Pinterest can be an amazing place for those pregnant days when you can't stop thinking about babies and you have made the decision that you are going to be the "quirky crafty mom". It can also set a standard that nearly no mother can feasibly meet. I can't even tell you how many hours were used up scrolling through to get the most perfect inspiration picture of how I wanted Inga's bedroom to look.
Like I said, Pinterest can be a blessing and a curse. It is entirely up to you how dedicated you want to be to become that Pinterest parent you so desperately desired to be in the early months. I took the leap to become that Pinterest Parent initially by purchasing my first chevron fabric. I think that is when you can safely say you are addicted to Pinterest. Do you have chevron in every room? But now that she is actually here I shake my head at some of the ideas Pinterest puts in the head of first time mothers.
Sometimes you get your "Nailed it" moments where you just can't understand why your Christmas picture just won't look like the one you pinned. But then you get moments of sheer gloriousness when you swear that the photos you framed above her crib could be in Better Homes and Gardens. It's that damn awesome. You need to be willing to take the good with the bad and remember that it is ultimately going to be a bedroom for a CHILD. So don't be spending a buttload of money on something that is purely visual or something that will break if you look at it funny.
For example, one of my projects was to make a mobile for above her bed. I hated the ones from the store because I just couldn't find one that worked for my "vision". I kept seeing these adorable bird mobiles on Etsy and Pinterest and I thought that $350 was a bit steep for some branches and fabric birds. I figured I could make one of those myself with some FREE sticks from outside. Who knew branches were free. I bought some birds from Crafts Direct for $10 and stole some really high test fishing line from my tackle box. It was cake to put together but then I felt like an idiot for about an hour shifting the fishing line a millimeter at a time until it was level. Looking back now 3 months, it is an adorable mobile for her room and it looks great on Pinterest but I still went to Target and got a $10 musical mobile that she actually looks at instead. That and the dog barks every time that "epic" mobile even moves.
I didn't really have many other projects for her so much as I had designing left to do. The area that I really wanted to get right was the changing table. I knew I wanted the IKEA Hemnes dresser because I am over 6 feet tall and it is the perfect height. It is also the dresser that pretty much every Pinterest changing table picture uses. I also knew I wanted to repurpose a wood crate from our wedding for her room and I thought that using it as a shelf would work great. I found some pins of others using the same crate in bathrooms for towels so I thought it would look pretty cool. And it did! It is great to have out so we don't have to open a drawer to get out a diaper. That crate was definitely a successful Pinterest Nailed it moment!When the entire room was finished, I was rather pleased with myself. It definitely felt Pinterest worthy at that point. When you have a "vision" of how you want something to look, there is always going to be a time where it doesn't turn out that way. That happens to me a lot. I guess I have delusions of grandeur a bit. Inga's room actually turned out exactly how I wanted it to look. Since the pictures I am posting, I have made a few additions. I have added a cube bookshelf next to her chair for all the baby books I had when I was in school for teaching.
The door is like a hundred years old and came from the first house from my family when they moved to Minnesota so it has some sentimental value. I also thought it added to the "Shabby Chic" Pinterest requirement. I have noticed that almost every Nursery Pinterest pin has some item that really contributes nothing to the room other than making it look extravagant. But I suppose that is design, right? When she gets older I will probably put some hooks on it for coats. But more than likely it will just become in the way and will have to leave.
You can also see how pretty, yet pointless that mobile is.
I bought the ottoman at Wal-mart for $15 and painted it purple with fabric paint. This was a half-ass Pinterest fail as the fabric is now sticky and shiny. But it would require us to sit in that chair in order for me to be annoyed enough with it.
So ultimately Pinterest can be used as a tool for good and evil. It is good for inspiration and something to help make the pregnancy go by a bit faster. It is also evil for all those times when you know you should be working and you keep saying to yourself, "When I get to the bottom of the page, I will get back to work."......but the bottom never comes.
Comment on what are some of the Pinterest pins you tried and failed gloriously at and what are some that worked great for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment