Although we’ve always had extra bedrooms in our homes (we’ve moved a few times before settling here), we’ve never used them for nurseries. Instead, we’ve created “tiny nurseries” out of other spaces.
Our first nursery...I was such a baby at the time!
When our oldest was born, we had a fairly large laundry room (6′ x 8′ or so), and instead of giving up either our guest room or office, we chose to move the washer and dryer to the garage – which is fairly common in southwestern Utah where we lived – and convert the laundry room into her nursery.
My dad painted a beautiful mural for us, and we ended up replacing the ceramic tile with a custom wood floor. We left the overhead cabinets on the opposite wall to use for clothes and storage, and we used the small built-in counter in the far corner as a changing table.
I loved that nursery, and when we moved back East, I cried over leaving it behind. The hammock chair was one of my favorite features, as it was an incredibly comfortable place to sit and nurse for middle of the night feedings!
Our current nursery, ready for our newest baby girl
In our current home, our master bedroom is on the main level, and the girls’ room and a guest room are on the second floor. We wanted the nursery to still be its own space, so we decided not to finish the master bedroom closet as an actual closet and use it as a nursery instead.
It’s smaller than our former nursery, with just enough space for the crib and a tall, skinny wardrobe from Ikea, but it works perfectly.
Last weekend we finished decorating it for Sidney’s impending arrival, and I’ve probably spent hours just looking at it and imagining her in there. I love it! We have the wardrobe just inside the door, which is plenty big enough for her clothes, and we have storage underneath the crib for blankets, slings and carriers and other miscellaneous storage. I do miss the hammock swing, though!
We’ve loved having these tiny spaces dedicated to the tiny people in our family without having to give up an entire bedroom in order to have a nursery. I love having them close to us but still being able to have a dedicated (and adorably decorated!) nursery.
I’d love to hear about your nursery. What is your favorite feature? If you don’t have a nursery, tell us about your baby sleeping arrangements!
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I didn’t decorate is as a nursery, but our daughter spent many nights in our closet!!
Love the name…my first daughter is Sydney Grace!
We JUST moved all three girls into one room. #3 is a little over 13 months and I really wanted to have a guest room. Her room was decorated so cute! But, I’ve been having fun redecorating the guest room
My son and I share a room. I took the bifold doors off the closet, mounted rope lights behind the molding (to give it a soft glow) and put a Winnie the Pooh border up. There’s enough room for his mini-crib and a little bookcase that holds a lamp, the baby monitor, some clothes, and diaper stuff. It started out being tight quarters out of necessity, but now I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I just love your little room! My Sydney’s nursery is almost the exact same pink color! And it compliments her white pin-tuck warmwindow shades, and purple silk jabot and swags with purple crystal beading. And, we have almost the same style, white name letters hanging on her wall. Although hers are above her dresser. That is a fabulous quilt! So sweet! Abbie
I adore this!! We’ve never had a full-blown, decked-out nursery, but I have to say this is SO inspiring. I loved both of them - the Pooh laundry room conversion and the master closest space. Brilliant!
Awww, I can almost picture it, Abbie — so sweet!
There’s a funny story behind that quilt. My grandmother gave it to my mom when she was helping her declutter. At some point my mom let me use it for one of the girls for something…I can’t even remember why…and it was about the time our third daughter was due and we built this house. I didn’t want it to get dirty, so I hung it over the side of the crib and fell in love with it! Of course, once I pointed out to my mom how sweet it looked in there, she couldn’t take it back from her grandbabies, and so it’s stayed there. I’m going to be so sad when there’s no longer a baby girl in that nursery and she decides she wants it back!
Thanks, Megan. The only regret I have is that I think it would be kind of nice to have a rocking chair/glider IN the nursery, especially now that it’s in an even smaller space, but it definitely works for us!
This sounds awesome, Cat! I can picture the glow from the rope lighting and everything…it sounds perfect!
I love it, Mandi! So adorable. Some of our great friends turned their masterbedroom closet into a nursery and it was the cutest one I’d ever seen—so cozy! Altho’ they left the bifold doors on it and it was kinda funny to close the baby up in there!
Alas, poor Asa has his own room and no cute decor…and he’s 11months old. *sigh*
I want to thank you for this post. My husband and I are both self employed and we have to make use of our small budget and apartment for the arrival of our new baby. We have a large closet in the guest bedroom that we plan to make the nursery. I have decided to purchase a mini crib and put shelves on the walls. I cannot wait until we are done decorating. Again thank you for the inspiration and confirming that I am not strange.