I’m obsessing. I know I am. I can’t help it. I’m not a designer, nor do I have a bottomless budget for this new project I’ve embarked upon. Perhaps that’s why it’s taking me so long to finish our mid-century modern inspired nursery.

I’m getting there, but I don’t think I’ve ever given so much thought to one room. This really makes me re-think my “abilities” in the department of design. Okay, okay, so the budget is part of it. I can’t just see stuff and buy it. I have to scrounge, Craigslist some things to buy other things…I have to save, I have to be creative. (Let’s not forget I’d much rather recycle and reuse than buy new.)

I don’t want to give too much away yet…but I do need help from all you designer-istas out there!

Once again….here’s where my inspiration began:

I’m not sticking to it 100%….there will be more vintage furniture than new – but you get the idea.

Here are my colors:

And here was part of my challenge this week:

The scoop: this room that is becoming the “mid-century modern-inspired” nursery is the smallest room in our entire house. Tiny, in fact. It goes without saying that every square inch needs to feature clean design while being multi-functional. This particular corner that backs up to the closet – will be the “feeding & reading nook” as I’ve named it. After an exhaustive search for the very trendy floor “pouf” or ottoman, I decided to stick with traditional MCM instead. Can I just say how ridiculously expensive the little balls of fabric and stuffing are? Oh.My.Goodness!

A pouf such as this one from CB2 will cost you $80 before shipping:

…okay, so maybe not terrible, but it wasn’t quite the right color, and it was more than I wanted to spend. On a pouf. Do you feel me? Plus, my anal-retentive personality kicked in and all I could think of was trying to vacuum dog hair, dry spit up, and crushed up Cheerios from between the knits.  Stay with me….

So then I thought….how about a leather pouf? Or better yet, a Moroccan Pouf!!! In TEAL!!!

That’ll be $139 before shipping. And too big for my tiny space. Beautiful. Fun. Colorful and functional. Don’t get me wrong. Just not what I needed.

So then I turned (as I have a milllllllion times before) to Etsy.com. Low and behold, I found it. My solution. An orange vinyl foot stool/ottoman with fantastic atomic legs just like those on my sweet little rocker.

Once I get the okay – I’ll let you know what shop I found this little treasure in! This little guy will soon be on its way to me – and I can’t wait to be able to feature it in the room reveal.

Here’s what I need help with from my design-savvy readers:

Finding an affordable side table that is small, functional and affordable. I was originally thinking a Saarinen tulip side table (not necessarily name brand)…

… and then Google knocked me down a few notches. Even the reproductions start at close to $200. Vintage is twice that! Yikes!

So then I got to thinking about our very loose “woodland animal” theme… and thought about bringing some different materials in. What about a wood side table? Have you seen these around?

Eco-Friendly Wood Stumps…your thoughts?

That’s where I’m, well, stumped. This Nursery Nutbag needs help. Texture? Color? Materials? Functionality? Any suggestions would be sooooo welcome!