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Some of you may remember how we converted the walk-in closet of our one-bedroom condo into a nursery.
So! That was November. Here we are in May with a real live squirmy baby instead of just a theoretical baby, and you may be asking yourself, “Self, how’d that whole Ariel-sticking-her-baby-in-the-closet thing work out? Is it awesome? Or is it like that R. Kelly song?”
I am here to answer that question. Come with me as I show you what’s become of the baby closet…
So while baby closet is working out super well, the room has shifted around a bit … as I assume many nurseries do.
The first thing got scrapped was my newborn-vision stimulating red, black, and white theme. It was a great palette to start with, but who am I kidding? I’m too much of a color junkie to have such bare-bones colors, and so now things are more red, black, aqua, and RAINBOW. (Because rainbow is totally a color.)
Another big shift is the addition of a crib. After a couple months of family-bed co-sleeping, we made a pretty natural, gentle transition to having Tavi sleep in his own bed — a minuscule European crib that we inherited from a family friend.
Then I pimped out the bed with a custom crib set from RockerByeBaby. I am a complete sucker for Amber‘s RockerBye style, and the custom crib set was worth the wait. (Tip: if you’re considering having Amber make you a custom crib set, order it in your second trimester!) Tavi sleeps in a cloud of minky, surrounded by rainbow stars. I’m jealous and sort of want my own furry bumpers around our bed now.
The completed closet-now-baby nook
Last month I shared our process of transforming our walk-in closet into a baby nook. Well, we finally (almost) finished the process, and I figured... Read more
The adorable bunting banner that’s hanging over the crib was made by Offbeat Shrie. She’s doing a tutorial about how to make your own bunting over on Offbeat Bride tomorrow, so you can make some of your own, iff’n you like.
I also got over my misguided impression that mobiles are dumb. I don’t like the look of most of them, but no denying my son likes watching mobiles spin … so I hijacked a second-hand mobile and added three dangly felt deer and recovered it in black marabou. It still plays “Rockabye Baby,” but at least it looks less offensive to me. One of the deer is actually a pirate, which pleases me more than it should.
The chair in the nursery used to be my dad’s office chair. While not my primary nursing station, I do nurse in it before Tavi goes to bed at night. It’s not as uncomfy as it looks, although if anyone has recommendations for uber mini micro gliders or rocking chairs, let me know.
Oh, and the beaded necklace hanging behind the chair is the “blessing beads” from my baby shower. Each of our guests spoke their prayers for the baby into their bead, and then my mom strung them all together.
Another awesome addition to the room is this ridiculous twilight turtle that sits on the floor. It’s silly, but I LOVE THIS THING. It shines stars out its “shell,” and in a room as small as the baby closet, the entire space is transformed into this magical glowing constellation chamber with stars all over the walls and ceiling.
The “KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON” poster has a great story behind it and it’s really a perfect mantra for dealing with a fussy baby. Maybe another would be BREATHE DEEP AND DRINK WATER.
When the crib moved in, the changing table and little dresser of baby clothes moved out into our bedroom. So technically, the baby is sort of weaseling his way into our non-baby space, but that’s to be expected.
I still have moments of frustration with our small space (it’s hard to have our living room do triple duty as living room, dining room, play room, and my home office) but being able to walk out the front door with the baby and stroll into my awesome vibrant urban neighborhood makes up for it. I love our home, and I love how our baby fits into it.
I’d love to hear from y’all urban mamas — what are your ingenious space-saving tricks?
I also live on Capitol Hill in seattle and have decided to make my walk in closet off hte living room into a nursey nook. Thanks for the inspiration.. where did you get your changing table i dig.. Thanks Donna 🙂
This gives me hope. We’re living in a 1 bdrm apt in Europe and have decided to dicing our already small bedroom into 2 rooms, with a 42 square foot nursery. We’ll be able to fit a (euro sized) crib that converts into a toddler bed (with storage underneath), change table, mini dresser and ikea Boliden chair for feedings. We’ll hang a curtain along the ceiling to divide the space and I’m looking forward to getting started on it after seeing your similar sized project.
I love it! Our 18 m son sleeps in our large walk in closet, even though we have other bedrooms he could use. It works for us: he is both very close to us but in his own space. It is an intimate space that fits his crib, a rocker, and a few toys: it is perfect for him and us.
I’m not a mother and actually came to this post from one on Offbeat Home & Life, but I just wanted to say that a) this is adorable, and b) I don’t see why you can’t milk that space for even longer than pre-school! My parents own a vacation home in Florida and are very fond of dragging the whole family down for extended time periods. That means my parents, my sister, my brother, and my grandparents all try to cram comfortably into the house without driving each other nuts (which is hard to do, since we are all drastically different — especially the kids).
Enter the walk-in closet. It’s just big enough for a bed, one incredibly small bedside table (seriously — it barely fits a lamp), and there is a little nook at the far end that can fit a small second-hand dresser. This new “bedroom” has become my space, and I absolutely love it. According to my family — and many people I know — the older you get, the more space you want for activities and hanging out with friends. I’m twenty now, and I just came back from a trip I took with five friends to our Florida home, and we comfortably fit all of us in the bed or sitting on the tiny ottoman that hides under the bed to watch movies and chill out the way of the rest of my family. It was marvellous.
Small spaces are the best spaces, sometimes.
Hi there Ariel , wondering if your still using this room and how your finding it will a toddler? be great to hear an update 😛
Yep! My almost-4-year-old is totally still in there, and it’s working great! We’re thinking about building a loft bed to take advantage of the high ceiling in there, but the room basically looks identical to how it did when I wrote this post… and it’s still working great!