Today’s post brings me great pleasure to share! It’s a secret project I’ve been working on since I was 7 weeks pregnant. It is my first DIY project for baby Crowder. (First person to come up with a solid nickname for the IBK Fetus gets a prize!) I’ve always been in love with wingback rockers. You might as well trade your first born child for one, and then, what’s the point?! The rocker on the left came from Nurseryworks, and the rocker on the right is from Pottery Barn Kids. And then, it hit me hard like my pregnant emotions during country music. I could EASILY make my own wingback rocker. All I would need to do is find a wingback chair, and some rocking chair runners. It was so simple. I thought “surely, this has been done a million times.” But I googled it hard, and didn’t find anything on the matter. (But in the Internet’s defense, my googling skillz are weak like a teenage girl at a One Direction concert.) We picked up the Strandmon Wingback chair from IKEA, for $279.
I looked online and found a place that sells unfinished wood rocking chair runners. I order a pair of adult large in maple. We measured where we would need to drill holes for the legs to attach to the runners. The holes need to be 1&1/8″ in diameter. The center of that hole needs to be 7 1/2″ in from each end. The hole needs to be 3/4″ deep. **DISCLAIMER** Double check those measurements by holding up your runners to the legs of the chair to make sure it ‘dry fits.’ It has been brought to my attention that there is variation in the legs of the Strandmon, and my measurements might not be a perfect fit for your chair. We used the drill press at my parents’ house. But if you have a cordless drill, you can use a forstner bit to drill the same kind of hole. My two favorite men! I spent countless hours in this shop, learning the ways of woodworking and DIY from a great teacher. We brought the runners home and fitted them to the chair.
Fit like a glove. Now we had to match the runners to the legs of the chair. Instead of painting the runners, I thought it would look better if we stained them black. I will admit, I did help with staining. BUT I was very careful to not get it on me (and when I did, I scrubbed it right off), and we had all the windows open, with a fan going. Aaron did most of the staining. The wood was so blond, it took several coats. This is how thin it still looked after the first coat. Several coats later, it was looking like a dead match to the legs of the Strandmon. We used a matte poly finish. I love this poly. And it has a soft touch. I don’t know how to explain it, but it is magical. Buy it and try it. After they were dry, it was just a matter of attaching the runners to the chair. We put the runners in place, and drilled a skinny little pilot hole to make sure the wood didn’t crack when we put the screws in. Let’s take a minute to talk about how much Buster loves the chair being upside down.
Here’s a montage of Buster in his fort, on several different days. Now that your heart is sufficiently melted, we can get back to the real work. Then we switched out for a bigger drill bit to make a hole (not all the way down! Just slightly below the surface) the same size of the screw head to counter sink the screw. Then we sanded the bottoms of the feet, and coated the holes in the runners with wood glue. After we put the runners in place, with the wood glue, we use spax screws and secured the runners. We filled the holes with black wood putty. And now, it’s ready to rock. And let me tell you, it rocks like you wouldn’t believe. It’s probably as good as Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon. Or when Adele came out of the womb singing her feelings. You sit in this chair, and you just have a good feeling about life. There is no real “skill level” required for this project. It’s just about taking the time to measure. No major tools are required.
The simplicity of this project blows me away. This is a DIY project the average person can easily take on. The result is incredible and classy. And for a little designing on a dime and high/low comparing: And if you really love this project, please think about pinning it. For your pinning sake, here are a few more images to choose from 🙂Well, it’s been a long time coming, but we finally finished Baby Cartland’s nursery! We had the bulk of it done a couple of months ago, but we still needed to add a few details, like curtains and hanging photos, to call it complete and ready for our sweet boy. We are a little more than 2 weeks away from our due date, and with the nursery complete, all I have to focus on now is bringing this baby safely into the world. And that’s a lot of stress on its own, trust me! When we found out we were pregnant, I immediately knew I wanted our baby’s room to be white, bright and gender neutral. I pondered the idea of adding vintage pieces to the nursery, but in the end, decided on a more modern look.
We were able to get most of our pieces from Ikea, which rates among the safest and least expensive in nursery furniture. We ended up buying the Gulliver Crib in birch. It converts into a toddler bed as well. My only complaint is the warning stickers that Ikea slaps to both the inside and outside of the crib (as seen in photo) – I could’t get it off! Any tips on that issue are welcome! The tassel garland was a last minute detail. I didn’t feel comfortable hanging any frames above the crib (we have plaster walls and rent our home, so we have to hang most things with 3M hanging stickers), but I wanted to add a little something above the crib to incorporate some color. And this garland is easily removable for when he does start sleeping in his crib. Making it was super easy, too! Here is a simple tutorial you can follow to make some of your own. I initially wanted an Eames rocker for the nursery, but ultimately, we decided against it in the name of comfort. Connor and I are both tall, and in the interest of not nursing in our bed, I intend to spend a lot of time nursing in a rocking chair.
This Poang rocking chair from Ikea is UBER comfy, and contrary to my fears, it fits perfectly in this room! The only warning I would have when ordering this chair online is that the color was more off white than the photo portrayed (I chose the “natural” cushion). The floor pouf is from Land of Nod, and the cowhide rug is from Ikea. The dresser is the Mandal from Ikea as well. We opted out of a changing table and decided to double a dresser as storage/changing. This dresser measured the same height as a changing table sold at Ikea, and I liked the idea of it being a piece we could use for a long time either in his room or another. I LOVE this dresser so much! You can find a contoured changing pad at most baby stores, or even Target, these days. I got ours at Babies R Us here in Tulsa. The paper lamp is also Ikea. I am IN LOVE with these Sharon Montrose Animal Prints ! We registered for 9 of these prints and I was so excited to receive all of them! My mom told me that studies show that looking at a baby animal once a day helps to reduce stress levels.
Hopefully these prints will help to make a happy baby =) I found this woven basket at a thrift store in Skiatook, OK. I originally planned to use it to hold extra blankets, then I was going to give it away, then I realized it was perfect for our nursery to hold extra toys! And of course the Ikea Expedit shelf – I mean how do we live without it?? We will have to, apparently, as Ikea is replacing it with a new version of shelving. This little square book case is just big enough to hold all of the adorable books we received as gifts and a few toys. I found this “C” shaped book at Anthropologie and the plant was part of the decor for our baby shower. I am so happy I got to incorporate it into the nursery. The teddy bear is a gift from Paris from two of my favorite ladies, one of whom lives there. The Swiss Cross pillow is handmade by me. Thank you so much for bearing through what is probably TOO many photos! It’s just so exciting and I am really happy with how his nursery turned out.