Joel’s Nursery

A little DIY goes a long way, especially when creating a modern space for the newest member of our family. Hubby and I turned our guest room into a nursery for our son Joel, and the whole project was filled with so many DIY’s, upcycles and crafty projects.

This was our guest room and most often used for my mom when she stayed over, but we needed a place for Joel, or more accurately a place to put all Joel’s stuff. We decided to keep a bed in the room, so we could still use it if guests came over, but we decided to swop the double bed we had in the room with our daughter’s 3/4 bed. The smaller bed just fit the room so much better.

The room was dark and kinda edgy and I decided to change things up and do a more kid friendly wild theme. The colours of the room were inspired by the left over fabric from my daughters birthday dress, lots of greens with a touch of yellow.

Here’s how we put this room together

THE WALLS

I really wanted to add some paneling to the walls and it turned out to be such an inexpensive and beautiful addition. We started off by painting the walls white. As the walls had a pattern on it before, it took several coats, but we eventually got to that blank canvas we needed. I used 3mm thick MDF, I bought I whole board and had it cut to size. It cost around R220 and I’ve still got loads of board left that I can use on another project. These are the lengths I cut:

We used an adhesive to attach the panels to the wall. Make sure that everything is level and straight as you attach it to the wall. Once the panels were all attached we used silicone to edge the panels. We left this to dry overnight then added 2 coats of Plascon Feather Fern. It’s this gorgeous green colour. I used 1L of paint for these 2 walls.

I really wanted to add a fun print to the rest of the wall. I decided to add a spotty pattern using vinyl I cut with my Cricut Maker 3.

The walls wouldn’t be complete without some art. I made a name sign using a round cheese board I found at Mambo’s Storage and Home and my Cricut. I’ll add Joel’s birth weight, date, etc and a message at the back later. Out plan is to regift this to him when he turns 21.

I love the way the walls came together. It’s just gorgeous.

THE COT

We really wanted to give our daughter’s old sleigh cot a modern makeover for our son. We decided to give the cot edges a trim with a jigsaw. The straight lines really give it a more modern look and saved us some much needed space in Joel’s small nursery.

We then added an A frame with some wood panels we bought to create a house bed. As the cot is a 3 in 1 (cot, co-sleeper & toddler bed) the frame will look amazing as it becomes a toddler bed later on.

I added some pretty bunting I had from Sew & Such and my Mom crocheted these adorable animal mobiles.

THE CLOSET

Anyone else feel like most closets were not meant for kids/ babies clothes? Joel’s closet was in desperate need of a makeover, so I added a few inexpensive upgrades to make it a more kid friendly space.

I added an extra hanging rail. I just bought a 1m rail and cut it to size. I used a mitre saw, but you could use a saw and a mitre box. Now I can hang twice as much clothes, without wasting any precious space. A little tip…hang the rail to fit bigger kids clothes, that way the closet will work for you and your kids for years to come.

I also added an extra shelf. I measured and had it cut to size at my local Builders and added some collapsable baskets I bought at Mambo’s Storage and Home.

I love a well organised closet so I added some labels I made with my Cricut and this pretty giraffe decal I also cut with my Cricut using Smart Vinyl. I love that I could cut it all in one length!

THE SHELVES

I repurposed the ledge shelves I had in the room and added some art I made with my Cricut, little crochet animals my mom made, a baby book with a cover I sewed together and a nappy cake gift I got from Angel nappy cakes and gifts as well as a baby book with a custom cover I made with my Cricut and a little crocodile teddy I found for Joel. The garland I made using some beads and little balls my Mom crochet.

THE BED

I swopped the double bed I had in the room with my daughter’s 3/4. The bedding & pillows I had and I added a pillow I made in a fun print.

THE SIDE TABLE

Paul quickly made this using a few pieces of wood we had and an old round table top. He painted the top to match the cot. I styled it with a pot, some faux leaves, Joel’s milestone disks (also a diy using my Cricut) and some simple toys I made Joel using my Cricut.

THE PLAYMAT & PLAYGYM

I sewed together a leaf playmat and made a little playgym. I made the playmate by drawing a leaf with chalk on some shwe shwe fabric. I cut the leaf out. Added some foam and sewed it together on the reverse. When I turned it inside out. I closed my seam and sewed the veins onto the leaf.

The letters for the play gym were cut with my Cricut and sewn together by hand. I attached it to some wooden curtain rings. The frame I put together by attaching a dowel to some scrap pieces of wood I cut to size.

THE CHANGING AREA

We upcycled some old draws with a little paint and added a changing mat.

I also made a hanging pocket organiser for above the door to hold extra nappies, etc. I also spiced up a wooden box with my Cricut and some permanent vinyl to create a napppy holder.

THE BIN

This was a relic from my daughter’s nursery. It got a little makeover with some simple dots and a poopy pun cut with my Cricut and permanent vinyl.

This room was a budget friendly labour of love and I hope our son enjoys growing up in this space as much as I loved creating it for him.

My mom passed away while this post sat in my drafts folder. Her creativity and work is everywhere in this space, from the crochet toys to all the WhatsApp messages of encouragement and ideas she shared with me to create this space for Joel.