the number one thing I hate the most about our house is that the other bedrooms are on the second level, while ours is on the first level. not only will the nursery be on a separate floor level as our bedroom, but it is a funky ass shape too. it's kind of shaped like an L, with a little nook by the window that juts out.
we don't really have much choice in this, as the other available bedroom upstairs has a big balcony and is subject to lots of traffic noise (we live on a main road), which doesn't usually make for a baby that sleeps well, from what I've heard. plus, it's a balcony. totes not worrying myself over THAT issue.
ANYWAY. we're gunna make it work. I figure he will be in our room/downstairs 99% of the time for the first couple months while we establish a set feeding/sleeping schedule, but I still want him to have a room to call his own that he can become familiar with once he's ready to sleep up there. and when he DOES get to finally sleep up there, you betta believe we'll have one of those fancy schmancy video monitors so I can spy on him at all times.
the GOOD thing about having a room upstairs is that the cats will not be able to bother him in his room/get cat hair all over his stuff/pee on anything because they're territorial. and I'll also get a great workout lugging him and all his laundry up and down stairs during the day. :)
I made a (not-to-scale at all) mock-up of how I imagine the room to be set up. I'm pretty certain that the space between the door and the wall at the top of the stairs will be too narrow to accommodate a crib, which is why I have the dresser there instead. however, if I can fit a crib there, I'd much rather have it there and move the dresser over across from the closet. we'll see how it all works out.
I'm thinking that I could fit two bookcases in there, but I'm not 100% certain since I haven't actually measured the room. the glider and ottoman will also probably be caddy cornered and facing the door, but Paint wouldn't let me rotate them. ;)
right now the room is full of JUNK. when we first moved in, we stored all the boxes that housed our wedding gifts up in that room (think crock pot, Keurig, blender, etc) so that if we moved again, we can just pack the appliances in the boxes they came in. also, our Christmas tree, a lonely dresser without drawers, and other random crap. the carpet needs to be vacuumed and steam cleaned, the walls need some spackle work and paint, and the light fixture needs to be replaced.
AKA it's going to be a lot of work before we even get the fun parts of decorating it and filling his closet with cute little outfits. however, I know that
we'll I'll be doing a grey, navy, aqua, and yellow (think mustard, not butter) color scheme. I might throw some orange in there too, but we'll see.
we're visiting Great Beginnings (rated one of the top baby stores in the nation by Baby Bargains) this weekend, where I hope to try out some gliders and maybe find a crib that I can actually see in person before buying. other than that, I already know (for the most part) what furniture we plan on having in the room, but that will be a post all on it's own later this week.
another item we really wanted to invest in while we were there was a nice duvet. we "tested" them all out... basically squeezing and petting (sexual, no?) and comparing softness... and eventually chose the MYSA 2 - we both like a cooler covering, so it seemed perfect. the true test will be once we get it on the bed! 
