Making Room for What Comes Next
Some of the best children’s rooms aren’t designed around a single stage, but instead with the flexibility to grow.
All interiors in this story are original work by Founder, Rachel Anderson, photographed by Evernew.
FROM BEFORE TO AFTER
Setting a Playful but Purposeful Stage
Sometimes the most wonderfully designed rooms develop organically, as is the case here with our second daughter’s nursery.
Having moved into the house only four weeks before welcoming this sweet soul, it was a wildly chaotic time. There was no bandwidth for planning out the space or shopping for new things. My husband was traveling for work a lot and I was managing a newborn and one-year-old. If it weren’t for pictures, I don’t know if I’d remember it at all.
Instead, this nursery was born from necessity and resourcefulness—and one impulsive wallpaper purchase.
Here’s how we got from the before to the after.
THE ART OF RESOURCEFULNESS
Seeing With New Eyes
I think we can all agree that moving is exciting, but stressful.
Rarely do the furnishings and decor from one home fit perfectly into the next. So, part of settling into a new home is playing musical chairs. Things find new homes and new uses. Or they are given up altogether.
For this room, we had our bare necessities covered with a crib and dresser from our older daughter’s room, but the furnishings were lost in this larger space. To tie the crib and changing areas together, an expansive area rug from the primary bedroom was brought in. An upholstered chair that belonged to a living room set went solo and created a reading corner.
The palette stayed quiet and serene like I wanted: warm white, pale wood, soft blush, linen, and just enough color to make the room feel youthful. It just needed one more touch to feel cozier and more cohesive. A playful chevron pattern in a muted palette was the finishing detail that made all the difference.
DESIGNING WITH THE FUTURE IN MIND
Room to Grow
The most tempting part of designing a nursery is in wanting to outfit baby with all the things.
But babyhood goes fast and before you know it, you’ve got a toddling person on your hands. Designing with future growth in mind can save both money and sanity.
Here, incorporating a neutral wallpaper ensured the money on installation was well spent—and that we wouldn’t have to do it again. We wanted options in the future. Maybe both our girls would share the space someday, or maybe there would be a third child in the mix. Who knows.
Either way, we were designing for an unknown future that would certainly be full of change.
STRIKING THE RIGHT BALANCE
Beautiful for Us.
Playful for Them.
Beautiful design doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice function or playfulness.
Once the foundation was set in this space, it was time to layer childhood whimsy. Brightly colored books atop a ledge become art. A nearby pouf could be a footrest one minute and something to climb the next. A silly, plush flamingo head graces the wall. And the enormous rug that once anchored my bedroom became a soft place to crawl and play in the nursery.
The room is beautiful, but not precious. And it was perfect for us.
