Our Best Buys for your Nursery

BEFORE Joseph came along our spare room was a mess and full of clutter and un-ironed clothes. Ever since he surprised us with his early arrival we have been constantly trying to catch up with ourselves. His room was not an initial priority as he had squatters’ rights beside our bed for the first few months. After Paddy evicted him (unfairly may I add… OK, Joseph did cry every hour, but I liked seeing his furry head beside me) I decided his room needed a makeover.

Joseph is a big picture-reader and I wanted his books to be the focus of his room. I bought Ikea picture rails and used six on our big wall facing his cot. This was very cheap to do and I love how we can change the books or teddies around to make it look different. I placed some colourful tiles I bought online from Tilestyle.ie along the top of the shelves.

There is a grey theme going on in his room with Farrow and Ball’s Green Blue on the walls and a light blue skirting board and door to add a little colour. Paddy painted a cot we got from his sister in grey chalk paint. Joseph has managed to chew off a lot of the paint from around the top of the cot as we didn’t realise you were meant to put plastic protectors over the wood. Oops!

Above the mantelpiece, we have a lovely sign made out of lightbulbs that my sister made us for our wedding. We hope to turn it on when he’s 18 – anytime before that the heat off the bulbs may either blind him or set fire to his clothes. But hey, it looks pretty.

The room isn’t finished yet. I’d like to add a nice rocking horse and a few more bits and bobs. I’ve learnt to let the room grow and buy things gradually as I go along.

Below are some options to give you some inspiration.