Mobile Modifications

One of the very first things I purchased for the nursery was this mobile, from seller WildChildShop on Etsy. I decided early on that I liked the idea of a mobile that would move naturally in the breeze from the van or vent in the room, and wanted something made of natural materials that would fit well with the decor of the room.

Online this one looked perfect - I loved the rustic wood, and the cranes hanging from it are made of maps, giving it great blues and greens for color, and the lightweight strings and cranes should have lots of natural movement.

When it arrived, I loved it instantly. The cranes, held onto fishing line by little pearls, were so colorful and sweet, and it had a very light and airy feel. The one part that bothered me a little was the branch at the top. It was not quite as rough and rustic as the one in the photo, and felt a bit heavy compared to the rest of the mobile.

So it was Carpenter Chris to the rescue! He went through wood scraps he keeps on hand, and came up with this very light and sweet solution. These two pieces of oak, measuring about 1/4" x 1/4" x 12" each, provide a nice light, simple top for the mobile, and match the tone of the room much better.

From there it was a simple matter of drilling and staining the wood to get it ready to hang. The original mobile came with three strands of cranes, so I cut a few cranes off the bottom of each strand and strung them up on some new fishing line to create a fourth, reusing the pearls to hold them on the line. A little more fishing line to string the whole thing to the ceiling (from a little hook I spray painted oil rubbed bronze, to match the rest of the hardware in the room) and we're done! 

And here's perhaps the most important angle - crib's eye view. I love the X in the middle with the cranes lined up on the corners, and the fun shadows it casts on the ceiling in the lamplight.

So for exactly $0 (using fishing line and wood scraps we already had, and rearranging cranes and pearls from the original mobile) it's an even more custom piece than it already was - all ready for our little guy or girl to gaze it sweetly after sleeping all through the night, every single night. Right? Hello?

And now, for the current state of the nursery. Here's what you see looking in from the hallway:

Standing by the closet door:

And sitting on the chaise lounge in the corner:

It's really beginning to feel like things are coming together (other than the mess of stuff we're currently storing in the crib), but there is still a lot to do. Our next steps are:

• installing baseboards
• adding a rug
• recovering the chaise lounge
• adding hardware to the dressers
• replacing closet doorknob 
• hemming the sheer curtains
• making a few pillows for the chaise and rocker

Once these steps are done, we'll be on to the fun stuff - accessories! I've been collecting lots of great things to decorate the walls, and we have a few projects planned as well to finish things off.

Oh, and Wrigley wants you all to know that you don't have to worry - the last piece of the mobile did not go to waste!