Hi Guys !
I’m SO excited to share with you the Astrology themed nursery that I designed for my clients and their twin boys! This is Part 2 of the Regal Chic Apartment project!
Architectural Digest Feature
Full Interview Below
Designing nurseries vs other rooms
Nurseries and children’s rooms are taking on a new personality; they are becoming an extension of the home. Themes are totally acceptable, but they don’t need to be so literal anymore. When I’m designing a nursery or children’s room, I always keep this in mind.
My thought process as a designer is that the nursery is just as much for parents as it is for children. Remember, you’ll be spending a lot of time in your child’s room, so you should feel comfortable, too.
The nursery’s aesthetic shouldn’t feel starkly separate from the rest of the house. You should feel like it blends well with your overall home décor. Nurseries and children’s rooms should also be set up in a way that grows with the child. As a child grows, the room should evolve, too. It should be moldable and adaptable. By mixing more adult-like furniture with whimsical-themed accessories such as bedding, mobiles and toys the transition from baby, to toddler and eventually, child, will be much smoother than starting all over from scratch.
Breaking down priorities
Since my clients were having twins, I knew that the space needed to be thoughtfully designed and planned to accommodate double the needs. The main priority was to find placement for two cribs, a glider, changing table, and play area, while still maintaining harmony and balance. This is, after all, a place where my client needed to feel calm and at peace even while still juggling two newborns.
We also knew the twins were boys, so keeping it neutral was very important. We had just completed the living room and master bedroom using a soothing gray color palette, so we decided to extend the color into the nursery to keep the overall vibe consistent.
Why the Astronomy Theme
It all came about after my client had sent me an image of a galaxy mobile that she liked. It wasn’t exactly the style or color palette we were going for in this nursery, but it gave me all the inspiration that I needed.
I started to think of ways to create an astronomy theme that wasn’t overwhelming or too in your face. I initially thought an accent wall with galaxy wallpaper would work, but I wasn’t finding many options that worked with the vision. I ultimately found an amazing tapestry that worked perfectly in the space because it provided texture and tone. Additionally, using a tapestry as opposed to wallpaper is an awesome alternative for nurseries and children’s rooms because they can easily be swapped out or reutilized as the child gets older.
White walls for our canvas
I’m on a big white-wall kick right now. White walls are quite literally, the most amazing blank canvases. Since we knew we were going to transition the apartments overall gray-scale theme into the nursery, crisp white walls were the perfect canvas for the gray we knew we were going to bring in.
Crib placement and function
I’m a big believer in maximizing as much space as possible, especially when designing apartments and multi-functional rooms. Not only does the crib placement efficiently utilize the width of the room, but it also highlights the galaxy tapestry without cutting it off. Additionally, because I knew I wanted to place the changing table on the side of the room, I wanted to create an easy transition for my client to be able to change the babies without walking around each crib, side to side.
Show off those books!
My clients knew that they wanted to have a proper place for books. Having a wall mounted bookshelf allowed us to free up the floor space we needed for the changing table and glider. It also allowed us to display all the books my client had kept from her childhood, as well as the crocheted animals she had made. Featuring these personalized pieces gave the nursery a pop of color and air of whimsicalness. Although I initially wanted to use a custom bookshelf, I came across this shelf from RH Baby&Child that was exactly what I was looking for.
Breaking down decisions, piece by piece
The cribs were actually the first pieces we had found. Because they came with the option for gray bases, they offered the perfect way tie in the gray and white color scheme. Once we knew those were a go, the bookshelf came next. I had been on the hunt for the perfect wallpaper for an accent galaxy wall behind the cribs, but had no luck. After I stumbled upon the bookshelf on RH Baby&Child, I started browsing through their wall décor and accessories and found the galaxy tapestry. It was exactly what we needed in the space. Galaxy done chic. Not only did it provide texture and tone, but it could also be easily swapped out as the boys grow.
Sophistication and Whimsy
I always try to achieve balance through color palette selection. Neutrals are understated while still being effortlessly sophisticated. For me, I often use neutrals as the main canvases for my designs and décor themes. They work for any gender, any age and any theme. Because they work as blank canvases, they allow for the addition of whimsical accessories and objects. For this room, I decided to have a custom mobile made as a key accessory to add an extra touch of whimsy and go with our astronomy theme. The balance of sophistication and whimsy translates into one cohesive story throughout a room.
Creating a nursery that will grow with the child
Make sure the foundation of your room is designed and set up to grow with your child. We first achieved this by staining the floors, painting and refinishing the moldings and changing out all the light fixtures and window treatments so that the room can work with any age range. Next, find a color palette that works for your theme or space. Whether it’s by using neutrals or choosing one or two accent colors that works within your palette. In this nursery, we chose to use whites, greys, and navy. Finally, find pieces of furniture that can grow with your child, such as the dressers, light fixtures and side table we used.
Listed below are all links to items for this design!
Again, a huge thank you to AD for making this dream become a reality and for their beautiful feature. Also to Homepolish for helping make this happen.
xx,
Matthew
Photo’s courtesy of Homepolish and Morgan Yeager