Part of what made June's Bold and Beautiful Room (the winner of our first Smallest Coolest Nursery contest) so memorable were the number of great items passed down from other family members and generations like the various vintage toys throughout the room, or her nursing chair -- which belonged to her grandmother.
Many times, making a beautiful nursery your child will love involves using those special heart-felt touches filled with memories of years passed, a.k.a. hand-me-downs!
Yesterday I picked up a tiny bookshelf from next to the garbage, then cleaned it well! It is the perfect size for a child. Like two feet tall. It was made of real wood (to replace the pressed board, fake veneer shelf I had) and had lots of style. Since it is made to not have a back to it I think other people didn't know what it was. It's not exactly a hand-me-down from someone we know but it did belong to someone else first.
Not furniture, but almost all of our clothes are good hand-me-downs. We have two sources (family) that are giving us all of their boy clothes because both don't plan to have any more children. We are so blessed!
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We have used the same nursery for both children. My daughter is now enjoying a wooden mobile and light switch plate from my own nursery, as well as a framed Raggedy Ann print. Several blankets and stuffed animals my mother made for me as a baby are on display, too. (In fact, my son's security blanket is a beautiful hand-quilted and hand embroidered quilt an aunt made for me and my duaghter's was quilted by my mom for my sister.) Also, hanging inside the door of my daughter's armoir is a small plaque depicting a Dutch child in wooden shoes pouring milk for a cat...that hung in my father's nursery in Germany 60 years ago!
Oh! And the scandanavian crib, changing table, and rocking chair set came from my sister-in-law after her three kids used them. I guess just about everything in our nursery is a hand-me-down!
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