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Last week I posted pictures of a darling nursery.  I went back to give proper credit to the homeowner/designer and in the process lost the post.  Well, now I'm back with even more info and photos!  Special thanks to the girls at The Estate of Things for putting me in touch with the baby's momma.

Laurie Rhoney is the momma and designer.  She and her husband (Andy) together have Rhoney Design in Hickory, North Carolina.  Here's a little Q&A I did with her I think you will enjoy...   

Tell us a little about you and your husband and your professional lives?

Both Andy and i grew up and still live in hickory, NC.  sound familiar? It is also known as the "furniture capital of the world".  The Hickory Chair plant is a few miles up the road, Century, Mitchell Gold / Bob Williams, Henredon, and Bernhardt are all just a stones throw away. I hold degrees in Historic Preservation and Interior Design.  My husband has worked as an art director and a freelance branding consultant.  I started my career in the furniture industry, designing and installing retail spaces and showrooms.  Now my focus is mainly residential design, though I must admit, this project has sparked a new love of design for younger clients!

Did you know you were having a girl or was this designed as a unisex nursery?

No, we didn't know...we always wanted it to be a surprise.  My family and friends thought I was crazy, especially considering my borderline OCD tendencies for planning and preparation.  But, there are just so few surprises like that in life.  And I'm so glad we waited.  However, I won't lie, when we started planning the nursery it was mighty hard not to bite the bullet and find out.  I saved a few of the decisions until after our daughter arrived--like the chandelier and some of the accessories/art pieces.

What was your inspiration for the nursery?  The wallpaper on the ceiling?  What is it and who installed it?  Was it the starting point for the design?

After spotting the Julia Rothman wallpaper at Hygge and West, I couldn't get it out of my head.  I had the blue colorway (with peach birds) on my bulletin board for months.  When I found out we were pregnant back in November, I knew I wanted to incorporate it in the nursery design.  The way the birds were oriented, it just seemed natural to put it on the ceiling.  The blue was a little too bold, I felt, but the yellow version was perfect for the nursery After this selection, the color scheme for the room evolved from the wallpaper. Having never hung wallpaper myself, I treated myself (and my back) and hired my wallpaper installer who owed me favor.  He was happy to tackle the job...I gave him a big tip and some Advil!

Did you set a budget for the room?

The wallpaper and custom bedding/window treatments were my biggest splurges.  Everything else we had to get a little creative.  A lot of the pieces and accessories are from our local antique/junk mall (changing chest) and etsy.   An Ikea bookcase and rug were other bargains. Even Walmart of all places was where I finally located just the right crib!  A friend of ours sold us the mid-century rocker for a steal, which we recovered. With the room being so small and narrow, a larger glider was out of the question--the scale of that rocker is perfect for the room. 

An often overlooked area in nursery design is art.  I think even little eyes need to be exposed to great art.  We pulled some of our own pieces from other rooms in our house to adorn the walls in our Mallory's room and we even created a few original pieces just for her.

Did you make the roman shades and crib skirt yourself?

Heavens no! I'm embarrassed to say I can't even sew  on a button, but I did design them and promptly gave my sketches to my seamstress to execute.

What is that fabulous fabric and trim you used?

The yellow stripe is called "Tamaron" in Raffia by Pindler and Pindler.  Finding just the right blueish-gray trim for the bedskirt was more of a challenge.  I scored just enough of a discontinued trim at a local fabric showroom, Mary Jo's.  I think it was Kravet.  That trim was just a little too busy on the edge of the roman shades, but I needed to find a flat tape that matched the pom-pom trim of the skirt.  I never could find just the right shade so I actually used fabric to band the bottom.  It's also a Pindler & Pindler fabric called "Westley" in Spa.  This was also used on the bumper along with a few leftover remnants I had from another job (a natural cream chenille and yellow polka dot embroidered linen).

How long did it take for you to pull this design together?

Several months.  I wish I could have focused on this project solely, but like yourself, I'm afraid my little girl's room was squeezed in between completion of other projects and free time on the weekends.  I wanted to clear my schedule entirely so I could spend as much time with her when she arrived.  My husband, Andy, was very involved too.  We loved hitting up yard sales or the Metrolina Antique Show (in nearby Charlotte, NC) on our free weekends.  I related so much to your own nursery diary post about painting.  We painted our entire baby's room twice!  Originally we went with the blue-gray color, but it competed too much with the ceiling. I lived with it for a week or so but it just wasn't right.  Pregnancy hormones and paint drama do not go together!   So my sweet husband repainted the room a warm Antique white, keeping the blue-gray color only on the changing table wall so that the Jonathan Adler sconces would pop. 

More info and resources on the nursery can be found at their website: Rhoney Design!

No, my water didn't break.

Sharpie now makes their Sharpie Pen RETRACTABLE!

This was the only pitfall to their pen... people like me forget to put the lid back on. 

Problem solved!

I haven't scored one yet, but next time I head to town this is on my list! 

Hi friends.  Thanks for the emails and phone calls... I am trucking right along and still very pregnant.  I am working like a crazy woman, which leaves very little time for anything else... sorry! 

Nicole over at Kirei Nest did a little interview with moi... on a very relevant topic these days: NESTING.  Nicole, thanks for having me, it sure was fun to think about my favorite and most useful household items!