I am so excited to show off the evolution of Annabelle’s Blue and White Nursery into her “Big Girl” room. In this post I’m going to explain:
- Why we kept the crib,
- Why we opted for a twin bed, and
- How we did it all on a budget
Plus, I’ll share a full source list in case you want to shop any of these items!
To Ditch the Crib or Not?
Last year as we were anxiously awaiting Callahan’s arrival, we made a plan to move the rocker/recliner from Annabelle’s room into Callahan’s nursery. Our rocker was such an important part of the nursery, and we knew I would need it for the new baby.
Annabelle was (and still is) still sleeping in her crib, but we wanted to go ahead an invest in a “big girl” bed so we would have a place to maintain our bedtime routine of snuggles and books before bed.
We thought hard about ditching the crib and going straight to a full bed, but Annabelle sleeps so well in her crib. I have heard horror stories about sleep regressions amidst bed switches, and with a new baby on the way I was adamant to only be dealing with one kid doing night time wakings.
Choosing a Twin Bed
With that in mind, I debated between adding a full or twin bed. It ended up becoming a space consideration. A full bed would simply make the room too crowded with the crib also in the room.
Because I think we’ll eventually transition to a full or queen bed, I wanted to make the transition to a twin bed cute but not too expensive.
Here is what Annabelle’s nursery looked like before with the rocker:
And here it is now with her big girl bed:
As you can see, the biggest change was removing the recliner and adding the twin bed. I also had to move the crib to the right a bit and adjust the artwork to be re-centered over the crib.
My mom helped take up the crib skirt for Annabelle’s crib, which we had neglected to do since we had lowered the bed ages ago.
Since Annabelle is potty trained now we also removed the diaper caddy/changing station from the dresser on the right and re-styled that area with some decorations and a lamp.
We also moved the little side table to go between the bed and the crib.
Choosing a Bed & Mattress
Choosing the bed was relatively easy. I knew I wanted something that would compliment her crib well and wasn’t expensive. I love the Jenny Lind style, and so I looked at various options for spindle beds.
I ended up landing on a metal version, which I loved since her crib is also metal. I purchased at Walmart or under $150, but due to several shipping snafus they ended up giving me credit, bringing the total for the bed to under $100!
(I’m not sure the time I had to spend on the phone and extra month it took to get here was worth $50, but I’ll take the savings where I can get it!)
The twin version appears to be out of stock right now, so here is a link to it on Amazon.
Choosing a mattress was harder. I mattress shopped for weeks and was very overwhelmed by the choices and hesitant to purchase online. After calling nearly 20 mattress stores and consulting our pediatrician (yes, I’m that mom), I opted for a firm mattress and box spring from Mattress One in Mueller. With tax it came out to $433.
For the bedding, I know I wanted something simple and affordable.
For the quilt and sham, I chose the same quilt we have in our room in twin size: Croft & Barrow Anna Solid Quilt from Kohls. I am seriously obsessed with this quilt set. I have it in two rooms in my house and so does my mom. It is so soft, lightweight (which is perfect for hot Texas summers) and washes well.
I found a pink gingham sheet set on sale at Pottery Barn Kids. Since most of the other items in her room (curtains, quilt, crib skirt, etc.) are Pottery Barn Kids the pinks coordinated perfectly.
The bed skirt was a total afterthought, and I bought this basic PB Essential Cotton & Linen Bed Skirt at the PB outlet in San Marcos for less than $15.
We keep the bedside table simple with the same Pillowfort™ Glass Ball Table Lamp we had before. Annabelle loves that she can turn this light on and off by herself since it’s touch-enabled.
It also houses her Hatch Time-To-Rise light and noise machine . Any toddler mom needs this machine.
Lastly, I dressed it up with a vintage Double Happiness Ginger jar that was my grandmothers and some faux Magnolia blooms.
I re-centered the name cutout my sister made for my shower over Annabelle’s bed and kept the DIY Fabric Scrap and Ribbon Mobile I made for her nursery.
We just hit 11 months since we added the big girl bed to Annabelle’s room, and though she still sleeps in her crib she is loving it. It’s the perfect place to snuggle up and read books before bed.
Plus, it’s big enough to fit our whole family when we all want to read together, which is my favorite time of the day!
Shop this Post
Linens
- Big Girl Bed Quilt – Kohls Croft & Barrow Anna Solid Quilt
- Big Girl Bed Skirt – PB Essential Cotton & Linen Bed Skirt
- Big Girl Bed Sheets – Pottery Barn Kids Organic Check Sheet Set in Pink
- Bumper, Crib Skirt, Quilt, Shams – Pottery Barn Kids, Belgian Flax Linen Nursery Bedding, Pink
- Pillow – Pottery Barn Kids, Organic Pom Pom Nursery Sham
- Crib Sheet – Pottery Barn Kids, Chamois Pin Dot Crib Fitted Sheet
- Crib Sheet – Spoonflower, Blue Brushstroke Fabric
Furniture
- Twin Bed – DHP Jenny Lind Metal Bed (Walmart, Amazon)
- Changing Table & Dresser Set – Craigslist (hardware spray painted with Rustoleum Metallic Gold Spray Paint
- End Table – Caring Place find with Hobby Lobby Gold Metal Arrow Handle
- Recliner – BuyBuy Baby, Storytime Tryp Gliding Recliner in Burlap Fabric
- Drawer Liner – Con-Tact Brand® Grip Prints™ Non-Adhesive Shelf Liner – Batik Taupe
Wall & Windows
- Curtains – Pottery Barn Kids, Linen Blend French Pleat Blackout Panel
- Curtain Rod – Amazon, Meriville 1-Inch Diameter Wraparound Blackout Curtain Rod, 48-Inch to 84-Inch, Gold Finish
- Frames above Crib – Target, Metal Frame – Brass – 16×20 Matted for 11×14 Photo – Room Essentials™
- Art Prints above Crib – Abstract Watercolor Painting Print Blue Dots Dashes Brushstrokes and Pink Print Abstract Watercolor Painting
- Gold Mirror – Home Goods
- DIY Scrap Fabric & Ribbon Mobile
- Corner Shelves – Home Depot, Home Decorators Collection White Corner Shelves
- Gold Annabelle Mae Cut-Out – Designed by my sister, ordered using Custom Cutting services at Make ATX in Austin, Texas
Lighting & Accessories
- White Lamp – Target, Glass Ball Table Lamp with Touch On/Off (Includes CFL bulb) – Pillowfort™
- Pink Lamp – HomeGoods, Similar: Rose Pink Double Gourd Table Lamp
- Nightlight – Hatch Rest (Target, Amazon)
- Gold Pouf – Crate & Kids, Faux Leather Gold Pouf
- Sheepskin Rug – Vintage, inherited from my Grandma Darla, Similar: New Zealand Baby Sheepskin at Amazon
- Blue & White Accessories – A, Bird, Chinoiserie Tray, were gifts
- Blue & White Canister – Pottery Barn, Elsie Canister
- Double Happiness Ginger Jar – Similar on Etsy
- Gold Frame – Pedestal 4?x6? Brass Frame – Room Essentials™
- Rose Pulls on Closet Doors – HomeGoods (not pictured)
Paint
I’ve had some requests for the paint colors in the room. They are listed below!
- Walls – Gobi Desert by Behr
- Trim – Dover White by Sherwin Williams
Photos by: Kelly Leeves, Captivating Life and Jessica at ExposedbyLight.com
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