We moved a couple of weeks ago. Not far, but far enough that the neighborhood feels different, and now we’re on a hundred quests for our new favorite bagel shop, park, grocery store and hair salon. (I love New York for all these quests!)
Anyway, now that we’ve finally emerged from a sea of boxes and newspaper, made that all-important Salvation Army run (yes, it makes more sense to do the Salvation Army run before you move, I realize that now) and gotten the place in reasonably working order, I’ve turned my attention to the nursery.%uFFFDMy goal is to design a room that’s simple and uncluttered, attractive and functional, suited for a baby but easily adapted for a toddler, a young child, perhaps a second child.—
With less than three weeks until my due date, this baby’s room seems hopelessly far from completion, but I’m!["1_nursery_before.jpg"]("/newyork/imgs/media/1_nursery_before.jpg")
working steadily on it. For now I thought I’d share a terrible iPhone "before" shot that showcases the room in all its chaos, along with a few resources I’ve found helpful so far:
Ohdeedoh. The children’s design section of the popular design blog Apartment Therapy has become the go-to resource for parents looking for fresh, fun, design-forward ideas for nurseries, children’s rooms, and special events like birthday parties. It was here that I first spotted the room that would become my inspiration nursery, and it was also here that I stumbled upon this super-cute idea.
Ikea. Our baby’s room is small and narrow, so when it comes to furniture, I’m trying to put only what I really need in there. What’s more, I want the furniture to be as simple and streamlined (read: space-saving) as possible. Lucky for us, scaled-down, Scandinavian-inspired design happens to be all the rage—which, for expectant parents on a budget, means that fighting the crowds of fellow expectant parents on a budget in the children’s section at Ikea has become something of a rite of passage. We made no effort to make any off-the-beaten-path choices: like many parents, we went with the Gulliver crib paired with the Hemnes dresser. (I’m still on the lookout for a rocking chair, though, if anyone has any leads!). We also picked up a mobile, some shelves, and the afore-mentioned spice racks, which I can hardly wait to turn into shelves for our little one’s library!
Etsy. For some great Etsy shops in which to find cute nursery accoutrements, I recommend this post, but I will tell you that I ultimately ended up ordering a sweet set of prints from this shop. (And then of course when they arrived the frames I had were too large for them. But not to worry, they will grace the nursery wall before the baby is old enough to remember them not being there!).
"After" shots—and more resources—to come soon!
