was high on paint fumes, because this made no sense. We thought he had used all four cans, so we went to buy more.
We returned to the nearest Lowe’s on the way home and bought the remainder of their Bumblebee: two cans. In Vince’s “mind” this meant we now only had three cans (the new two + the one he had already used) to work with. “We’re going to need more,” he said, so off they went to another Lowe’s to buy six more cans. NO ONE discovered until very late that he had never noticed the original bag of cans sitting by the door. And he had never asked why it appeared we originally bought only one can of spray paint to use on the bed. The mystery of his text about the four sides/one can was never fully solved. I think we ended up with 13 cans of paint. In the end, I believe nine were used.
All of this + wine = us developing a vogue gang move where we each had two cans of paint and raised our arms in the air screaming BUMBLEBEEEEES!
So beautiful! Congratulations to the LH family, a million stars to AB for another wonderful project, and good luck with the gall bladder eviction.
It’s beautiful! What a lucky little girl! I’m in love with the yellow Jenny Lind crib. That style is my favorite, such a classic, but the yellow is absolutely inspired!
The little pink Panton just about melts my heart and that sweet pillow- good call Raina!
One more thing before I give you a standing ovation, next time you’re in the ATL, mind swingin’ by my place and putting together my cardboard rhino head that’s been sitting in my basement for a year???
Beautifully done and congrats to the proud new parents!
What a dear, sweet nursery! I just adore it, especially the Bumblecrib. Fantastic work, HuffChaos, and welcome home, sweet MarthaLowe.
holy cow that’s a gorgeous room.
I am so stealing the idea of the twinkle lights in a jar! gorgeous! and suddenly - I must have bumblebee yellow in my apartment.
The spray paint story is one for the ages. As is the room itself. Beautiful job, team!
Beautiful! Fantastic collaboration! Little Martha is a lucky girl, indeed.
I love the Mason jar with twinkle lights. I have a glass head I fill with twinkle lights, but the jar is way less creepy for a baby’s room.
Oh, I failed to mention I hope your survey goes (went) well!!! I had that same procedure a few years back myself. No fun, obviously, but a relatively easy recovery and I had a one and three year old at the time. Just think, you’ll
be able to eat a hamburger now without feeling like you’re going to keel over! ;0)
Here’s to a quick recovery!
So cute. I wish I could do that in 3 days…wow! Are the bumper pads from target? Great job!
Trina
http://www.lalalovelythings.blogspot.com
Love it all! I want to translate this color scheme for my room!
Amazing! I’m about to set up a nursery for my own adopted daughter (she’s 6 months old but we’re just now moving into a place with 2 bedrooms) and I’m already scheming about how to incorporate a cardboard moose head (my favourite animal) and a jar full of twinkly lights. Great job and congrats to the LoweHuffs.
Trina, the bumper pads are actually from Babies R Us. They are plain white and in the mix-and-match bedding section. The sheet and blanket are Target, though.
AB, you’ll be proud that I am wearing an outfit tomorrow that matches the room. BUMBLEBEES!
Thank you, everyone, for the well-wishes on the room and on my ex-GB. I am feeling much more coherent today, probably because the effects of anesthesia and 9 cans of spray paint are finally wearing off. I will not be moving or putting together any furniture for a few days, though.
Teri, I loved New Baby Products, which I kept mistakenly calling “Babyville.” We were hoping Justin Timberlake would show up in a crib suit. Next time I’m in town we will have to go to Gail K!
BUMBLEBEES!
Super duper job!
Glad that stupid, good for nothing gall bladder is gone. What a lazy bum!
The room is beautiful, AB! The [unches of colour are perfect. Alison and Chris, congratulations on your new baby!
love the crib. Was the spray paint non-toxic? I am considering the same approach, but am uncertian about our kid chewing on spray paint…
really great job and congratulations!!
adorable room!
i also painted my little girls jenny lind crib yellow, so i feel your pain.
great job!
this is random..but where did you get that big black calendar piece that is hanging in your kitchen i believe??? i loveeeeee it.
But there’s a Marlo over at Dooce … I’m going to get all confused like when the Afflecks and the Dave Grohls both had “Violet’s.
The nursery is buets! Just like the little girl who will call it home, I’m sure. Love that no Disney princesses were used in the completion of this room.
@jones: We ordered special paint with extra toxins. Just kidding! We actually called the support number on the can, and the nice lady at Valspar assured us that their spray paint is non-toxic after it has cured for 2-3 days.
@Natalie: That is the Stendig calendar — if you google you will find it for sale a bunch of places.
That is an absolutely stunning room. Best part? No cartoon characters on the walls or bedding. I am particularly in love with the display shelves and baskets (and mason jar lights).
Once more for luck - congratulations to the happy parents!
So stinking cute! When are you going to come and do Desi’s room? Recover soon-soon, okay?
Lots of love and XXXs and etc.,
e
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! The yellow brings to mind sunshine and joy.
Amazing work. You should hire yourself out, AB.
Beautiful, beautiful, and I’m so very happy for your friends on the adoption of their daughter.
I love this room. Most interesting to me is the mix of wooden pieces with the yellow crib, white shelves and brown dresser. I’m always of the mind that wood furniture is supposed to match, but I think I substitute “matching” for “decorating skills.” Do you have any tips for mixing wooden pieces such that they look nice even when they don’t “match”?
Just GORGEOUS!!! Can you share the blanket and crib sheet name??? I think I am going to Target!
Thank you! I have no idea what they’re called, but the blanket is definitely Dwell.
what an amazing nursery room! i love your blog!
regards from Holland!
One of my surprise favorite things — of the zillion favorite things — about the room has been those lamps on the chest. I didn’t even realize how great it would be to have the pull chains to turn them on, rather than having to reach under the shade for a switch. Way easy and cute.
Hi! I have been dreaming about a yellow crib! You have clearly done a most impressive and beautiful job painting the crib. I wanted to ask how you felt about the painting process…was it difficult? what did you do to prep the crib for paint, if anything? Both myself and husband are pretty crafty but I am not sure I could achieve the quality you guys did! Any painting advice would be appreciated.
PS…congrats to Marlo and her family! My name is Martha too. There are not so many of us…makes me smile:)
Oh, I love the glider! I looked up “New Baby Products” but alas, nothing like it on the resulting site. Any tips? A link? Something? Or perhaps you could save the world and come up for a good true slipcover solution for this: http://bit.ly/92UR0k.
Seriously, I can’t be the only one battling “ugly free glider syndrome”.
TJ, the glider is made by Best Home Furnishings, and I am pretty sure it is this model: http://tinyurl.com/yg58w7f
Thank you so much for the lead! Now if only someone could solve the ugly free glider slipcover dilemma, parents all over the world would rejoice.
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You did an amazing job!