Nursery Style

My child’s room has quickly become my favorite space…which is a relief considering how much time I spend there!  My husband and I opted not to find out the gender of our baby during my pregnancy.  We wanted to keep it a surprise. Boy or girl, I knew one thing; I wanted to create a fun, colorful, and happy place for my child to grow. Children's toys are all so brightly colored, I wanted to make sure the room they lived in matched!   

The Crib

The first piece I researched for the nursery was the crib.  After comparing and contrasting about a million different ones, I chose the Stokke Mini Sleeper.  What I love about this design is that not only does it convert from bassinet to crib, it continues on to a toddler bed, a child’s bed, and eventually becomes two very sleek chairs!  I also love how easily we are able to roll the crib from one room to another.

The Changing Table

As a new parent you quickly find out that much of your time is spent changing your baby.  Whether its changing a diaper or changing their clothes because they have spit up everywhere, having a convenient space to change them is key!  Changing tables, however, are not always the cutest or the right height if you are a tall parent.  Luckily you don't have to be restricted.  Any dresser will do if it is at a comfortable height for you.  All you need is a changing pad which are sold separately.  The changing pad comes with straps that you can use to safely secure it to the back of any dresser.  So in reality, for about $30 you can make any dresser you have a changing table. What I love about our dresser (from William Sonoma Home) is that there are no knobs jutting out, giving you one less thing to worry about with your little one.  Changing pad covers are also a fun place to add a splash of color and personality to your nursery.  Ours is a fun giraffe print from Aden+ Anais. We added a couple cute elephant storage container (Potterybarn Kids) to keep diapers and wipes readily available and we were all set!

Chair

A comfortable chair is a nursery essential!  Having a cozy place to nurse, pump, read stories, doze off (or finally catch up on your blog) is amazing!  Whether its a rocker, a glider or just an oversized armchair (Pottery Barn) like mine, find what is comfortable for you.  I keep a blanket (this fun block print quilt was purchased from Anokhi in New Delhi) on the back so I have easy access to it in the middle of the night.  

Side Tables

Since it is a pretty tight space, I didn't really have too much room to fit in a lot of furniture.  I did, however still need a place to set things down.  These two garden stools were purchased almost 2 years ago from Costco ($40 each).  I didn’t think this is how I would end up using them, but they work perfectly!

Footrest

Just as important as the chair is the ottoman.  I knew I didn't want the matching ottoman to this chair.  I felt it would be too bulky.  Instead I opted for this round Moroccan leather poof.  It makes for a great foot rest, it is also a second seat if both me and my husband are in here.

The Floor

Whether you have carpet in your nursery or not, adding a fun rug is a great way to pull the space together.  I found ours at the Land of Nod.  It brings great texture and a wonderful array of color to the room.  It is really soft, making it a great rug for playing on the floor!  I also find it really useful to have a body pillow to lean on during play time.

The Walls 

I went with a very simple color called Edgecomb Gray by Benjamin Moore.  I wanted a light and fresh backdrop since I knew I wanted to have a wall covered with colorful children's books.  When I found the Ubabub Booksee Shelf Set, I was in love!  The plexiglass shelves allow you to safely display all your great books and make it easy for you little ones to pick out which book they want.  My little one can’t roll over yet let alone stand and walk…but when that day comes we will lower these shelves to give him more access.

On the opposite wall we added the Petit Collage World Map wall decal.  It’s a fun, colorful and easy to pull on and off your walls.  Both my sisters travel a lot and one lives in London, so it is really nice to be able to talk to him about where they are on this fun map. Hopefully we will be traveling with him soon enough so we can talk to him about all the places he will go!

We added these simple over the door hooks from the Container store to make use of the door space as well.  I also found this great scarf holder (pictured on the right) that I use for his swaddle cloths.  

Finishing touches

My husband and I took a trip to India when I was 3months pregnant.  I found two elephant hangings.  I use one as a mobile for his crib.  The other we have hung from the ceiling in the middle of the room.  Our little one loves staring up at them (when he is not asleep) so I am glad we brought them back with us!

Whether it's a playroom, or bedroom...make it a space your child is excited to be in!

Home Offices

Home offices tend to become one of two things; a space where all unwanted furniture goes to live, or a sterile work environment that is no homier than your typical office cubical.  Neither are good options in my opinion.  I think it’s important that your home office reflect the style and feel of the rest of your home.  It should be a place where you can go to focus and take care of business.  The beauty of having an office space at home, is that you can make it as comfortable as you like.  No restrictions, no rules!

The first decision we needed to make regarding the office was choosing a paint color.  We chose Restoration Hardware’s Silver Sage.  I fell in love with this color ages ago, and was waiting to find a space where I would finally get a chance to use it.  Not only does the color look great regardless of lighting, the paint also has a really beautiful suede finish.

With the backdrop set it was time to bring in furniture.  When choosing a desk think about the space it is going into.  In our case having a bulky desk with lots of drawers would not have looked right.  

You may not think a sofa is needed in an office but now that we have one, I can say it is essential!! Sitting at a desk to get things done is great, but sometimes you just need to kick your feet up!  I would recommend making it a sofa bed if possible.  This way your office can double as a guest room when necessary.  

Storage was something that was missing in our office space.  My husband had a filing cabinet that was pretty under utilized.  It was also missing a top! We found a cutting board at Crate & Barrel that was a perfect fit.  It now makes a great end table and a perfect place for us to file away our bills. 

The desk has two slim drawers that work well for pens and stationary essentials, but the entire surface area is taken up by the monitor and laptop station (two screens are necessary for when my husband works from home).   I still wanted another surface area for the space.  I decided to capitalize on the space left between the sofa and bay windows.  I placed the widest console I could behind the sofa.  The drawers are used to give us storage for things we rarely need access to, and the top gave me a chance to place decorative items and photos.

Decorative Touches

All offices need bulletin boards.  I found this fun global pin board at Michael's for $15.  Given the color of the walls, I thought it would be perfect!

We framed a few pieces. My husband also had a keyboard he wanted to make a home for.  For our one year anniversary (the Paper anniversary) I framed the sheet music of our first dance.  This seemed like the perfect place to hang it.  

He also had this amazing blue print of the UC Berkeley Bell Tower (his alma mater)  that we had matted and framed.  We are planning on framing our diplomas as well to add to the wall.  Keeping all the framing in slim black frames will help give everything a cohesive look and avoid turning the small space into a cluttered room.

Make your home office a space that you would be happy to work in and not a space that makes you want to call in sick!

Outdoor Living All Year Long

Summer may have come to an end, but that doesn't mean your backyard is off limits.  Enjoying outdoor spaces should be a year round activity….especially for Californians.  Making sure your outdoor space has comfortable seating, seasonal plantings, pops of color and some heat lamps will keep you coming outside regardless of seasons.

Before...

After!

On this particular project I was working with a beautifully landscaped backyard space.  There was even some existing furniture (cast iron dining set and a bar top table).  Despite this, they found they weren't spending as much time out there as they thought.  The problem was that there was no space to sit and lounge.  It’s much like having a dining table in your home, but no sofa.  By adding a comfy sofa, arm chair, and some extra lumbar pillows to give both comfort and color the the table seating.  

Choosing Furniture

No matter how big or small, creating seating in your outdoor space allows you to enjoy it that much more.  There are so many options now for outdoor furniture.  In this particular space we chose wood framed sofa and chair.  Wicker, metal, treated wood….finishes for outdoor furniture are vast!  One thing I look for when choosing outdoor furniture is something that will look good when the cushions are taken off.  It’s also important to see that the cushion covers are washable.  At the end of the day, outdoor furniture is meant to be outdoors, so don't worry about wind, rain, even snow!  It can withstand it all.  Just take the time to clean it annually as a part of your home maintenance. If you know El Nino is coming, it would be good to move your cushions into the garage or at the very least invest in furniture covers.  

Add Color

The soft orange sofa and chair from Restoration Hardware added some much needed color to this space.  Since my clients had an existing dining set, it was important to find a way to make the old mix with the new.  Their old seat cushions for the dining set was a taupe print that they stopped making a few years ago.  Luckily Restoration Hardware had a similar color with a slightly different pattern.  Adding touches of taupe to the orange sofa and chair and placing a few orange lumbar pillows to the dining set makes all the pieces work well together.  We also replaced their old umbrella which was forest green and a bit tattered with this new Sunbrella taupe garden umbrella.

Add A Heat Source

Adding a heat source is a key to making your space pleasant all year long.  In this space we chose a large round gas fire pit.  The beauty of a gas heat source is that you can get it started with a flick of a switch.  Running the gas line is easier than you think.  Luckily in this yard there was very little hardscaping.  After removing a few planks from the decking we ran an extension of the gas line from the house.  We then dug a trench to where I wanted the fire pit and recovered the area once the pipe was run.  

Lighting

What’s the point of a beautiful space if you cant see it?  The fire pit sets the mood and gives warmth but does not provide enough light for the entire space.  The home is surrounded by outdoor sconces, which helps, but doesn't solve the whole problem.  We added a pendant light to the gazebo.  Not only does it add the perfect finishing touch to the dining space but it also adds light to a corner of the yard that was left in the dark.  We also added string lights above the whole sofa and hot tub area.

Outdoor Dining = Outdoor Dinnerware

There is a time and a place for red solo cups, your backyard oasis is not one of them.  Consider investing in melamine plates and acrylic cups.  No need to waste paper plates anymore.  These products are tumble proof, reusable, and attractive…what more can you ask for!

No matter how big or small your outdoor space is, make the most of it...all year long!