Walk In Nursery

Description

Walk in closet to nursery!

Design Inspiration

My wife found and fell in love with the Anthropologie wallpaper - and it had an outline of a bird (like a wren!). Coral and turquoise were matched/pulled out of the wallpaper.

Decorating Style

Warm-Functional. Function and flexibility is the ultimate accomplishment. Ultra trendy looks with finishes that are not durable, hard to clean and have uncomfortable furniture are useless at 4am. Baby's react to color and warmth -- things like the tiny mirror by the changing table. it's a detail that is overlooked because it blends with other decorations, but Wren looks into it and smiles every time we're changing that diaper.

Project Details

My wife and I live in an old soap factory conversion loft here in Brooklyn (DUMBO) - so we had a bit of a hurdle when it came down to how to planning the nursery. Our apartment is one large open living space except for the bathroom and... the walk in closet! It took a little to convince me in the beginning, but I'm so glad my wife stuck with her gut and pushed the need for a "real" room with a door so we wouldn't have to tip-toe around the apartment during nap time. The pictures do a fairly good job of showing why I balked at the idea at first. Although the closet is big - it was packed to the point you could barely see the back wall. We broke out the tape measure, sketched out a few ideas and layouts based on furniture we liked - and it all seemed to work. So, we decided to go for it! A few weekends later, you would never know this nursery was ever a closet - it's now our favorite room in the whole house. we have a fabulous second bedroom area and just love the new layout. It turned out even better than we thought! We (like many other people) had no budget for this, so we patiently thought through every detail to make it work for around $500. Doing it ourselves - including electrical and drywall work saved us enough money for my wife to feel better about taking more time off work. And there's nothing more gratifying and fun than working together to make your baby's first room! Step 1 - demolition (DIY) Step 2 - electrical work (DIY - two outlets, chandelier light - Pottery Barn Kids - http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/olivia-mini-crystal-chandelier/?pkey=dchandeliers) Step 3 - repair/replace drywall, spackle, sand (Home Depot) Step 4 - clean/prep for finishes Step 5 - Paint, wallpaper, wainscoting (Benjamin Moore Coral color eggshell finish & Anthroplogie wallpaper) Step 6 - faux wood floor (home depot armstrong plank floor - LOVE it. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=202885483&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&MERCH=REC-_-product-4-_-100594663-_-202885483-_-N#.UG8qUGhYvvg) Step 7 - baseboards and trim (home depot) Step 8 - touch ups and furniture! In the end, I can't imagine a nursery any bigger - everything has a perfect little place, it's very intimate and it fits Wren perfectly! Everything in the room is practically within reach - but it's not over crowded. We've got a little rocker for her, but that's just a few steps outside the door facing the TV.

Favorite Items

Wallpaper - the detail, color and scale of the print are perfect Floor - so easy to install and adds a nice layer of refinement White Column - keeps the feel of the rest of our loft Wainscoting - actually a wall paper finish (home depot)

Advice

Start with one thing - a concept or detail (for us it was the wallpaper) that inspires you and other things about your baby (perhaps her hame - again, the wallpaper had the birds and we liked that it reminded us of our baby's first name, Wren - our baby bird). This helps you make decisions moving forward when you may get stuck because you always have your concept to refer back to. it made it easy to pick the wall colors, wood floor color to abstractly represent a tree - things like that. It makes it all fall into place. And don't forget - every surface and furnishing will be subject to frequent cleaning and should therefore be easy to wipe clean. Also remember you're going to be walking into that room at all hours of the night. don't make everything too dark - and contrasting colors help create definition in low light conditions.