When Mason and I first found out we were having a boy, I went straight to Pinterest to search for the perfect baby boy’s room, and you know what? I didn’t find it. I found a lot of blue things, a lot of animals, and a lot of baby-baby stuff; I wasn’t feelin it. And when it’s your first kid, you gotta feel it. I mean, one of the most exciting things to say is, “Have you seen the nursery yet??”
I will admit that you hardly actually use the nursery for the first months (possibly years… I will let you know), but it’s still a priority, practical or not. The theme of Ford’s nursery came over time and was a combination of loving cactus, the desert, boots, cowboys and Indians and all things boy. How do you make all those things work in one small space? You don’t!
It becomes an eclectic mix of all the above with the label of “cowboy” and an over-excited mom that asks everyone “it works, right??” I showed Mason picture after picture of rooms that had the “feel” that I wanted and slowly Ford’s room evolved.
Now that his room is done, I mostly just love the memories of how it came to be. So many of my family members helped get it ready for him and I feel their love every time I look around that space.
One of the first things I fell in love with was the idea of currugated sheet metal awnings for over the windows of his room. Yes, they are INSIDE the house and COMPLETELY USELESS, but oh. so. cute. I searched a few different places and found this tutorial online. Mason and I took one weekend and busted it out. (It also happened to be raining that weekend and the sheet metal got left outside in the rain while processing, which only added to the effect.) I loved how they turned out and now Ford has a sharp piece of metal hanging over him every time I change his diaper. Perfect.
I honestly have no idea what I’m thinking sometimes. I now need to find a tutorial on how to baby-proof a baby room.
The closet of Ford’s room is currently being held hostage (goes along with the theme) by Mason’s many jackets, shoes and other important clothing items. So, needing a space for all of Ford’s cute clothing and associated baby items, we decided to repurpose a pantry that my father had built for me a few years ago. My mom and I painted it and then due to the overwhelming popularity of cactus and my need to get myself lodged into trends, I HAD to have something cactus in his room. Mason and I decided that due to the previously discussed danger level associated with the awnings, having a real cactus in his room miiiight be a bit much. So, we had Barry Snyder paint a few of these beauties on there and I felt complete.
Pinterest had a thousand different ideas for books shelves and I’m sure any one of them would do. I just wanted part of it to be low enough to the ground that Ford to be able to grab a book when he is a bit older. I had mason make this shelf out of extra wood we had lying around the house and a few baskets I found at Lowes. It’s not perfect, but I kinda like that. No cowboy I ever met was perfect.
I knew early on that I wanted to put his name above his crib. In every nursery photo that’s ever been taken, the baby’s name is above the crib. Why is this? Is it because all children try to sabotage our sleeping spaces and we need to clearly (and in big letters) label where they are SUPPOSED to sleep? This is the only logical explanation that I could come up with (the only exception being twins…) At first, I wanted the letters above his bed to be antique letters that Mason and I had found on adventures we had taken, but it turns out that those letters are harder to find, and the ones we did find were expensive. So, Hobby Lobby wins again! My dad came down one afternoon and helped me hang them over his crib (more metal over Ford’s head), but trust me, he made sure they were very secure. And now I have a sweet memory of my father and I working together -let’s be honest, he did all the work- on the space my son would call his own.
For our Babymoon, we did a road trip and drove up to Yosemite. Along the way, we passed through a few small towns and did a little antiquing. We found this sign, along with the cowboy hat on the “F” above his bed and a few other trinkets. We were given a few very special decoration gifts from friends here and there, and we also found quite a few items for his room at Hobby Lobby.
Below are just a few more pictures of different elements of his room that are special to me.
At Christmas time, we visited Mason’s family in Delaware and his grandparents Mom-mom and Pop-pop bought this little rocking cow for Ford and it was a perfect addition to his play area. 
His crib is from Babys-R-Us and the bedding is online at Buy Buy Baby 
That sweet Pendleton blanket was a gift from his Uncle Madison and Aunt Summer. 
This incredible cross-stitch was done for his room by my friend Rachel.
Every time I go in his room, I feel like it turned out exactly as it was supposed to. It was so fun to watch it slowly emerge out of a thousand different ideas. Thank you to each and every family member and friend that contributed with either gifts or the gift of time spent. It wouldn’t be the same without you.
Coast x Coast Motherhood 