2,712

Fab Freebie: Easily Turned On

Posted by John,
February 8, 2010

So you saw me install this puppy earlier today, and just as we promised we’re back to give you a shot at winning one of your own. The Delta Pilar kitchen faucet with Touch 2O Technology is pretty much any DIY-lover or enthusiastic chef’s best friend because, just as the commercial below demonstrates, you can wash paint, dirt, eggs, chicken goo or any other home-improvement or cooking related mess off of your hands without ever getting it on your purdy fixture.

We’ve actually had ours installed for a week now and I’ve found it extremely helpful even when doing simple tasks like the dishes (yes, I’m usually in charge of the dishes, but Sherry vacuums so it’s pretty fair around here). Rather than having to reach over to turn the handle on and off, I can interrupt the water by just quickly tapping the spout anywhere, and the technology’s even smart enough to know when you’re gripping the faucet to move it (as we do from basin to basin in our double sink) so it doesn’t interpret that maneuver as an on/off trigger. Consider us impressed.

For more info about how this baby works and how we got it installed, check out this morning’s post (and don’t forget to read through the comments where we address pretty much every detail that you can think of). And if you’re dying to get your grubby mitts on one of them, here’s how:

Find more freebie info on our Giveaway FAQs page. Pics courtesy of Delta Faucet.

Fab Freebies
95

Replacing A Kitchen Faucet

Posted by John,
February 8, 2010

We have nothing bad to say about about the Price Pfister faucet that we purchased as part of our kitchen remodel back in 2007 (especially since we scored it for a mere $71 on eBay).

But sometimes change is a good thing. Why? Because the kind folks at Delta faucets generously offered to let us take their new Pilar Pull-Down Faucet with Touch 2O Technology for a spin.

Psst- Want one too? Stay tuned for this week’s giveaway since we actually wrangled one for a lucky random winner as well!

The Pilar’s sleek brushed nickel finish is a perfect match for our kitch and the Touch 2O feature sounded right up our alley- especially with all the painting, sanding, caulking and general messiness that comes with the bevy of DIY projects that we’re always taking on. Basically, you can turn the water on and off by simply touching any part of the faucet or handle with your fingers, wrist, elbow or any other piece of skin that’s not covered in soap, paint, dirt, etc. Sounds like a DIYers dream, no?

So once we delicately broke the news to our old faucet, it came time for it to gather its stuff and move out (not to worry, we’re happily giving it a second life by donating it to The Habitat For Humanity ReStore). When it comes to faucet switcheroos, we’ve removed and installed about four or five bathroom faucets, but never a kitchen faucet (our granite and sink installer put in our last one) but I figured it’d be pretty straightforward. I just cleared out the under-sink cabinets, assembled my tools, turned off the water and readied my plumber’s crack (not pictured).

I actually resisted the urge to take pictures of the ol’ removal process, thinking it would be so simple that it didn’t warrant breaking out the camera- but I actually hit a small hurdle pretty much off the bat: I couldn’t figure out how to unscrew a certain piece. The solution? I just hunted down the instructions online (since a lot of manufacturers put PDFs of these things on their websites these days) and realized that I misunderstood the way the pieces connect (specifically I thought 8B and 8C were fused together, so I hadn’t even attempted to simply unscrew 8C from 8B). Problem solved.

From there it was only a few minutes before I had everything removed and boxed up to be donated to the Habitat ReStore (generally speaking, we just unscrewed things under the sink that held the fixtures in place above the sink). Then after some mild scrubbing, I was left with four clean holes in the countertop that begged to be plugged up with a new faucet. Now you might be wondering why we had four holes when that before picture only shows three fixtures. Well, we originally had the soap pump that came with the Price Pfister faucet installed, but we found that it leaked on the granite a lot (and got jammed up quite a bit) so it soon got the boot in favor of our beloved Anthropologie soap/lotion caddy (that never leaks AND easily covers the unused hole).

So with the sink just begging for a new faucet, the installation of our sparkly and high tech Delta model proved to be surprisingly easy (I assumed this would be harder than the former faucet removal but it was seamless and simple- especially since I already had the included-in-the-box instructions on hand to refer to). First came screwing on the gooseneck spout, which was just simply tightening a collection of washers and nuts on the underside of the granite while Sherry held the spout in place on the other side.

Then came doing something similar to the handle (i.e. valve). This required a special long tool (included) to tighten the nut over a super long bolt (similar to parts 8B and 8C that had proven confusing to remove on the old faucet). You can see how the nut fits into the top of a long plastic tube that then slides right over the long bolt.

Here you can see the tool in action after having tightened the nut into place. Pretty straightforward if you ask me, especially since so far all the tubes and wiring were already hooked up for me (yes, our fancy schmancy faucet actually came with wiring).

The next step was feeding the extension hose through the faucet. All that took was popping in a simple white nub to help the tube slide through with ease, and then just leaving enough still sticking out so it didn’t get lost inside the gooseneck. This is where we would later screw on the nozzle end, which makes it functions as both a standard faucet and a pull-down sprayer. Gotta love a multitasker like that.

Here’s where it starts to get high tech. After all, the Jetson’s-esque touch feature doesn’t just happen by magic. Enter the Solenoid. I don’t know how it  does what it does, but I do know that it came it one of those static-eliminating bags that I’m used to getting computer parts in. Like woah.

The Solenoid connects to the valve on the top side by snapping it into a plastic tube that already extends from the valve and using a metal clamp (the goldish thing below) to hold it in place. Then I snapped the spray hose (after removing the white plastic guide) into the bottom of the Solenoid and used a black plastic clamp to hold that in place. Our faucet was now one step closer to becoming a bona fide robot.

After that it was just up to me to connect a series of wires from the Solenoid to other parts of the fixture. For example I attached a metal clip to the bottom of the spout (sorry for the blurry pic – it’s dark under there!)…

…and these two corresponding wires from the spout and the Solenoid (not exactly sure about the science behind all of this, so I was just dutifully following directions at this point).

And of course you have to attached it all to a power source. In this case that source was a battery case that fits four C-sized batteries, which- much to our pleasant surprise- are actually included! When does that ever happen? Oh and there is an adhesive on the back of the battery pack if you wanted to stick it to the cabinet wall, but we opted not to commit ourselves to one spot yet and just rested it on the base of the cabinet (this should make pulling it out to change batteries extra easy).

With the electrical done, it was time to put my plumber’s hat back on, take off my belt, and reconnect the water. The hot water was pretty basic – I just attached the black plastic tube from the valve to our hot water connection. The cold water was a bit different due to the water filter that we installed last summer. Fortunately, the new tubing was the same size as the blue plastic tubes used by our Filtrete filter- so I was able to just cut the new tube at an appropriate length with a small hack saw, insert it into the filter and I was done.

Then I just turned the water back on the traditional way (by turning on the pipes under the sink and using the faucet handle to get water a flowin’) and tested for leaks by using a paper towel (it’s our patent-pending technique… just place a dry paper towel under the pipes, turn on the water, and pray that the towel stays dry). Once we established that there were no leaks or snafus when it came to our installation, I readied myself to attempt to turn on my kitchen faucet in a whole new way: just by tapping it (we love that the faucet can function just like a normal one and that the touch-activated feature can be turned on and off). But first take a look at our new faucet in place:

Once again we opted not to install the included soap pump so we just used the Mrs. Meyers bottle to cover up the second pre-drilled hole in our counter. Some people might not think that two covered countertop holes are ideal, but we realized that we’d much rather have the room to grow (in case we ever decide to install another four-hole faucet down the road- since we plan to be here til we’re old and gray) rather than having to get someone in to cut new holes if that time comes. Basically we think of our sink as having a ton of flexibility- and we’ve never had an issue with water finding its way around the soap or lotion and dripping into the cabinet base below so it’s a pretty foolproof system. Plus there are also lots of sites like this that sell “hole covers” to make things even more secure and water-safe if we ever want that extra protection for the long haul- so that’s always a nice option.

Plus, we love having the pull-down sprayer built right into the spout rather than coming from a separate source. And it toggles between a solid stream and a multi-stream spray with a switch on the back of the nozzle. Nice.

We also love the heft of our new faucet. We never realized how light and semi-chintzy our other one felt by comparison (since we’re constantly swinging our faucet from side to side between each basin of our double sink, the new one really feels solid and substantial- always a plus).

And the whole touch thing? Works like a charm. Though at first I didn’t realize that you have to have the handle in the on position for it to kick in, so there was some momentary alarm during my first few attempts to touch activate things without success. But as soon as we flipped the handle back towards the window- into the on position- then all we had to do was tap any metal part of the faucet (spout, neck, underside- anywhere) and it would click on or off instantly. Plus there’s a little blue light at the base of the spout that lights up when it’s being touch activated.

The other cool thing is that since we’re constantly pushing the spout from one side of our double sink to the other, it’s actually smart enough to know when you’re tapping it (which will turn it on and off) and when you’re grabbing the neck to move it (thereby wrapping your fingers around it). So it actually won’t activate and turn on/off if you grab it to move it- just when you tap it. Yeah it’s pretty much an Einstein-caliber faucet.

And since we know people are probably wondering about fingerprints (since this faucet begs to be touched) the instruction manual actually encourages people to touch the underside of the faucet to minimize fingerprints but we’ve been tapping it pretty much all over and we haven’t noticed one fingerprint to speak of. The brushed nickel finish really does a great job of obscuring them (or keeping them from popping up in the first place). Whew.

My only wish? I’m kinda disappointed that it doesn’t talk to me in some Knight Rider-ish voice: “Welcome John, what can I wash for you today?” Oh well, Delta’s probably still working on that feature. We also love that the batteries are only activated when the faucet is actually being touched on or off, so it’s not like they run all the time when we might only touch it for 40 seconds a day. Smart.

So that’s how we painlessly switched out our kitchen faucet and lived to tell the tale (and wash our hands after a job well done). We hope our little step by step photo sesh comes in handy if you find yourself under your sink with a wrench in the near future. And of course if your new faucet doesn’t come with wires and batteries it’s sure to be an even simpler installation process. You can totally do it, probably in less than twenty minutes.

Oh and don’t forget to swing by later today for a chance to win your very own Delta Pilar with Touch 2O Technology (which retails for somewhere around $300). And until we come back with our big weekly freebie this afternoon, we’d love to know if anyone else has tried out this wave of the hand-washing future device? Or do you have any other special technology in your home that makes life a bit easier? Motion-sensored lights? Heated towel bars? A coffee maker on a timer? If not do you dream of some special high-tech device or invention that would make your house hum like a well oiled machine robot? Spill the sci-fi beans.

Before & After, Easy Upgrades, Here's A Tip, Our House
90

Reader Redesign: Kitchen Quickchange

Posted by Sherry,
February 5, 2010

When Jennifer sent us her almost unrecognizable kitchen before and after pictures we had to share the goods. Here’s her letter:

I‘m so excited about my kitchen transformation that I had to send it your way since so much of it was inspired by YHL! Two of my favorite features in my new space (under cabinet spice shelf and sliding barn door) were inspired by this transformation that you guys featured on your blog a few months back. You can see my entire transformation with before/after pics here and the day by day process here. I’m so glad we were able to take the room from a neon green mess (yes, I painted it that color… it looked so much better in my head) to a serene and welcoming space that’s truly functional and easy on the eyes. My favorite things are the garden window in the kitchen where all of my herbs are flourishing instead of dying in the Illinois winter, and the spice shelf which was inspired by the kitchen you posted a few months ago! Anyway, thanks so much for helping me realize my dream kitchen, I don’t think I’d have 1/2 of the fun little features if it wasn’t for your blog and the amazing makeovers you share! – Jennifer

Here’s Jennifer’s bold green kitchen before:

And here’s her fresh and inviting space after the big makeover:

Pretty dramatic, huh? Here’s Jennifer’s list of sources:

Can you believe it’s the same room? We love that Jennifer wasn’t deterred by her initial lime green wall choice and still headed into the renovation with confidence and enthusiasm. So many people just get frozen with decision-making fear. And the fact that she took inspiration from other kitchens that she loved shows how easy it is to pinpoint your style and personalize your space to get “un-stuck” if that ever happens to you. Just flip through design mags or books at Barnes & Noble and google around for the perfect starting point! We also love that she trolled the web to find steals and deals on fixtures like the faucet that she snagged on Overstock. So thanks so much for sending the gorgeous photos our way Jennifer. We love everything from the ceiling-height cabinets and the mosaic backsplash to that built-in spice shelf and those gleaming silestone counters. Yum. What about you guys? Got any favorite parts?

Reader Redesigns
182

Burning Question: Spendy Splurges?

Posted by Sherry,
February 5, 2010

This query of the week was actually submitted by a reader named Molly and we couldn’t wait to get everyone’s read on the subject. The big Q: What has been your biggest home-related splurge? And looking back, was it worth it?

We love to hoard our pennies whenever we can but we’re also known to save them up for something truly special for our little ranch, so we know a thing or two about splurging on a few occasions. What have you guys gone all out on? And was it all that you thought it would be? Does it make you smile every time you see it? Or are you too scared that you’ll “hurt” it to truly enjoy it?

Breathtaking kitchen image (which appears to be a nice balance of steals & splurges) via Cornflower Cottage.

Burning Questions
224

Nursery Progress: Crib Notes

Posted by Sherry,
February 4, 2010

Ok, here it is. The much anticipated crib post. First we have to talk about how giddy we are to have a mini-me mattress going on. Let me explain. Remember back when John and I talked about saving our pennies for an organic mattress (after sleeping on a sketchy old hand me down for far to long) back in June of last year? Yeah, we actually had a “mattress fund” going until we could take that baby home. And pretty much ever since the day that we sprung for our own Organic Serenity Natural Dunlop Latex Mattress By Savvy Rest we dreamed of someday getting a mini version for our offspring in the form of a totally organic crib mattress (p.s. don’t you like my mattress pageantry below?).

After all, if John and I didn’t want to go to bed with just anything (my obsession with all things eco made me yearn for a pure and organic mattress free of fireproofing chemicals and made from 100% natural materials that are just as good for the planet as they are for people) we certainly wanted the same thing for the beanette. So imagine our sheer delight and amazement when the thoughtful and generous people at Savvy Rest contacted us and offered to send over an organic crib mattresses for our big nursery makeover. Yeah, it was enough excitement to make my bladder almost burst (this reaction might also have something to do with all the kicks I’ve been getting lately- we have a little can-can dancer in there).

So when The Savvy Baby (isn’t that an adorable name for a crib mattress?) arrived a few weeks later we were still pinching ourselves. And Burger fell in love too. In fact here’s a video of us catching Burger in the act of enjoying the new mattress (or you can watch it here on YouTube).

And fear not, that puppy’s cleaner than we are. And of course we’ll be adding an organic all-wool waterproof mattress pad along with an organic fitted sheet so please don’t worry that our baby girl will get some sort of dangerous chihuahua-borne illness.

But back to our baby… er, I mean the mattress. What makes it so covetable? Well it’s totally free of any chemicals and made from five inches of firm all-natural latex. The top and bottom of the mattress are also covered with flame-retardant quilting made of organic wool fiber and organic cotton fabric (it meets all the fire-proofing standards here in the US without being sprayed or dipped in any chemicals). Plus wool is naturally repellent to dust mites and keeps the mattress’s inner environment dry so baby P will sleep cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

Doesn’t it sound like the Ferrari of crib comfort? Seriously we were thrilled and we can’t thank the sweet folks at Savvy Rest enough for their amazing gift. Of course we haven’t taken it for a spin since it’s a bit too short for us, but we can definitely vouch for the comfort-factor and durability of our own personal Savvy Rest mattress which we’ve enjoyed for almost a year now (check out an update on how we like it right here). And we haven’t mentioned that Savvy Rest is based right here in Virginia so it’s sort of a “local” company too. Gotta love that it didn’t need to travel far to arrive right at our door.

So that’s the rainbows and unicorns (read: happy-go-lucky) part of the story. Then it was time to figure out where we’d be putting our lovely new mattress… as in, locate a crib. This is easier said than done my friends. It was a major challenge to straddle the line between “we’d like it to be reasonably green and non-toxic since that’s the way we live” (we compost, have a rain barrel, use non-toxic cleaning products, etc) and “our budget isn’t in the $700-1500 range so all those entirely eco crib options sadly aren’t within reach for us” (with things like strollers, car seats, cloth diapers and other big ticket items still on our must-buy list we unfortunately had to set a crib budget and stick to it).

We quickly realized that we’d be happy to find a crib that was somewhat of a compromise (a bit more eco than most super cheap cribs with a few great non-toxic features but obviously nothing in the sadly-unattainable-for-us $700+ price range of those amazing industry leading green crib makers like Oeuf, Cariboo, Pacific Rim, DucDuc, Spot on Square, Argington, and Q Collection Junior). So after a bit of research and soul searching we arrived at a decent little “must-have list” that we thought would work best for us in order to narrow down all the contenders and hopefully leave us with something perfect for Baby P. Here was our required criteria:

We also had a bonus list of “it would be nice” characteristics that weren’t necessary but were definitely welcome:

Our minds swirled with a ton of possibilities that we carefully considered as we went…

Idea #1: Could we make our own crib to meet every prerequisite? After a bit of deliberation we realized that with all the safety features, testing and industry standards we’d better leave crib-making to the experts.

Idea #2: Could we grab an unfinished solid wood one (made from birch, maple, oak?) and use a no-VOC stain or paint to finish it ourselves? Well, after hunting down very few totally unfinished solid wood options (many were already stained or sealed so we wouldn’t be able to easily alter the finish) we realized that unfinished cribs were generally in the $500-1200 range (a bit to a lot out of our budget) and usually had country-ish lines due to their raw and unfinished nature (we were interested in something a bit sleeker and more clean-lined).

Idea #3: Could we hunt down a used one? After all, that would be the greenest thing to do. But a bit more consideration had us thinking about those ever-changing safety standards and a slew of recent recalls so it seemed like getting something new that meets all the current safety standards was the right choice for fearful first time parents like us. Especially since my mother generously offered to foot the bill and kept mentioning that we should get something new that we could use again and again and again (somehow she thinks we’ll end up with seven babies since she herself is one of seven). The good news is that we’ve actually purchased an awesome thrift store nursery chair so we were as green as it gets in that category… stay tuned for those details.

Anyway, with all of that pre-hunt brainstorming out of the way, we dove headfirst into active “crib shopping” mode armed with our handy little list of boxes to check off and all the confidence of a nervous eight pound chihuahua (we have to be honest, it was quite intimidating and we were super worried that we wouldn’t find anything at all). But we did manage to dig up this good-looking crib made with solid wood and non-toxic finishes. The only downside: it doesn’t outright say there’s no MDF or pressed wood so there probably is. Plus the $379 price is very close to the top of our range (as in scraping right up against it) so we were hoping to find something that checked off all of our boxes and not just most of them for that price point. Back to the drawing board.

Then we came across this chic looking $419 crib, which was also made with solid wood and non-toxic finishes. But again it doesn’t outright say that there’s no MDF or pressed wood (something that cribs with this feature like to shout from the rooftops) so it also fell a bit short of checking off that last box (and was also a bit over our max budget). That’s ok… maybe the third time is the charm?

Spoiler alert: nope. We then stumbled upon this crib by DaVinci. We actually heard through a few online reviews that DaVinci cribs were usually made from solid wood, finished with non-toxic paint/stain and even came with BPA free crib guards- but there was hardly any information for this particular model except for the super vague “made from Asian hardwood” line (which could also be true if the thing was riddled with MDF) so we’re not really sure it met much of our criteria at all. The styling was also a bit less clean-lined than we wanted, although there was definitely something charming and undeniably “classic” looking about it. On the upside, it did come in white (our desired color) and was priced extremely well at $267… but it just didn’t do everything we hoped that our future crib would do. Moving on.

We began to wonder if we were (pardon my language) being hard-asses. Was our wish list akin to J Lo asking for nothing but white candles in her dressing room? Were we tirelessly trolling for something that just didn’t exist? We allowed ourselves just two minutes to wallow in self pity before deciding that we had work to do. Back to the search.

Next we came across two potential Ikea cribs, but the first one wasn’t the white color that we hoped for (although it did seem to be made mostly from sustainable solid wood). Sadly it also didn’t boast keywords like “non-toxic” or “low-VOC” when it came to the clear acrylic lacquer finish, and we learned along our little researching tirade that any crib with these features likes to highlight them in bold (so we always assume that if it doesn’t say something is: no-VOC, non-toxic, sustainable, completely comprised of solid wood and nothing else, etc- then it probably isn’t). Too bad because the price was pretty fantastic at $159. But that’s ok, there was another affordable Ikea option to evaluate.

Our second Swedish find (priced at just $99) also mentioned some nice solid wood & plywood materials (no word of pressed wood or MDF) but again neglected to describe that the “tinted clear amino resin lacquer” finish was anything especially non-toxic or low-VOC. Que the wop-wop sound effect.

Admittedly they were both amazingly priced and we actually know of at least three happy babies with these affordable and stylish Ikea cribs so by no means are we saying there’s a thing wrong with them (or the other cribs that we found along the way)! They just didn’t quite check off all the little boxes that we established going into our big crib hunt. We quickly learned that selecting a crib is definitely a subjective and surprisingly personal decision. What’s right for one person might not be right for the next mom and dad to come along so we definitely believe that ironing out what’s most important to you (and acknowledging that it won’t always be as important to the next person) will help you locate something perfect for your family, your budget and the way you live. To each his own, right? But back to our search…

Next we found this crib. At $490 the maple finish was the only one that we could *almost* afford (it was still nearly $100 over budget). Since the tone of the maple is a bit shy of the deep chocolate color that we lean towards, the white finish would have been our preference… but at $700 that option was out of our price range. And although the maple coloring didn’t really work with our ever-evolving nursery scheme, there was something intensely charming about this guy. He’s actually the cream of the eco crop (Argington is one of those fancy top-of-the-line green companies) and is made entirely of solid wood, touted as one of the most eco-friendly options out there, and constructed with all materials (glues, stains, and finishes) that are 100% non-toxic. Too bad it wasn’t the color we were looking for and the price was ultimately still a bit cost prohibitive for two savers like us. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

This crib was also super appealing thanks to the eco-advantages that it boasted (made entirely from sustainably grown wood with non toxic finishes). But the $700 price tag was just too steep for us, and the rounded corners wouldn’t fit our lovely new mattress. So we gave it one last look and clicked that window closed as a single tear slipped silently down my cheek (ok so I’m exaggerating, but this entire exercise was kind of an ooh-this-might-be-it-nope-keep-looking roller coaster ride).

Then we found this write-up which honestly helped A TON (update: we have been forced to unlink to the write-up, which has since been hacked and is redirecting people to a scandalous site and setting off virus alerts- we’ll put it back once things are running smoothly again). It reinforced that affordable eco cribs were few and far between (especially in the white coloring and clean-lined styling that we were looking for) but there were a few non-budget-breaking options that were still a bit “greener” than the average crib in that price range.

Ahhhhhhhhmmmmmmm.

Yes, that’s the sound of us breathing a long, deep sigh of relief. The affordable reasonably-green-crib-roundup that we had tracked down was insanely helpful! And the last crib they featured not only met all of our initial criteria but also checked off all of our bonus “would be nice” boxes too. And at $299 it was definitely within our budget. Were pigs flying? Could it really be? Oh sweet victory. It was described as “made from New Zealand pinewood with a non-toxic finish” and “the solid wood and wood veneer construction means no toxic VOCs or formaldehyde associated with pressed wood.” It also met or exceeded all US safety standards and received one of the highest user ratings we’d seen (over 85 people had weighed in after purchasing it and it earned almost five full stars out of five). Plus the $299 price tag even includes the rail to convert it to a toddler bed or daybed, there was free to-the-store shipping, it came in white and had a splash of darker wood, it was clean-lined and sleek looking and it even had a handy little storage drawer (talk about a few nice little bonuses).

It really was one of those miracle moments. Perhaps it’ll be up there with actually meeting our baby girl for the first time in May. Ok so that’s probably pushing it, but after hours (literally at least four solid ones) spent looking for something that consistently eluded us it seriously felt like a major coup to click the “buy” button and exchange a few nerdy high fives that we save for special occasions like these.

We could hardly wait to get it home, put it together, add our awesome new mattress, and test it all out with The Burgette. And about a week later we found ourselves doing just that. Nice, right?

Oh, maybe we should stop to explain who Burgette is. She got her name because she’s sort of a hybrid between Burger + The Beanette (we whipped her up thanks to this Burger zoonie and a recently gifted newborn sleeper… just so someone could take our new nursery addition for a spin). Look… she likes it!

And although we luckily were able to assemble things pretty quickly, we sped things up even more for your viewing pleasure (watch it below from Vimeo, or over here on YouTube):

So there you have it. The mind-numbingly exhaustive play by play of how we ended up with an amazing organic mattress and a solid clean-lined white wood crib without any pressed wood or MDF and a non-toxic finish. Of course we realize that one comes from a small Virginia based company and the other comes from a giant big box store (and yes, that it could be even greener if we had twice to three times as much to spend on it). But one thing we’ve already learned about impending parenthood is that it’s all about balance. And we love that we were able to add a thrift store nursery chair to the mix (stay tuned for those details). Balance really feels like it’s the key. We won’t be able to keep our little one away from certain things (like boys for instance) or feed her a completely organic diet until she’s 25, so we did the best we could and set out with a few simple “goals” for the bean’s sleeping situation. And we lived to tell the tale. Whew. Now there are only 579,088,989 more dire decisions that we’ll have to make before she graduates college. This should be interesting…

Note: As we mentioned above, selecting a crib (and any baby-related furniture/schooling/food/child care/etc) is definitely a subjective and surprisingly personal decision. What’s right for one person might not be right for the next mom and dad to come along. We definitely believe that the best you can do is to make thoughtful, informed decisions and go with something that feels right for your family, your budget, and the way you live. So while you might not have selected the same exact crib or mattress that we chose (everyone has different boxes to check off) we’re just two people sharing what worked for us in this crazy ride on the parenthood train.

Caught On Video, Our House, Our Nursery
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