Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
another super duper BR score!
I've been slowly planning what furniture we'll buy for the nursery, and getting depressed and frustrated yet again by Aussie prices, and by the sore lack of decent secondhand items in my town. So far, this $539 rocking chair from Ikea was the best I've been able to find for the price - to give you a basis for comparison, the exact same rocker is $179 in the USA Ikea. A fancypants cushy glider/rocker (also from Ikea) like this one is $1399 in Australia and $549 in the USA. Ouch.
Yesterday at work, I was eating lunch and chatting to a coworker/friend. She mentioned that she was clearing out her house and getting rid of a chair. I asked her what kind of chair, just to make conversation. "Oh, a rocking chair. It was my grandmother's, and I used it when I was nursing my kids. But now we don't have the room for it, and even though there's nothing wrong with it, we need the space. I was thinking of donating it to the Red Cross store." I looked at her and squeaked, "You have a rocking chair that you don't want? For real?" "Yeah. Do you want it?"
Oh you had better believe I was ALL OVER that one! I didn't even care what it looked like - free is free! She brought with her today and dropped it off at my house...and it's PERFECT. The bedroom we're turning into a nursery is the larger of our two spare rooms, but it's still not very large, so I didn't have space for something big.
This is what it looks like now:
Because of the spindles on the sides, it even kinda sorta goes with my secondhand changing table!
I'm planning on sanding it down and painting the wood white, then reupholstering the cushions in some yet-to-be-found fabric...
The nursery will have a light sky blue and pale yellow theme, with some red punches here and there, like so (click here for a larger version):
I'm bad at this, so I really don't know...I want to avoid anything too flowery or stuffy, and am open to anything that would work with our color scheme. Let me know if you have any ideas!
ETA: This is a mockup of it white with polka dots. Too many dots in the room? (click for larger version)
Re: another super duper BR score!
LOL well I don't know how successful I'll be - I've never tried it before! I'm pretty sure I can handle the sanding and painting, and as long as I use the existing fabric as a pattern, I think I can do the reupholstering (maybe with MIL's help). But I figure, absolute worst case scenario is that it doesn't work well and I decide not to keep it - and even then I still won't be out that much money!
Free is always nice!
Good luck with the sanding...I hear that's the worst part. We were going to refinish a dresser but decided it wasn't worth it and just bought the baby a new one. But we're lazy.
Yikes! How insane that the price difference is that great.
What an awesome find...and free?! Even better! I personally love the polka dots. Can't wait to see it all done!
Awesome Lisa! I love the retro look of the rocker and FREE is awesome! It looks really sturdy too! BTW, loving the nursery mock-up...the pirate decal rocks! I like the red polka dot fabric. Another option might be red stripes or something. Or maybe something with blue, yellow and red? I cannot wait to see how it all comes together for you!
TIPS: Use a dremel to sand the spindles...it will go super fast that way.
For re-upholstering...consider making the pattern out of muslin/cheap fabric first...so you're sure to get the fit just right before using your decorative fabric. Adding piping is a nice touch and you can DIY or buy some that is pre-made. You can do it! The cushions look fairly square, so it won't be awful.
TTC/PG Blog | Mommy Blog
haha - this was us. i bought a dresser off craigslist and we were going to do this and then Brent said it was way too much trouble for him so I re-sold it on craigslist and bought another one...which in the end worked our great b/c the one we have now has a hutch w/shelves which I love b/c I use it to store our cloth diapers
what a great find, Lisa. is it bad that I don't mind the fabric that is already on the cushions? but the polka dots are super cute too. I love your nursery mockup, you could totally be an interior designer
it's so cool. I would personally do a fabric that is more plain and then accent it with a really cool pillow or throw. or, get a fabric where the pattern is more subtle, like woven in so it's there when you look closely (the texture is different) but from a distance it's not obvious...not sure how to explain what I mean. but I do worry that if the crib bedding has lots of dots, that more dots on the rocker might be too much. either way, can't wait to see finished pics of your pirate nursery 
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
I know EXACTLY what you mean...I'm really worried that it will be too busy. I want the room to be fun and colorful, but not like a circus exploded, you know?
It's one of my biggest peeves about Australia. We are charged an absolute arm and leg for items that are a third of the price in North America. It is actually on my list of 'pros' in regards to reasons for considering moving back to Canada.
I like Jaime's suggestion about reupholstering the cushion in a plainer patterned fabric and adding the 'splashes' using throw cushions.
What an excellent find! Well done!