3 Baby Essentials for a Small Nursery

When we found out we were expecting, one of the first things we thought about was where to put the nursery. We had a few thoughts… just keep his bed in our room, transform a walk-in closet, or even move to a bigger place. The list goes on and on. We even considered putting up pressurized walls in the living room to create another room. That may actually come later but we decided that we had better options. Finally, we settled on turning the small walk-in closet, off our kitchen, into Sebastian’s nursery (here was our first preview of the room).

Anyone who lives in an older New York City apartment, knows the challenges of city living. As much as we loved the room for a nursery, it came with a number of challenges. The first of many was the size. The room was approximately 5’x5′, didn’t have any outlets and was located on the other side of the apartment from our bedroom…next to the kitchen. Clearly not ideal but we saw promise.

Thank goodness for Alexandra Calame who’s design site is called Inspired by Design. She did an amazing job helping us to maximize the space and decorate the room! Although the room wasn’t that large, she was able to pull ideas from our inspiration board I created on Pinterest (be sure to click over to follow along!) to create a perfect Nursery Mood Board. It was great and we used most of the gave pieces in the finished(almost) product. Although we we didn’t end up using everything proposed, the mood board encompassed so much of what we wanted and opened up other ideas we hadn’t thought of prior.

It was quite an undertaking to tear down all the shelves and hanging rods from the walls. Yes, this use to be my closet. That is sacrifice, no?! Once everything was down and all the holes filled in, we began painting. The paint color we chose is called Misty Gray by Benjamin Moore. It’s a very subtle change from the typical white we have throughout the apartment, but since we were working within such a small space, we wanted something light to give the room a more open feel.

Expanding Crib

The design for the nursery, like most rooms, centers around a few staple pieces. The first was the crib. In the design, she proposed the Stokke Mini Crib. This is the perfect crib for anyone who’s under tight space constraints like ourselves. The crib grows with the baby, from infant all the way to ten years old. We loved this idea! It fits perfectly in the small space, giving us enough room for a dresser and some storage baskets.

Dresser with changing table

The second staple piece was the dresser. Now I have to say, I wasn’t completely sold on having a dresser with a changing table on top (in retrospect, no clue what I was thinking), but this three drawer dresser by Delta Children has been a life saver. We love the changing top. The drawers slide smoothly and the legs give the dresser a modern feel. As Sebastian grows out of his clothes, we switch out and stow them away making the dresser the perfect size for all his mini outfits. Now, we just have to find room to store all of those clothes that he no longer fits into! We use the top drawer for diapers, wipes, baby medicine and lotions with the other two drawers for all his adorable clothes, like these socks from Trumpette.

Basket Storage

Our third staple are the two baskets from one of our favorite home decor destinations, Serena & Lily. They have been so great to have in his nursery. The baskets are stylish, practical and super cute. We’re using the smaller one as his hamper and the larger basket for storing blankets, coats and shoes. They fit perfectly in in the room! We will be using some of their other baskets in our bedroom as well.

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It has been amazing to see just how fast Sebastian is growing! By the looks of things, we might be expanding his little crib in the next few weeks. We are already in the process of figuring out the best way to add more storage to the room. It’s more than likely going to be shelves all around the top except for above his crib. The never-ending design and re-design of our apartment continues but it is so much fun. We will certainly be sharing as we go!

***Adventure sign is from Oliver Gal.

xo, Olivia

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2 Comments

  1. Can’t get enough of baby Sebastian pictures!

    Posted 2.21.17 · Reply
  2. Kaity shi wrote:

    Hi, can I ask where you got the adventure sign from? I love it! It would be perfect for my son’s nursery! Thank you!

    Posted 8.28.17 · Reply

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