When Quinn was three and a half, her baby sister Sloane was born. To make a way for the sisters to share a room in their small Del Ray home, Todd and Kimberly redesigned Quinn’s room. They were ready for Quinn to graduate from her toddler bed to a twin-sized bed and they wanted to fit a crib in the room for Sloane as well. They also wanted Quinn to welcome her baby sister into “her room,” so they wanted to involve her in the design choices.
The room has an l-shape with Sloane’s nursery space on the far left and Quinn’s “big girl” space on the far right. The door is in the middle. It’s a challenging layout because although it’s 146 square feet, furniture doesn’t easily fit in the space and leave room to walk around.
Here is the part of Quinn’s room that had already become Sloane’s changing area before the redesign:
And the other side of the room where Quinn slept:
And, now, the remarkable transformation in Sloane’s area. Sloane’s crib is the Babyletto Mercer Crib, a convertible crib that Sloane can use for many years to come. The Oeuf Changing Table sits on top of the crib for easy diaper changing. You can see that they no longer use a dresser. The crib has a drawer and now they have an armoire between the spaces to use for storage.
A round rug with orange binding matches the rug on Quinn’s side and ties the two sides of the room together nicely. They mounted an Ikea Hensvik shelf on the wall near Sloane’s crib to hold diaper changing supplies and they customized the piece by placing a Stray Dog Designs bird on the top, which is also echoed in Quinn’s space.
Here is Quinn’s area with the comforter and wall color she chose herself. They bought a bed and bookshelf tower set by Lea Industries Elite – Reflections Collection from Belfort Furniture. Notice the additional storage drawers underneath the bed – another smart move.
To make the room look even bigger and to help Quinn get dressed on her own every day, they attached a long mirror on the wall near her bed. A Stray Dog Designs floor lamp was placed near the mirror to reflect light. To add storage for the girls in addition to the one small closet in Sloane’s space, they purchased an armoire (far left) that fit just right between the two areas.
The custom-sized pink shag carpet (with orange binding on the edge) underneath her bed is appropriately named Girls Rock!
They installed plantation shutters to control the ample natural light during naptime and ensure uninterrupted nighttime sleep.
To create a cohesive, bright look, they used a white finish on all the furniture. They painted the window and door trim with Benjamin Moore Natura Simply White (semi-gloss). They painted the walls and ceiling with a custom shade of Benjamin Moore Natura New Dawn in a matte finish to allow for easy clean-up.
When Quinn saw her new bedroom, she was so excited she literally jumped on the bed!
To achieve their goals, Todd and Kim enlisted help from Jan Catton of J&J Designs, LLC. Jan had worked with them before to redo their attic to make a splendid creative sanctuary for Kim and playspace for Quinn. When designing your child’s nursery or bedroom, Jan recommends that you consider three important aspects.
1. The most important aspect of your child’s nursery or bedroom is safety. Make sure that elements (like shelves or mirrors) are safely affixed to walls, drawers close softly, and electrical sockets are affixed with child-proof safety devices. As parents, be assured that if their little hands can reach it, they will pull and pry, open and slam, or poke their little fingers into whatever it is in their room. A safe discovery zone is the first responsibility in designing for your little ones.
2. The second aspect in designing your child’s nursery or bedroom is functionality. When it is the middle of the night and you are on your third diaper change, you will need that stack of diapers and supplies close at hand. A good rule of thumb is to itemize the items needed for daily care and map out in your mind your daily care routine so you can minimize your steps in the nursery or bedroom. It will help to guide you through the storage required and the exact location of each item. This is the time to be the most organized you can be!
Pay special attention to light control because it is hard for a child to sleep in the day if the room cannot be darkened. Adversely, it is hard to read bedtime stories if there isn’t sufficient light. Light control is critical if you are to maximize the functionality in the room.
3. The third aspect in designing your child’s nursery or bedroom is creating a space that is restful and fun, too! Children need to rest and be stimulated. The creative use of color and texture can inspire play and allow for restful sleep, as well.
