As we anxiously anticipate the arrival of “baby G” (e.t.a. Christmas Day!) we thought we’d take you on a little tour of his “nest”…afterall, this momma’s been nesting, and preparing for our little one!!!

I want to give a heartfelt shout of appreciation to Cheryl Nestro of Tutto Interiors (who by the way does work all over the US if you need her services for interior design in new construction, or complete home makeovers like ours!) She transformed our entire home…but the most special space of all was baby Robbins “nest”, of course!

The only direction we gave Cheryl was to “create a neutral and beautiful space that can accommodate baby Gabriel and a future brother or sister!” We only want one nursery….so if we can get away with alternating pink or blue accents in the future, we’d be thrilled! Because Cheryl knows our vision and style after a complete home renovation with us, she took it, ran with it (which I trust her completely to do)…and this is the finished product!

I love to decorate, so Chery’s idea of these beautiful shelves was absolutely breathtaking!

We don’t have a “theme” in mind, but we did find the cutest little lambs, and ended up with one!

A reading corner was SO important to me, as a former kindergarten teacher with a reading major! I taught young kindergarteners (at 4 years of age) to read early….it’s my specialty…so I just can’t wait to teach my baby boy how to read!!!

Isn’t this a beautiful space?

The only thing that will make this space more beautiful is having our baby boy in it! I just can’t wait!!!

Since we LOVE Cheryl’s work, we decided to have her do a playroom too! Even though baby G will be too young to enjoy it at first, if you know us well, you know that we have about 15 couples we are BEST FRIENDS with…who all have kids or who are having kids, and we need a place for them to play! So when everyone is over visiting baby, we can’t wait to welcome our “little friends” to this new space…our playroom! Take a peek…

It includes a mini-theatre for the littles…(a TV loaded with pre-selected child-friendly and approved movies only! Beanbag chairs, and a cozy couch)…

And another reading nook, of course! 🙂 And a table for crafts, and a teepee for cuddling! Plenty of space for memories made!

I can’t wait to fill these spaces and places with LOVE and LAUGHTER!

For more images on the nursery, closeups, and lifestyles shots with P+S, baby G, and our pup Bella click on the images below to view them full-size and  to start the slideshow!

If you missed our main home tour of all of Cheryl’s beautiful work, click here.

If you missed our pregnancy announcement, gender reveal, maternity photos, click here.

Thank you again to Cheryl Nestro of Tutto Interiors for this beautiful nursery and playroom!

(Photo cred: Jim Carlson for the main blog images. Jessica Gliesman for the gallery images, closeups, and lifestyle shots!)

Thanks for stopping in! XO P+S and baby G!

Welcome to the Robbins Nest, Holiday Home Tour! I have to admit, I am a lover of all things Christmas! I decorate early (first week of November this year, in anticipation of our firstborn, due Christmas Day)! And to be honest, I will probably enjoy these decorations until February (along with cuddles with my sweet baby boy!) If I could leave it up all year I would! I adore all things Christmas! Now, with the freshly fallen snow (we got near a foot, after a beautiful fall)…it’s time to pipe in the Mariah Carey Christmas playlist on Pandora, light my Nest Holiday Candle, and enjoy!

Welcome to our home…

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Olive, The Other Reindeer

Meet Bella! (There’s a cute kid’s Christmas book today that features a Jack Russell Terrier who thinks they are a reindeer, called “Olive the Other Reindeer”)! Our JRT thinks she is a human! As you tour our nest, I want you to keep a look out for baby Bella…we laugh so hard, as this little gal loves to pose for pics (I wonder where she got that from?! LOL!) We don’t invite her into the pictures or pose her on purpose…we seem to just “find her” in our pictures…kind of like the kid’s book from my time “Where’s Waldo?”…see if you can spot Bella in our pictures!

Oh, Christmas Tree!

I love Christmas trees, and try to incorporate one in every room! My goal for baby G (and any future Robbins-to-be) is to allow them to have a tree in their room that they decorate each year! We have one grand tree that we invite two lovely ladies to decorate each year (we adore them). We only wish we had a trap door to lower and raise it each year so we never have to take it apart…

I love to decorate too, so I reserve the right to our kitchen tree! 🙂 This year, per the advice of my momma, I got a flocked tree which was so much fun! I decorated it with big, dramatic bulbs…inspiration from my holiday Horchow catalog this year!

Every year we do a real tree in the lower level, but this year, we know it simply won’t be possible with a baby that’s due on Christmas Day…I had to settle with a little tabletop tree this year…but I compensated with finding fun decor that would contrast against the white. And even found a way to sneak in my pretty Christmas tree skirt! But I truly can’t wait to have a real tree back in the lower level in years to come!

For smaller spaces, I use small tabletop trees…like this fun one that I found for my office!

The Stockings Were Hung By the Chimney With Care…

Another “must” for me…sweet stockings above every hearth. I think it’s my subtle way of sneaking more “bling” into the home. If it were up to me, my home would be decked out in all things girly and glittery. Thank goodness for my husband who definitely balances me out! Here’s our living room stockings…

I even have stockings in my office to match the decor…(originally I was going to use these in our lower level, but we ended up not making a mantle after our renovation down there)…

These will be the stockings that Santa actually fills up. One for P+S and baby G!

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer!

One of my favorite objects to decorate with are reindeer! I have to admit, I fall toward the girly, glam look. So for now my Santas are packed away…and I am loving incorporating beautiful reindeer into every room as well! Here are the sweet ones that greet people in the entry…

Reindeer perched upon the buffet in my dining room….

I spy with my little eye…baby Bella, as I take a quick snapshot of the reindeer in our living room!

These little guys are temporary fixtures around my temporary little tree in the lower level….

And because a girl can never have too much bling…these ones are my absolute FAVORITE to pull out each year (this year I even found the matching stocking holders!)

Reindeer seem to make everything more magical….

Rockin Around The Christmas Tree

Every year I like to add a little treat to my Christmas collection! This year was Christmas ornaments! I treated myself to a special little treat–trimmings for my Christmas tree, imported from one of my favorite destination places…Harrods of London!

“I like big bulbs and I cannot lie!” LOL! I was so inspired by a picture of interior designer Jan Shower’s flocked tree with big, oversized metallic bulbs that I decided to try this look on my DIY tree myself! Shortly after ordering these beauties of all sizes from Horchow, they put out their holiday catalog, featuring a GORGEOUS tree with oversized bulbs! I guessed that confirmed my choice! I added dainty little bulbs to balance things out!

Deck The Halls

I try to sprinkle special touches in every space!  Holiday decor doesn’t have to be traditional…I like to find fun and festive ways to spruce up every space…

From antlers and jingle bells on my table runner…

Christmas candles and matches in every space…

Beautiful bibles to read the Christmas story…

Cute little items I find along the way, like this little guy…

Decor doesn’t have to be traditional holiday…beautiful flowers go a long way!

Lovely vases…

Stacked books and bowls…

And my favorite piece to deck the halls all year long, a sculpture called “The Offering”…from my late mentor, father-figure and friend, Christian Diaz!

Garland is always gorgeous…

Photo displays framed by Christmas trees (I am working on a “Brides” table here)…

I even sprinkle in the holidays in each bathroom!

It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas! 

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year! And something tells me that it will be even more magical as we celebrate our baby boy’s birth, and future birthdays each year here! I can’t wait to welcome him to the Robbins Nest! We plan to fill each room in this place with love and laughter–with future to plans to even adopt! We have a lot of love to share!

Before I go to prepare for baby G, here’s a few last sneak peeks & a room by room tour…

Our lower level (quite the transformation from last year’s rustic “man cave”! Tutto Interiors of Northville worked their magic and completely renovated this space!)

My Office

Our Entry

Our Dining Room

Our Family Room

Our Formal Living Room

An Aerial View From Above…

Somehow Bella snuck in (again….)

For a room-by-room tour of our entire home (all year round) CLICK HERE

Thank you so much for touring our nest! We wish you a happy, healthy holiday season! 

XO, Phil, Sarah, and baby Gabriel (and of course, baby Bella too!)

PS- this was our first time taking pictures after a quick tutorial from our friend Jessica! What do you think? Be easy on us–we are newbies!