Habitation: Creating a Haven

Being a wife is spectacular. Every day I learn more about my husband and myself. I love doing dishes, folding laundry, vacuuming carpets and creating delicious meals for our lovely little family of two.

My mission has only just begun.

More than being a wife, my dream has always been to become a mother. My latest project at home has been a dream come true. I am designing the nursery for our future child. No, I’m not expecting yet…but my instincts are usually pretty accurate and they told me the first project in our new home should be creating the nursery.

I’ve stalked Pinterest for months trying to find the perfect blend of neutral and vibrant color scheme. I’ve attacked my favorite interior design websites for inspiration and ideas for window treatments. Finally, it’s all coming together.

My first step in creating this space was to rip out the wallpaper. The pre-existing wallpaper was old and smelled like someone soaked it in cigarettes. Not to mention, loudly floral (yuck). It needed to go.

My husband and I found a dresser on the side of the road, which I chose to refinish and save for this specific room in our home. It started as a sad, shabby heap but has transformed into a spunky, retro statement. I am hoping the success I had reinventing the dresser will flow throughout the room as I complete each task.

While I work on this space, I sway to the sounds of Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong and think about how much I already love our children. I love working alone, when I’m free to cry tears of joy, imagining what it will be like when another member joins our family.

Tease all you want, but there’s nothing like a good cry of happy tears.

Whether it is soon or not, the thought of becoming a mother elates me.

Through creating this space, I realized something important. The colors aren’t what make the room, and the textiles are irrelevant. Transforming a space from “room” to “haven” is in the details and memories.

Some day, Baby will grow up in this room. Some day, there will be sleepless nights in a rocking chair I’ve spent months choosing. There will be teething tears in a crib that was on back order. There will be stains on the crisp, ivory carpet I spent too much to have cleaned and smudges on the walls I took too long to choose a color for. The dresser I found on the side of the road will hold cloth diapers and onesies forever marked with their own “memories”.

This journey has become much more emotional than I had imagined. Standing in front of the wall of color swatches at the home improvement store, I nearly had a meltdown. “What if Baby doesn’t like the color I choose?!”

Moments later, I realized Baby will be happy because Mommy is there. Baby will be soothed by the gentle rock in Daddy’s arms; not because we chose “Dolphin Fin” over “Light Mint”.

To many, it may still be a room, but to me it is already a haven. It’s already a place where my dreams have started coming true.