Incoming: Welcoming Baby Minimalistically
Having moved into a 1930s bungalow house just this week ("over there no over there lift with the legs with the legs"), we have given much thought to how our furniture can work harder and serve more than one purpose. (For instance, we are using a custom upholstered guest fold-away bed as a fainting couch etc.)
When two great friends and first-time expectant parents asked my husband and me how to make room for baby in their small two-bedroom Palo Alto apartment, a discussion about minimalist nurseries ensued. Here's what our conversation entailed:
STICK TO THE ESSENTIALS. Though thoughts of new dressers, changing tables, armoires, bassinets AND cribs seems initially appealing and necessary, the main piece you really need is a crib. By placing a contoured changing pad on the mattress itself, you turn the crib into a changing table and eliminate the need for a changing table. You can similarly cut out the need for a changing table altogether by putting the changing pad on top of a dresser, or on one shelf of a deep armoire.
ONE ESSENTIAL: THE ROCKER. Arguably not an essential to raising a child, a rocker is however a valuable and versatile piece. From seemingly round-the-clock feeding to reading to a toddler, such a piece goes a long way. And, as seen here, these ain't your grandma's rockers.
GET CREATIVE. Like so many things in parenting, a room's design can require innovation and flexibility. Both working from home, our two friends need to continue to use their second bedroom as a home office. Those eensy teensy clothes can hang boutique-style in the corner. The desk drawers can house diapers and blocks. Our friends are even getting a screen to partition the small room when baby is sleeping.
SPEND BIG ON THE LONG-TERM ONLY. Invest in those pieces that can be versatile for later use, such as dressers, armoires, bookshelves, artwork. Though some love to splurge on the crib, think of what you'd like to have around after a few years, when those bleary blissful days of early and literally hands-on parenting are tucked away with the nursing blankets.
When two great friends and first-time expectant parents asked my husband and me how to make room for baby in their small two-bedroom Palo Alto apartment, a discussion about minimalist nurseries ensued. Here's what our conversation entailed:
STICK TO THE ESSENTIALS. Though thoughts of new dressers, changing tables, armoires, bassinets AND cribs seems initially appealing and necessary, the main piece you really need is a crib. By placing a contoured changing pad on the mattress itself, you turn the crib into a changing table and eliminate the need for a changing table. You can similarly cut out the need for a changing table altogether by putting the changing pad on top of a dresser, or on one shelf of a deep armoire.
ONE ESSENTIAL: THE ROCKER. Arguably not an essential to raising a child, a rocker is however a valuable and versatile piece. From seemingly round-the-clock feeding to reading to a toddler, such a piece goes a long way. And, as seen here, these ain't your grandma's rockers.
GET CREATIVE. Like so many things in parenting, a room's design can require innovation and flexibility. Both working from home, our two friends need to continue to use their second bedroom as a home office. Those eensy teensy clothes can hang boutique-style in the corner. The desk drawers can house diapers and blocks. Our friends are even getting a screen to partition the small room when baby is sleeping.
SPEND BIG ON THE LONG-TERM ONLY. Invest in those pieces that can be versatile for later use, such as dressers, armoires, bookshelves, artwork. Though some love to splurge on the crib, think of what you'd like to have around after a few years, when those bleary blissful days of early and literally hands-on parenting are tucked away with the nursing blankets.
Set in a beautiful example of a minimalist nursery, this rocker has simplistic structure and unique style.
Q