Eeek! You guys, I’m SO excited to share with you our baby boy’s nursery (aka, my new favorite spot in the house :) ). A lot of thought went into what was wanted for this room over the past year. And while I knew how I wanted it to look in my HEAD, there came a point where I thought, Are we ever going to have a place ready for this baby? (That point came Labor Day Weekend, when, at 34 weeks pregnant, I kicked productivity on the room into high gear, finally unpacking the myriad of shower gifts that, until then, covered its floor!)

Nick was WONDERFUL in helping make this room over from a guest bedroom to what it’s become. He trusted me when I told him I wanted to find mid-century(ish) furniture and to make the decor vibrant and fun (though, at one point, he asked, “Just..OK, not TOO Mad Men on me…” to which I asked, “Umm, meaning what?” and he said, “No mini-bar.” HA!) But from painting the walls (a light gray–it’s hard to tell in these shots) and assembling furniture (don’t ask him about the quality of directions for that crib!) to carrying out every other item on my “honey do-list”, I couldn’t have made it happen without him. Ready for a little tour?

Two of my favorite elements in the room are the wall hanging and custom-made mobile hanging over our baby’s crib (which is the Wal-Mart crib I first spotted on Young House Love’s blog years ago. Lucky for us, it was on sale when we snapped it up over the summer—and, unbelievably, it shipped for 97 cents!)

So I first saw this Marimekko print hanging in a nursery featured in Lonny magazine last year. Call it love at first sight—I couldn’t get it out of my head. So when I ordered it and it arrived and I realized just how BIG it was, I thought, “How on earth am I going to hang this?” Once again, Nick to the rescue. SO proud of the frame he built for it and how we got it wall-ready (with quite a few staples) together as a team! The mobile was a gift from my graduate assistant, Chanel. I LOVE it! She and her fiance are quite crafty and detail how to DIY your own version of it on her blog (they take custom orders too, for those of you—like me—uncrafty enough to tackle this on your own!)

Another item in this room I am madly in love with? This Land of Nod library cart! I knew this kiddo HAD to have a bookshelf in his room. I was all set to order some IKEA bookcasing for below the window when Nick burst my bubble, reminding that, in a house with baseboard heaters (which you can spot in the photos below), that was going to be a no-no. The cart became the best alternative and I love that we’ll be able to wheel it from room to room to share books with our boy (and come on, at some point, he’s TOTALLY going to have a cart race in the house on that thing!) Oh, and the chair is an AMAZINGLY comfy Cole-La-z-Boy rocker recliner. Biggest investment in the room (though we got it cheaper in store than what it retails online), but worth the splurge knowing how much use we’ll get out of it in the years to come!

Thanks to our awesome friends’ baby shower, we’re able to start his library off with quite a little collection!

And because I’m not one to actually execute crafts well, I enlisted the help of my mother-in-law when it came to sewing a crib skirt for the crib and this sweet bunting (here was the pattern I found for her) Another little nook for storage below (thanks Target!) and a sweet print from my hubby that comes with an even sweeter story. Do you guys remember our Pinterest Christmas? Well, along with that coat and sweater, Nick also gifted me this Dazey Chic print I’d pinned to (at the time) a newly created Nursery board I had going on (I wasn’t pregnant, but planner that I am, was already thinking ahead to the possibility!) He was so sweet when I opened it, telling me, “Well, just in case we’re lucky enough to have a baby this year, this can go in his or her room.” Ahh…he kills me with gestures like that. I am obsessed with stripes (I think one look at this room makes that obvious) so when I was picking out a Blabla doll for our babe, the choice was a no-brainer (and I may steal his Blabla because that is how much I’ve coveted one of these sweet, handknit dolls–for years!) The cute plush elephant? From my awesome friend Ellen …. she’s already spoiled this kiddo rotten with so many sweet gifts (like that crocheted bird rattle above!) I have to give Nick major props for finding our dresser on Craig’s List. Here I was, all ready to go with an IKEA knock-off of the mid-century style I wanted but Nick was committed to finding the real thing (and if you mention “IKEA” to him, he shudders, such is his loathing for assembling furniture from that store). We snagged this dresser below off a couple in Ohio for $70 (high-fiving each other when it actually fit in our Subaru) and Nick painted it for the room. He’s got the Craig’s List touch, I’m tellin’ ya…. Confession: Every time I open this drawer, I die …. A frame gallery with some family photos, a Kal Barteski print (far left), mirrors from Land of Nod (far right), an elephant card my cousin gave me at my baby shower, and a postcard print from a Saugatuck-based artist (at bottom) we fell in love with while on our Michigan trip in July. It’s so fun to see these photos together of Nick and I as tots and wonder what traits of ours our son will inherit. My guess is he’ll get BOTH our brown eyes! :) And two last loves—our Dwell Studio striped rug (which, yellow (my favorite color) + stripes (!)=Gail’s obsessed!) Along with that Marimekko print, the rug was spotted in that Lonny mag nursery spread and a heavy inspiration for the room. Add to it a collection of Charley Harper books and memory game/flashcards gifted to us. Charley is one of my favorite artists and so I look forward to introducing his beautiful works of nature to our little boy!

What do you think? Oh, and if you’re curious about any other items in the room, just leave me a comment and I’ll try to answer as best I can! (The floor lamp is Target; the curtains are from JC Penney; the giant elephant was a gift from Nick’s parents (and is Melissa & Doug brand)). Thanks for taking the tour! :)

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.