the quest for the perfect nursery

I have this issue that plagues me often... just ask my husband. My taste and my budget do not line up! Yes, yes, I know - this is a common problem to have. What often happens to me is I go looking for something with no clue what the average price is, pick out something I like and it inevitable ends up being the MOST expensive one out of all of them. No matter what it is. All the time.

We're currently trying to imagine and create the "perfect" nursery for our little man. It's a task. I have registered and re-registered countless times. Searched every furniture store both online and within a 30 mile radius to find just what I want. And what I'm realizing... Most of the "baby" furniture they sell is crap. Expensive crap. I gave up on finding "baby" furniture and instead just focused on finding some items that I would like for years to come. After making that decision, I began searching vintage, antique, etc. stores because that's sort of the look I was going for. I found tons of items that I just loved. Of course, none of them what I actually needed.

The other night, after another afternoon of scouring the vintage shops and coming up empty handed, I found a dresser and chest that I liked on Overstock. I was just about to click the "Complete Purchase" button and drop $$$ when husband said.. "Why don't we refinish that dresser that's in the spare bedroom?" Seems like an easy enough bargain. After all, it was free and can be used as a changing table/dresser. I had considered this possibility before but when looking at the size and amount of work that would go into sanding and stripping it, I pushed the thought out of my mind. That's a lot of work for a pregnant lady. Not to mention, a lot of chemicals. Here's the kicker though: I had been going on and on ALLLL evening about this super cool paint that I found at an antique store in town and how you don't have to sand and strip the furniture first, how it bonds right to the existing finish, how all you have to do is paint and seal it, blah, blah, blah. I never once thought to connect the dots about using the paint on that specific dresser. Hello pregnancy brain! Anyways, long story short... We are now in the process of DIY-ing several pieces for the nursery and I think we will be happier than ever with these pieces and with the amount of cash that we will save. I started work on the dresser with this magical chalk paint, hubby began working on a beautiful cedar chest that was handed down to him that needed some TLC and I found super-simple plans to build a bookshelf with some craft crates. I am sensing more blog posts to come in the future (I can rave for pages on chalk paint, seriously). 

I did recently order a crib from Amazon and found a super cute side table at a vintage store that will go perfect with our color scheme. Eventually, everything will come together. We have plenty of time, I just want to get the big pieces taken care of before I become too large to bend over or see my feet! Now here's hoping we end up with all the super cute bedding & decor we picked out from Pottery Barn Baby! : )

Vintage Side Table, purchased at Vintage Revival Emporium in Claremore

Graco Stanton 4-in-1 Crib, purchased from Amazon