The Sustainable Spot

When I woke up this morning my first thought was, hooray I have hit the 20 week mark of my pregnancy, I am half way there!! My second thought was, holy hell, I look like I swallowed a bowling ball, I am definitely starting to waddle, I wake up every hour all through the night to go to the bathroom, and I am only half way there! Yikes! So I am trying to stay positive and now that I know that the little bubs is a boy, I will try to distract myself by getting started on what I have deemed “Project Nursery”!

We are turning the guest room directly next to our room into the nursery and I am really excited to start mapping out the floor plan. I want to focus on creating the most non-toxic, eco-friendly, and soothing environment I can for the little man. I started a Pinterest board for this project a couple of months ago and realized that a lot of the inspiration was coming from places like Pottery Barn Kids and their furniture, while adorable, was very expensive. I knew that I wanted to get the look for less and add a sustainable twist by reusing and recycling older pieces to create the new look.

A few months ago, we were looking for a dresser that would be used in the existing guest room and then be repainted and repurposed for the nursery. After furnishing and decorating the rest of the house, we were left with a budget of roughly $200 for a waist-high, double wide dresser that usually would not be found for under $500. So I dove straight into the consignment world and went to one of San Diego’s best, Consignment Classics. A 40,000 square ft warehouse of furniture heaven. I found a beautiful mirrored hutch for $69 and browsed through 1,000 household items and decor that were 2-5% off retail. The great thing about consignment is that not only do you get a selection of good, solid furniture (that is also already built) but the items are being reused and the money is kept local. A great option for any new mom on a budget.

In this next few weeks I am planning on painting the hutch for the nursery with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in order to give it that wonderful Parisian vintage look while also remaining completely eco-friendly. Annie Sloan Chalk paint is a wonderful water based paint that is low VOC, allergy safe, and naturally friendly to both the indoor and global environments. It is also great because it requires no prep for the furniture except for making sure it is clear of cobwebs. I can put the sander and primer away, and after consulting with my doctor they said I was approved to paint my hutch because of the non toxic nature of the paint!

This is just the first step of “Project Nursery” and the quest to create the healthiest possible environment for my new baby to be raised in. Stay tuned for updates on eco-friendly toys, floors, bedding, cleaning supplies and more!

Also check out Nessie’s repurposed desk she did for her home office!