Pardon me for being sappy but these days I feel a bit nostalgic. A good friend of mine, Berlin of Momiberlin just gave birth to a healthy and bouncing baby boy. Also, my toddler is growing up so fast that there are times when I just want to scoop her in my arms like she’s just a newborn. I think sometimes she also wants to be a baby again, crawling and babbling. I just remember the days like it was yesterday when we were preparing for her arrival, making sure everything is ready, especially our nursery.
Designing a nursery is such an exciting activity for a lot of would-be parents. Like them, we were also looking forward to making a chic and cozy space for our tiny bundle of joy. However, sometimes, it was a bit challenging with our limited space.
Turning Half-A-Room into a Chic Nursery
As a mom who wants to balance function, style, and budget, it was important to me that the nursery have elements that cater not just to our child’s needs but our own as well. We needed one that grows with our child until he or she has her own room.
In our case, we opted to have my daughter’s nursery in the master’s bedroom. I had wanted to follow sleep safety recommendations but also needed for her to be close. Having a transitional nursery in our room would allow us to be sensitive to her needs while giving her a safe sleeping environment: a fitted crib sheet, no pillows or toys.
With encouragement from the online interior design service, Havenly, I just wanted to share some tips that could help you decide how to work your space and make it a nursery everyone would love.
Think long term
Before buying a piece of furniture for your nursery, think about how it would be used after a few years. For instance, when buying a crib, consider whether it would be something you could dismantle to be kept in storage or perhaps upcycle into something for a different purpose. I had a creative friend who turned parts of her children’s old crib into a book shelf. We got one that we could easily pack under the bed when not in use.
As for the cabinets, get one that could potentially be used to tuck away your child’s baby and toddler toys.We had one custom built to have drawers and large compartments for clothes, diapers and toys.
Use versatile pieces
Get things that have two or more functions. We got an ottoman that doubles as storage. A dresser with a pad would also work instead of buying a changing table.
Have photos, art or printables as wall decor
For a transitional nursery, photos or art would be great choices to add some zest to your space. These could be changed according to a theme or color. When your child becomes a toddler, you could even display some of his or her artwork. There are also a lot of amazing printables available online which you could vary perhaps to suit the season or even your mood.
Love the design just remember sleep safety. |
Bring in some light
There are a lot of ways you could make the space seem wider. You could choose light colored walls, art and sheets. By the way, light sheets also make it easy for you to spot crawling insects.
Go vertical
You can use the wall not just for photos but for shelves as well. This is also a great idea because you could easily change what’s on display. Say, cute toys for a few months then eventually, children’s books.
Truly, there are practical ways you could transform a small space to something homey yet functional. Space may be limited but who says its purpose and creativity need to be. As my daughter got older, we transformed this nursery into a play area simply by placing a rubber mat and crates for her toys.
I don’t know what this space would be in a couple of years ( I just might put a toddler bed or mattress there ) but I’m happy that we’ve been making the most of it.
How bout you, do you have tips for setting up a nursery?
Your tips are real practical and useful. Right now, I would like to do a few “refurbishing.” I would like to make the boys’ room real comfortable for them but I guess in anyway I design their room, it will always be a mess. They seem to have no time to clean it and this mom’s hands are full as well to do the cleaning. I also would like to create a nursery for our newborn but then with limited space, seems too impractical. I just hope I could put into action all my home improvement ideas.
Hopefully they realize soon enough that a clean and organized room is much more comfortable. Kudos to you for your patience with your kids!
First of all – I love the new theme! ♥ I didn’t realize it’s already live. 🙂 As I read your post, I was thinking of the small area under our staircase that I can really make use of for a nice nook for Nate. I hope I can have the courage to work on that, I have something in mind already but I need to finalize it first. Speaking of cribs, I have to say Nate’s was not so very useful since we co-sleep. Buti nalang I recycled it, naging lagayan sya ng mga gamit, lol! But I’m thinking of selling that actually. See you later! :*
Thank you so much! I’m still editing some parts. Just got the blogroll up hehe. You can do it! I like designing space but just need to find the time.
These are great tips. A new baby can take up so much room. I know when my friend had a baby she had a lot of trouble finding space for everything. The idea of going vertical is great. You need to make use of wall space
Yes a baby does take up a lot of room! That’s why we really had to make do with half a room.