Monday, January 18, 2016

DIY Shaker Style Toy Chest

DIY Shaker Style Toy Chest

I just wanted to post a few pictures of the DIY Shaker Style Toy Chest my husband built a few weekends ago!  We collaborated on the design, modifying the one in this tutorial to accommodate a smaller space and to make it just the right size for kiddos.  There just wasn't anything on the market I was happy with, either it was made with particle board or was way too expensive.  Plus none of the pre made designs in existence fit the idea in my head or the style in my son's room.  I just love the hand crafted look, so that's how we went.  And now it can be a family heirloom!

DIY Shaker Style Toy Chest

Here is a link to the original nursery tour, where you can see the closet space before we put the toy chest there.  At the time we were just using two Ikea boxes as a stand in for quick storage.  They became less practical once my son was walking and getting into things, which prompted the change.   I am not sure if we want to leave it unfinished, stain it, or paint it white yet...but for now I am loving the raw unfinished quality, which matches everything else we have in the room.

On another note, lately I have been feeling pressure to get the house fixed up, but sometimes lack of time and/or funds make things less than doable.  Can you relate?  I was delighted to read posts from three different bloggers this week which reminded me that fixing, decorating, and designing don't have to be done all at once.  One designer has four kids looking like they range anywhere from two to ten years old and they only just recently put in hardwood, another having two kids (ages two and five) confessed to only to finally getting things just right after nine years of homeownership, and the last one just re-did her son's room for the first time since he was an infant and he is now three and a half.  See those posts here:  {1}, {2}, {3}.  They showed me that behind these picture perfect blogs lies real people with a life and everything that comes with it.  Complete with challenges, hardships and imperfections, and even a chaotic mess that exists in between the perfect snapshots.  Each one reminded me I don't have to have it all now, I don't need to be in a rush, there is plenty of time!  Especially for us newer parents who don't have the time or the means, remembering to be patient, perhaps save up, and simply enjoy the process is a welcomed fresh perspective.

Speaking of patience, building a toy box has been on our to-do list for a while, but having a baby often leaves some of the less important things unchecked, am I right?  Anyways, there will always be more things that need checking off the design list, but as for this particular project I am so glad to finally have it done.  I can't wait to use it for quick clean-up toy storage, and my son (1.5) is already enjoying it too.  Sorry about the low quality pictures, but like I said already, sometimes us parents have to be okay with things taking more time than hoped for and in some cases make a few sacrifices now and then.

Hope you enjoyed this DIY Toy Chest reveal, and that it gives you inspiration for your own DIY nursery upgrades!

xo. m


Friday, January 1, 2016

New Year, New Inspiration!

Eclectic Girl Nursery Inspiration Board

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
*<( :)

First Inspiration Board of the New Year.

Eclectic decor, unique storage ideas, cake (because who doesn't love cake!), gorgeous warm-cool color palette, and other random things tossed together to give you a fun unique starting point for all your gorgeous nursery designs yet to be made this year.


Hope it kicks off a year of inspiration,

cheers to making it fantastic!

xo. m

LINKS