Margot's Room: Little English Lady Meets Little Hipster Baby

I've had a nursery planned out in my head for years. Of course, in all my planning, I was convinced we'd have a boy first, so when Margot turned out to be a Margot, not a ____, I had to adjust a bit.  My plans also did not include that we would still be living in a two-bedroom flat with no yard and the laundry two floors down, but that's life I suppose, and we are grateful for what we've been given.

Anyhow, once I actually came to terms with the idea that we were really having a girl, and that we still needed to use that second bedroom for guests, I started to put together a room that would not only still function and feel comfortable for our guests, but could house a growing, beautiful girl and all of her stuff. (Side bar: how can such tiny people have so much STUFF?!) It's still a work in progress, but I always feel that way about every room in my house.


It had to start with a plan for storage. This can be an issue in any house, but we had some particular challenges due to our closet space, or lack thereof. Kyle's clothes have long occupied the closet in our guest room (or Spare Oom, if you will), and there is just nowhere for them to go from there. We knew we'd need a wardrobe for Margot.


We also knew that we wanted this shelving unit from IKEA, which just so happened to fit like a glove into the space we had available. It's currently a bit "busier" than I'd prefer, but did I mention how much STUFF she already has? I don't know that the shelf will ever make it down the stairs and out of this house if we move, but I couldn't be happier with the storage it provides in the meantime!


The second thing I had to consider was color.  I wanted it to feel bright and cheery, and yet not too babyish. Neutral walls and neutral bedding, with brighter colors layered on top. For Margot's bed, I scoured the internet for crib bedding, but didn't like a thing, so I ended up getting plain white sheets, a vintage white quilt from Etsy, and a breathable bumper. It ended up being super cheap that way! We used an old quilt made by Kyle's grandmother as the "comforter" for the guest bed, and I was so glad that the beautiful flower blanket gifted to me by my mother a couple years ago could finally be on display.


Many of the other pieces of furniture and decor in her room came from yard sales, Craigslist, and Etsy.




One of my favorite items (and probably my mother's LEAST favorite) is her little woodland creature, who came from last year's Strange Folk Festival. He's currently just chillin' in her Boppy. I think he's cute and whimsical. Margot's Grandma Lu had a few other adjectives for him, but we love him just the same!


Kyle made some personal contributions to the room, as well. He is an avid tea drinker, a connoisseur of fine tea, if you will. He's been saving dozens of tea tins for years, in the hopes they could some day be used for a baby. They look pretty cute just randomly stacked on her shelves for now, and I suspect she'll love playing with all of them some day.


Two things I'm pretty sure of for the moment:
1. Her room will probably never look or feel this clean again.
2. As with every other room in my house, it will always feel unfinished.

Unfinished is not the same as incomplete, however, and when she is here I am confident the room will feel complete!