Nesting

As we get closer to the due date my nesting instincts have kicked into high gear. I'm not content to just nest in my own house though, I even encouraged a project at my grandparent's house. After about 60 years of wall to wall carpeting in their house, I got someone out to refinish the original wood floors of her mid century ranch. This will make getting around much easier for my grandfather who now uses a walker.
In my own house I had to reorganize the coat closet adding a shoe rack and boot tray. I'm now on the look out for a nice antique umbrella holder! I already posted about our window restoration. We did lots of organizing and purging in the basement as we began to move baby stuff back up to the nursery and packed away some of the toddler toys my little helper has out grown. Since the baby will sleep in a bassinet in our room for the first few months we have decided to hold off on setting up the crib in the nursery for now. I'm hoping that this will help make the addition of a baby brother a little easier; let him get adjust to that first before the reality that they'll be sharing a room.
I also had to get on reupholstering the wing back chair for the nursery. This chair was originally my great grandmother V's, then my grandmother A's, and then mine. Since both were heavy smokers it stunk when I got it and had a giant hole in the seat cushion. I had the brilliant idea of sewing a slipcover for it. So my mom and I made up a pattern and did it. It turned out okay, definitely NOT professional looking, which was fine for a reading chair in our bedroom. But the truth is I seldom ever read in this chair and it took up too much space in tiny bungalow bedroom. With my first son I used the rocking chair my mother used to nurse me and my sister. I decided the wing back chair would be more comfortable, it also has an ottoman, and it would fit a parent reading a story to two children.
I found the perfect nursery fabric last summer before I was pregnant and took everything to my uncle's girlfriend who is an upholsterer. Unfortunately right after she got started we learned my uncle had cancer. I told her that obviously my chair was NOT a priority. Then after my uncle died, I told her it wasn't something she needed to worry about. At the time she hoped the work would help keep her mind busy and off her loss. It turned out a back injury would prevent her from completing the project, which I didn't learn about until this summer. With all our traveling I didn't find and line up a new upholstered right away; when I finally did I learned that they were all so booked out that I likely wouldn't have the chair completed before the baby arrived.
The upholsterer I chose, Lisa's Upholstery, is located in the Hollywood Antique Mall building. She and her employee were great and managed to complete the chair faster than the anticipated, I was able to pick it up today! I think my large girth when I dropped off the chair may have played a part too. Because I want the nursery to have a depression era feel, as though that room was remodeled during that period, I selected a brushed fringe and ruffled skirts. The muted colors of the fabric give it a vintage feel too.I am so, so happy with the way it turned out! I waited such a long time for it too! Good thing my tastes remain fairly constant. I feel like the nursery is very complete now. Well, except for another baby...