June 20, 2023

Nursery Makeover Challenge: We’re Going Green

I'm tremendously excited to share some news that I've been sitting on for quite a few weeks.  As many of you know (and regular readers of my blog are probably tired of hearing), I am expecting my second child in early July.  While my husband and I cannot be more thrilled to be adding to our family, we were given an additional, unexpectedly wonderful surprise--$2000 to be used toward a makeover our baby's nursery, courtesy of Chase, as a participant in the Blueprint Baby Challenge.
Above: A "Before" photo of the space
As many parents of more than one child know, additional children often begin life with hand-me-downs, and in our case, our eldest child's nursery would have been just fine for the next baby.  But thanks to Chase, we are able to give this baby a fresh welcome into the world.  My son's room, while charming and efficient, was itself a collection of hand-me-downs too, save for the crib, so it is especially nice to be able to outfit the room with "real" furniture and items that will be essential for keeping both baby and parents happy and comfortable.
 Above and below: The remnants of my son's nursery, waiting to be transformed.
When shopping for the nursery, I used my Slate card, including the free Blueprint features which have been helpful in keeping track of purchases.  Blueprint is a first-of-its-kind set of free features offered by Chase that is built into many of their credit cards and which helps you manage your expenses while saving money on interest on certain purchases.  Those of you who have been pregnant probably understand the term "pregnant brain" and can recall how important it is to have someone or something else remembering and calculating things for you.  What's great about Blueprint is that I can use the features in so many ways to pay off purchases faster and save money on interest.  For example, with Blueprint, when charging a large purchase, like the nursery furniture, I have the option of designating a set amount to pay each month toward a larger purchase, or I can decide how many payments I’d like to make.  Blueprint does all the math for me, and I can design a plan to pay down my balance faster and save money on  interest, as well as track the progress I'm making toward paying off my larger purchases.

As for my ideas for the nursery, I really want to focus on items that will grow with my child and that are eco-friendly.  Rather than buy a changing table that will only be used for a short time, I want to invest in furniture that my son or daughter might even take with him/her when she leaves our home.
Some ideas for the space
Because babies and children are so sensitive to chemicals and smells, I've chosen paints with low VOCs, environmentally-friendly, formaldehyde-free wooden furniture, organic crib sheets and a natural fiber area rug.  I plan on reusing my son's crib as well as creating some handmade items like a mobile and textiles for the room.  Decor will most likely be repurposed from other areas of our home and will include things like toys and objects that can be admired and played with.  As a former art teacher and artist, I'd love to include prints and artworks by artists and craftspeople in the space too, and hopefully convey a sense of both calm and whimsy in the decor.

I'm really looking forward to sharing the experience with you, both with outfitting the nursery and using the Slate card with Blueprint.  The Blueprint Baby Challenge nursery makeover is also a contest, where I’m competing with two other bloggers, Trisha of MomDot and Sarah of Minnesota Mama’s Must Haves, for additional prizes.  The blogger whose nursery is deemed the most creative by voters will win the top prize, $3000 while the second and third place bloggers will each win $1500 and $500, respectively.  Starting July 15, you’ll be able to vote for your favorite nursery (hopefully mine!) so stay tuned for updates.

This is such a special time in my family's life, and I'm happy and grateful to be marking the occasion of my child's birth with the Blueprint Baby Challenge.  I hope you enjoy following my progress and seeing the results of my nursery makeover.  Head on over to the Blueprint Baby Challenge website for more information, as well as to check out the other two bloggers' nursery ideas.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post from Chase. All opinions are my own.

11 comments:

  1. Congratulations on being pregnant and winning $ from Chase.

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  2. Thank you Linda! It's been incredibly exciting, both things!

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  3. How fun! I'm so excited for you to have gotten the extra $$ from Chase! I think I've seen pics like your alphabit and number pics on zulily.com (I don't know if you look there, but it can occassionaly be much cheaper). Though I can totally picture you creating something just like it and it being super cute too! Enjoy the redecorating!

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  4. It looks like you have some adorable ideas! I can't wait to see your nursery transformation :)

    -Sarah

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  5. You always get the coolest things! Lucky you. I'm sure the nursery will look awesome.

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  6. Of course we're not tired of you telling us your pregnant! What kind of nonsense is that!? ;)

    The funny thing is I COMPLETELY forgot you had partnered up with Chase to do a nursery makeover! That's so AWESOME xD

    I think your overall design ideas and sample picture is gorgeous! I think that baby is going to be very lucky to have such a swanky nursery! Hehe.

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  7. I think the nursery is going to look lovely. Good luck on the contest portion of it.

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  8. You totally deserve this, and you are so incredibly creative that you belong in this competition!

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  9. I LOVE the tall dresser in the before pictures!

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  10. Yay! I'm especially excited to see what types of lasting furniture you invested in for the nursery. I love that idea! Thanks for the link to checking out the contest! Keep us updated. . . since you'll have so much time once that new little one arrives. ;)

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I'm a good listener...comment away!

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