Vendor Spotlight: Lauren Nicole Designs

Welcome to Project Nursery’s new series, spotlighting our Featured Vendors from our Vendor Guide. The guide includes carefully curated vendors from the baby and children industry in design, retail, special services and much more.

We are excited to launch our vendor spotlight series with Lauren Nicole Designs, a talented Interior Designer based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Read what Lauren has to say about her design services and launching her successful business—we know you’ll feel inspired! For more information on Lauren Nicole Designs, visit her profile here.

Where do you find your inspiration?
Every day I am blessed to be parenting two amazing little girls who not only inspire me to work hard and be the best that I can be, but also teach me things that inspire my designs on a daily basis. The colors from their artwork, the mixing and matching of their own wardrobe selections, their love of books and ability to dream all open my eyes to new and different design ideas. My girls and I like to play outside as much as possible, and they are so in tune with nature, wanting to examine every leaf we see or creating animals out of big white puffy clouds. Seeing the world though the eyes of two very smart little toddlers is a constant inspiration.

What about Lauren Nicole Designs makes you most proud?
Lauren Nicole Designs was born out of a family love affair with interior design, and it is my own growing family today that inspires me. Because I am also a mom, wife and daughter, I bring a functionally stylish approach to every design project that I work on. So not only do my clients ooh and aah at the look of their finished space, they also fall in love with the functionality of it. Smart and stylish designs are what make me most proud of the work that I do. I know firsthand the trials and tribulations that a piece of fabric in a room used by children will go through, so I always think, “What will hold up better to spit up now and Cheetos fingers in the future?” Or “Where in this nursery is a good place to put the baby monitor and disguise the cord?” I truly enjoy listening to the specific needs of each client and then bringing them to life in their new space.

What advice do you have for parents when curating their nursery? Any nursery must-haves?
When designing a nursery, you should be sure to keep several things in mind. First, I would start with an overall color scheme. Remember that this is an environment that should be first soothing and second inspiring as this is the first bedroom that your little one will live in, and she should feel calm, comfortable and free to dream. This color palette will be the basis for the room for many years to come, so be sure to select colors that will grow with her over time. In addition to a color scheme, there are two areas that are very important to keep in mind when designing your nursery.

The first is to create a seating area that will be easy to access and will suit your routine for those night time feedings and rocking your new sweet pea to sleep. You may want to make sure that you have a table or shelf near your rocker to hold a book or bottle, or spare pacifier in our case! As your little one gets older, this rocker will change from, “Please stop crying and go to sleep” to “Please read me another story, Mama,” so be sure to equip this space with good lighting and easy book access.

The second space that I think is critical to address is the floor. A lot of time will be spent lying on the floor and cuddling with your little one, learning to roll over, crawl and walk, and these are all times that will welcome a nice, soft floor covering. In addition to being cozy and adding padding, a great rug will also be the anchor to highlight the pieces in the room and show off your furniture. You may need a rug with a bold pattern or just a soft color with texture, but either way it should feel great to the touch.

What can we expect from you this year?
I am thrilled to announce that Lauren Nicole Designs has just launched a children’s line of home decor and fashion items just for our little ones! It can be so overwhelming to make any decision for your nursery or kid’s space because you want what you choose to grow with them. In addition, almost every piece in a kid’s space needs to serve a purpose, so functionality plus style will equal success. I will be introducing many new items this spring, all of which will be off-the-charts adorable but will be smart buys as well. Aptly named after my two beautiful baby girls, this exciting new children’s line is called Finley and Belle. Please be sure to check it out!

What is your motto?
Smart. Stylish. You. Everyone has a different version of perfection, which is why Project Nursery is so great! These three words make up my motto as I truly believe that function plus style equals success. Both of those elements mean something different to everyone, so it is my job to figure out what perfection means to each client, and then I figure out how we will get there together. That is the fun part!

If you are interested in applying to become a Project Nursery Vendor, please click here.