Gender Neutral Nursery
Our house has a bit of a story to it. When we were ready to purchase our first home, we went into it with an open mind. My husband graduated with a degree in construction management, and my parents (who lived close by and had a penchant for hard work) built their own home and had remodeled a couple rental properties. We were open to a bit of a fixer upper. We searched and searched, put in an offer, got close to signing off on another, but everything fell through and we weren’t finding the right fit. In the end, we ended up separately purchasing a piece of land and an old house that needed to be moved.
I’ve watched my fair share of house shows where the couple views a beautiful property and turns it down because they don’t like the color of the paint. I like to think I can see beyond the shag carpet and gaudy wallpaper to what could be. But it was really hard to see the potential the first time I stepped foot in our future home. It was ugly. I hated just about everything in that house as it stood. It needed a total overhaul.
Overhaul it was. My family (God bless them) and I did all the work ourselves. We dug the basement, framed it, poured it. The house went down to its studs and was replaced with new everything: drywall, flooring, windows, siding, roof. We moved the staircase from one room to another, built a chimney, reconfigured the layout of the kitchen, messed with the electrical, and the list goes on. Here’s a taste of what went into this project:
After we moved in, we were ready to tackle remodeling the 3rd bedroom to convert it into a nursery. The previous owners loved neon paint. This room was bright green. The windows needed replacing, the ceiling was different colors of not so white, and the walls had holes and many large bumps from someone who didn’t know how to sand after mudding.
I wanted to create a gender neutral room. I wanted it to be light and clean. I decided on mostly white with a few accents of gray, so I used painter’s tape to make a few diagonal stripes on the accent wall.
We upgraded my son to a toddler bed and moved his convertible crib into the new room. It seemed like a good move because it’d work for both an infant or a toddler, depending on the placement. It’s still a minimalistic space that I hope to continue working on (so be on the lookout for a part 2). But right now, I like its simplicity and openness. For a new child coming in, I didn’t want it to feel like a tribute to the child before him. This room is a blank canvas that can be stylized for its occupants. And I hope any child coming into it will feel welcomed.
Your house looks so great!
Thank you! It’s still quite a work in progress!
Houses always are.