If you follow me on Instagram (@lifeinthebigwoods) then you’ll know that in the almost 2 years since my last blog and Insta post, we’ve added another little boy to our family! I remember feeling uninspired and burnt out on trying to keep a blog going and couldn’t figure out why I was so tired all the time. It all made sense once I found out I was pregnant!

Jump forward a few weeks, and imagine our excitement (especially my husband’s!) when we found out that we were having another boy! Definitely a moment I wish I would have captured on camera. That night he was already asking what nursery theme we’d go with this time (see our oldest son’s Baby Boy Nursery – Woodland Animals Theme). Cue a new Pinterest board! Seriously, what was it like to have a baby 10 years ago before Pinterest? Anyway, after tossing around the idea of a sports theme or a space theme (science teacher here), we kept coming back to a jungle theme.

To start, I have to share what this room looked like BEFORE the charming little nursery that it is now. Wow. Picture below is from the listing when we bought the house. That teal. So, so lovely. Being someone who loves neutral colors, walking past this room multiple times a day was cringe worthy. Then one day when my husband was out of town, I tackled painting this room super late at night. Took a couple of nights and multiple coats to cover up that glorious teal but I did it! And the husband was in for a wonderful surprise when he got back. 😉 Funny, looking at the picture it doesn’t seem quite as obnoxious as what I remember.

Yikes. Next fun picture is how the room looked for a solid year(ish). Only slightly embarrassing. Does everyone have a spare bedroom where junk gets crammed, then in our case, frantically cleaned when you actually have guests??

 

 

One of the first things we did was look at having the floor replaced. When we moved in, almost every single room in our house had some type of different flooring – hickory hardwood in the living room and kitchen, orange (!) tile in the entry way, shag carpet in one bedroom, laminate hardwood in another, red oak in the next, white tile in the master bath and white carpet in the master bedroom. Our goal was to run hardwood throughout the house, so when our local hardwood company gave us a great quote for the baby’s room and our spare bedroom (shag carpet), we jumped on it!

Plush Elephant Head Wall Decor // Giraffe Head Wall Decor // Plush Lion Head Wall Decor

We had found some adorable plush animal heads at Babies R Us (RIP) for our older son’s nursery, and wanted to add some for our new boy’s room too. I really liked the Levtex brand that we had found at Babies R Us, but since they’ve closed I had the hardest time finding them anywhere else. I somehow stumbled across the plush elephant head on Zulily, but I found a similar one HERE at BuyBuyBaby.

Next up, I have to share how my husband revamped the bifold door! This was 100% his idea and we did something similar in big brothers room. I’ll have to see if I can talk him into writing up a tutorial for these doors. I love it!

I have these big baskets all over the house – perfect for storing towels, blankets, and stuffed animals!

Giraffe Wall Art HERE // Similar glider HERE

Just so happens that I’m working on this post from this very spot! Love this chair. I was originally looking at a super cushion-y chair at Babies R Us and decided that something with more support would be better. I think I have spent time in this chair *almost* every night for the past 3 years! If you’re looking for a chair for a nursery, here are my two cents:

• Love my footstool
• Love a glider
• Like the all over cushion, but still firm
• Cushioned armrests are good for supporting your arms while holding baby
• Stains come up easily (destined to have milk or spit up on it)
• Wish we would have thought to look at a wider chair or a chair and a half. Big brother often likes to snuggle up in the chair with us!

A friend had suggested when we were pregnant with our oldest that buying a separate changing table is a waste of money and I agree. My husband built this very simple frame that attaches to the back of the dresser that we can remove when we outgrow that phase.

Dresser was a yard sale find that I had completed sanded down to bare wood (why?!) then chalk painted white. We painted it this blue-gray that I love from Fusion Mineral Paint. I love this color! We have it everywhere in our house. I should’ve sanded down some of the chalk/wax finish before painting with the Fusion Mineral Paint. The Mineral Paint usually has a beautiful not-quite matte, smooth finish but layering it on top of chalk paint left a kind of dull finish. And shows fingerprints – which Fusion Mineral Paint usually doesn’t do! Turns out, proper prep is important. 🙂

Baby Giraffe Framed Wall Decor // Baby Elephant Framed Wall Decor

Here’s the last wall! A few cute prints from Hobby Lobby and this tree from my mother-in-law! It started gold and teal, and became sort of a joke that we still have it and hang it up. Again, brilliant and crafty husband to the rescue with some fresh paint to match a jungle-themed nursery!

Rug HERE

Last but not least, this awesome rug from Rugs USA! Love that it ties the room together. It hides dirt really well and is perfect for a kids room!

And that’s our new boy’s little room! Almost two years ago I was hitting publish on our oldest son’s nursery! Maybe next up I’ll share how we’ve transformed it into a “big boy” room!