In the Nursery with Katie Richardson

This is our interview series in which we bring you the nurseries and kid rooms of successful designers, entrepreneurs and moms. Through this series, our featured guests will divulge some of their design secrets and share stories of how their nurseries came to be.

Katie Richardson, the founder of Puj, is a busy mom of four children. Walker, Truman, Sterling and Liberty range in age from ten years to six months, and how cool are their names? Katie loves adventure and having fun, fresh squeezed orange juice has a special place in her heart and she’s always up for a good challenge. We believe her—she told us that she once installed a dishwasher with only a multi-function pocket tool while her husband was in China for business. On top of that, she was pregnant and watching five kids at the time!

Katie’s company, Puj, designs products that help parents worldwide simplify their lives, including the Puj Flyte, a travel-friendly and economical baby bath that fits right in the sink. The team at Puj uses their own personal insights both as designers and parents to innovate and make life easier. They take pride in their products improving the lives of parents and their children, and their clever innovations definitely have a wow factor. Katie was kind enough to talk to us about her daughter Liberty’s modern gender neutral nursery and how her experiences with Puj helped her with the design process.

As a problem solver and innovator, how did your experience at Puj play into your daughter’s nursery design?

When we are designing products at Puj, we always look at the big picture and think about how we can simplify more than just the obvious problem. When designing our little girl’s nursery, I wanted to do the same thing. Liberty’s room is designed to grow with her. The changing table is a six-drawer dresser with an old wood drawer and a sheepskin fashioned into a changing pad. Her crib can convert to a toddler bed when she is ready.

What was your design inspiration?

I used natural colors and textures as my inspiration. The modern carpet in the room is a vibrant grass green, so I toned down the rest of the room with neutrals. The sheepskin rugs on the floor and the changing pad add a lot of texture. The natural brown leather pouf from Serena & Lily is a family favorite, and with three boys in my house, I knew I wanted a color that would hide the dirt, which it does brilliantly. The Oilo sticks crib bedding ties in beautifully with its nature-inspired print, and most of the furniture has both white and wood elements. I love the mix of modern and natural.

Is there anything you learned when designing this nursery that will help you with your next project?

When I was designing Liberty’s room, I put together my “dream board” of furniture and textiles. Getting the ideas from my head into a tangible format was key in realizing my vision and helping me imagine the space so that I could feel excited about how it would all come together.

Photography by Brittany Hansen

Do you know of a fantastic nursery or big kid’s room designed by a successful designer or business owner? Please send a photo of the room to Adrienne@ProjectNursery.com for consideration.