the art of savvy

My husband and I are expecting our first child, a son we’re naming Jack Napier Hayes, on December 4 (although I’ve decided he’ll likely come closer to Thanksgiving).  Since we decided to put our house hunt on hold after several time-consuming setbacks, we are now in the process of redecorating, refurnishing, and reorganizing our 1450 sq. ft. townhome for our growing family.

The biggest adjustment was to convert our office/guestroom into a nursery.  In order to do so, we have built a two-person workstation installed in our “den”.  Luckily, we were able to sell our desks, along with a few other pieces, covering 60% of the costs of our updates, taking us to approximately $100 out of pocket.  The office transition is essentially done – the only “to do” task left is to put books we have for Jack in the space cleared up on our bookshelves.

In a completely non-baby related tangent, I was inspired to redecorate our bedroom, using some beautiful fabric I had installed on a frame as a wall covering years ago.  The changes are small, but full of impact:  simplified decorations, new curtains, new dust ruffle, new blanket, and a new finish on my antique vanity.  This project is halfway done, as I am waiting for our pug, Peter, to get neutered before putting any new textiles in the room!  The decorative updates have cost less than half of the $300 projected budget.

As a part of the office/den transition, I made a few changes in our living/dining room by swapping some paintings between rooms, spray painting picture frames black, re-purposing a candle tray as a dining table centerpiece, hanging two decorative plates, and creating a “star installation”.  All changes were made with the goal of making the room visually cohesive.  Best part?  All the changes cost just over $100!

I also tackled our garage, reorganizing our storage boxes, hanging bikes, and taking inventory of our freezer and pantry.  Total cost:  $0!

The big project left is the nursery.  We have all of our furniture, but need to get bedding, install wall art, update guest bedding, reupholster the glider/ottoman, set up the TV, hang curtains – oh, and lots and lots of cleaning!  We’ve already spent $130 on bedding for both the crib and guest bed (which, thankfully, we still have space for in the room – perfect for newborn helpers to get some rest!).  I expect we will easily spend another $200 in getting the space ready – not including the myriad of clothes, diapers, toys, and other baby must-haves.

I’ll be sure to post pictures of all the rooms as soon as we have the nursery ready to go!