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Nursery Tour: Phoebe Rose's Mom-made Room

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Name: Phoebe Rose
Age: due any day!
Location: Ann Arbor, MI

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Like her friends, we're amazed that mom-to-be Emily made almost everything in her daughter's nursery: toys, quilts, cross-stitch, burp cloths, chair slip cover, bird mobile...the list goes on! Although not yet lived in, this nursery speaks volumes of love and attention, originality mixed with vintage pieces, and has "Phoebe" creatively written all over it (both literally and figuratively). We adore the variety of ideas in this room (think soft blocks covered in vintage sheets)...

 
 

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Bird mobile - made from a Martha Stewart tutorial

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Inspiration: I’m a sewer and a self-proclaimed “fabric junkie” and for years before my husband and I even talked about having children I would always pick up fabric that I wanted to save for future baby projects. The entire color scheme of the room was pulled from the “Mendicino” fabric collection by Heather Ross in the blush colorway. The quilt hanging on the crib shows off all of those fabrics.

Favorite Element: The mobile above the crib I made myself from a Martha Stewart tutorial. It took a heck of a lot longer than i thought and when my husband came home and saw me threading 1 inch pieces of embroidery floss through about a hundred tiny little paper flowers - he thought i had lost it!

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Biggest Challenge: Trying to accomplish everything on a pretty tight budget. My husband graduated from medical school in June and just recently started his residency, so with all of those student loans, money is pretty tight. Garage sales are our friends!

What Friends Say: They’re amazed at how many of the elements I actually made myself - and they love all of the handmade toys.

Proudest DIY: This was the first time i’ve ever made slipcovers for furniture or reupholstered anything, so i was pretty thrilled with how the covers for the glider and ottoman turned out. Not bad for a 20$ garage sale find!

Biggest Indulgence: We honestly didn’t really splurge on anything. The only new piece of furniture in the room was the crib, which was a gift from my parents. Although i do have a long list of indulgences that i’d be interested in splurging on!

Best advice: Whenever anyone who hasn’t seen the room asks about the nursery, they always ask “What’s the theme?” I don’t know where everyone got the idea that a nursery has to have a cutesy baby theme with everything being so matchy-matchy. We just went with a general color scheme that allowed us to incorporate pieces that we really love.

Dream source: I seriously need some Etsy therapy. I spend hours browsing all of their goodies, and pretty much everything that I didn’t make came from there.

Resources: my out-of-control fabric stash, garage sales, etsy

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Images: Emily Schildhouse (mom-to-be)

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Comments (36)

So glad this nursery was featured here! I spotted this on Flickr the other day and fell in love with this color scheme and the maturity of the style despite being a child's room. It's gorgeous!

Well done!

posted by racheloncegentry on July 29th 2009 at 10:52am
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Absolutely adorable and splendid nursery for your baby girl. But I'm biased being a fellow Ann Arbor mommy!

posted by aspenchick on July 29th 2009 at 10:54am
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I love this! The colors are so beautiful. It feels very warm and loving inside this room. And the quilts are awesome!!!

posted by Anna Joy on July 29th 2009 at 11:09am
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I LOVE that quilt of the Heather Ross mermaid fabrics. So pretty -- and the whole room has a sweet vibe.

Love it. :)

posted by mere1975 on July 29th 2009 at 11:19am
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What an absolutely beautiful room! All the lovely things you made just ooze with love... what a lucky baby!

posted by ETebb80 on July 29th 2009 at 11:20am
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ooh . . . this room makes me think of a strawberry milk shake. i love it.

posted by doubledutch on July 30th 2009 at 10:41am
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i have been singing "you are my sunshine" to my daughter since she was born. it has turned tears into smiles or sleep (which has in turn made me cry:).

i love the print (more tears!) and hope that song brings you and your daughter as much joy as it does us.

lucky, lucky girl

posted by melissah on July 30th 2009 at 11:30am
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what a lovely room and so very thoughtful!

posted by bugnbirdie on July 30th 2009 at 12:59pm
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I love the room, these are some of the very fabrics I've picked out for my daughter's room--or I did before I gave up making my own crib skirt, etc. Anyway, the mobile is beautiful, and the choices made are inspired. And I've also sung "You are my sunshine" to my baby girl since her birth.

posted by Pencils on July 30th 2009 at 1:21pm
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I love this, and we just ordered the exact same crib last night and I'm SO excited about it. Also, cute kitty!!

posted by 950 on July 30th 2009 at 1:23pm
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I love the rocking chair pad! Where did you find the pattern or tutorial?

posted by ShanGram23 on July 30th 2009 at 1:29pm
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That is the prettiest pink I've ever seen! I literally sighed out loud. Love all the details. Please please please can we get the name of the paint??

posted by mrslaurenleigh on July 30th 2009 at 1:43pm
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Thanks everyone! I had such a great time working on this room and can't wait until Phoebe is here to enjoy it. As for the paint color, I used Silk Sheets by Valspar.

posted by Emmmylizzzy on July 30th 2009 at 1:54pm
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I love the color combination. The warm reds and yellows give pink the right amount of maturity and give everything a soft glow. And your quilting skills- amazing! Well done!

posted by *nessa* on July 30th 2009 at 2:33pm
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Wow, this is what I wish I could have done for my nursery! I think it's absolutely fantastic!

posted by rhiana on July 30th 2009 at 2:50pm
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WOW. seriously, this is one of THE best nurseries I have seen on here yet, and I am an avid ohdeedoh nursery tour browser. I have literally seen them all. And oh my...that chair. You must must MUST at least just give me a slight head start in the right direction as to how to go about doing that. My DS is due Sept. 6 and we received a glider from a friend who was done with hers and I desperately want to cover it, but am too afraid...I don't even know where to start. Oh dear I could probably ask about a million questions...but I do love this nursery and you need a huge pat on the back for that! Well Done!!!

posted by akgreengirl on July 30th 2009 at 9:07pm
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What a beautiful and cozy room, and the fact that you incorporated so many personal touches into the room makes it even more special. Your years of fabric obsession paid off big time!

posted by mrsvioletleigh on July 30th 2009 at 11:55pm
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Love this room. The quilt and everything else you made are fabulous. Great fabrics and color combos. I love the shark on the crib...so unexpected in a girl's room. I may have to copy those curtains.

posted by alsweetgum on July 31st 2009 at 11:07am
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those quilts will be handed down forever! i'm so impressed. i've been sewing for about a year and i know the time and dedication it takes to make something like that! great job. the room is beautiful. i love etsy too! i want to get that print!

posted by zooeymae on July 31st 2009 at 3:19pm
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Thanks again everyone - for the glider I simply cut up the existing cushion cover to use as a pattern and went from there. After sewing the basic shape, place your new cover back on the cushions and pin like crazy to be able to sew a more custom fit.

posted by Emmmylizzzy on July 31st 2009 at 3:53pm
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I am just in awe!

posted by the arkansas traveler on July 31st 2009 at 3:57pm
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This is an amazing nursery! I am not prejudiced, even though Phoebe Rose is my granddaughter and Emily is my daughter!
So proud of both of them!!

posted by crupchock on August 1st 2009 at 9:01pm
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Really pretty, but hand-dyed burp cloths?

Your life is really about to change.

posted by kelleyk on August 3rd 2009 at 11:54pm
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Agreed--one of the best rooms ever! So much love in every detail.

kelleyk, this room is truly the owner's art and passion. sure, she'll have less time for that when baby arrives, but clearly this woman is an artist and she'll never give that up.

posted by TheLittlestChicken on August 5th 2009 at 12:46am
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Gorgeous! I love the mobile!

posted by Morgan (The818.com) on August 11th 2009 at 4:26pm
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the room is beautiful. congratulations for doingIY. that makes it, yes, more inexpensive, but also so much more personalized.

re: kelleyk's comment on your "hand dyed burp cloths" LOL - and i thought what a precious way to individualize your cloth diapers!

posted by silke on August 13th 2009 at 9:11pm
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I also love the glider pattern and was wondering where you found it! the room is adorable.

posted by aweaton on August 14th 2009 at 4:11pm
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Inspirational! Every little detail is just gorgeous! I think burp cloths like yours will be my next project!

posted by kitjule on August 15th 2009 at 9:50pm
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Wow, I don't normally comment here but this nursery is just beautiful. So much love and care has gone into this room.. Little Phoebe is a lucky girl.

posted by bobbiebee on August 16th 2009 at 8:16am
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wow. stunning is the only word i have. beautiful colors, perfectly mismatched but matched fabrics, and i love the handquilting on that quilt. everything is so delicate and lovely. nice job!

posted by roryandjess on August 20th 2009 at 12:11am
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Your daughter is very lucky to have such a loving and creative mother. This is really one of the best nurseries I've seen here.

posted by kpbittner on August 20th 2009 at 1:42pm
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Very beautiful and calming. I love that you made so many things, you did a beautiful job!

posted by lucy17dog on August 21st 2009 at 8:04am
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This is so beautiful it makes my heart ache. I was one of those (un)lucky ones who was so sick during their pregnancy that creating a nursery was out of the question. Now my daughter is nearly six months old and I am still getting it together. I adore the Heather Ross quilt and mobile, and am inspired to do both. Thank you!!

posted by adanielo on August 22nd 2009 at 8:02pm
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I laughed at KellyK's comment on the hand dyed burp cloths...maybe she doesn't know just how easy dying can be! And while babies change lives forever, eventually things settle down and we mommies get some time back for ourselves.
This nursery is lovely, I'm writing down the paint color! Beautiful craftsmanship.

posted by sunnysar on September 14th 2009 at 1:02pm
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Hi there,
Beautiful!!!
Was hoping you could provide the brand of the crib.
Thanks!

posted by rscarlett on September 27th 2009 at 12:19pm
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I love this room! It has such sweetness and warmth. The fabrics are all so beautiful and so is the bird mobile. You did such an amazing job!

posted by mae25 on November 2nd 2009 at 12:09pm
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