Abracadabra....It's a Nursery!

One of my favorite design blogs, The Lettered Cottage, often posts before-and-after pictures of virtual remodels and calls them "presto changos." 

Not to be confused with "illusions."  We'll leave those up to Gob.



Recently, the beautifully talented designer at TLC decided to let people submit photos of their home for a free virtual makeover in a series called Pick My Presto.

A "presto" by Layla Palmer

A chance to have a professional give me ideas for my own home for free sounded awesome, but there isn't any space in our house that really needs redecorating.

Oh, wait.  

There's that whole, bringing home a baby thing. 

So I did some straightening up and took this photo of our guest bedroom and submitted it.  This room is a perfect snapshot of my 2004 tastes.  These used to be our master bedroom furniture and accessories.  And yes, we have a queen comforter on a double bed.  That's not nearly as shocking as knowing that KellerMan and I shared that full bed for more than a year!

 Guest room/craft storage

Then I realized that I have a working knowledge of Photoshop and I could attempt to presto my own chango!  I'm artistic in my own way, but still-life trips me up.  I definitely don't understand angles and perspective, so please excuse the eye-crossing moments going on here.

My attempt at being gender-neutral has its flaws :)

As you can tell, I bleed neutrals and don't care for themes.  No butterflies or outer space baby room for our kiddo!

However, our home office has a very cool baseball-slash-pop art feel to it that could easily be relocated into a boys' room.

Let's walk through the room, shall we?  First, I must say that while I tried to be reasonable and only add/change elements that I would add/change in real life, I started to realize that worrying about real life was stupid while having fun with a virtual makeover!

Okay, my numbering is totally off here...

1. Gray walls: Beautiful and gender-neutral.* 
2.  Crown moulding: We probably wouldn't bother with it in real life because we are cheap and not too handy.
3. Stencil: I love the idea of tree/branch stencils in nurseries!  It's a trend I've admired for a few years.
4. Furniture: There are three dressers/cabinets and two night stands in the room.  They match and are all empty.  I'm not opposed to painting them but probably won't.  I want to make adjustments to use the bureau as a changing table.**
5. Silhouette:  That's a random one I found online, but we do have a beautiful one of my mother-in-law as a child, and I really want to use it in a girls' room!
6. Curtains: We don't have any window treatments in the house because of the pretty plantation shutters.  But now, after more than two years, I'm thinking drapes are a go.
7. Rug: I would LOVE to make a braided rug for the nursery.  Heck, I should start on it now!  And since this is my virtual makeover, I decided to make it niiiiiiiiice and big. :)
8. Baby photos:  I've always thought black and white photos of grandparents as babies would look so sweet.  I haven't found any big prints of my own parents, though. 
9. Mobile:  I'd like to make my own mobile.  That one shown is from an Etsy seller.  It has grey and yellow birds made out of felt.***
10. Crib and chair:  We aren't too picky.  I'm not really into bedding "sets" but maybe that's because I haven't found one I like. 
11. What's not pictured: About half of the room :)  Bookshelf, toy baskets, overpriced but adorable elephant hamper...

*I am--and have remained--completely unapologetic about my love for the color gray for at least 15 years.  So don't try to talk me out of it!  We even picked two tones of gray for the dining room!

**I don't need a lecture on making it child-safe, thankyouverymuch. I've had years to research these things.

***I was more into the "bird" theme until I saw this video.  Hilarious if you read decorating blogs or shop Etsy often!