7 Tips to Create a Snuggly Attic Nursery
Welcome baby into a cozy cocoon with an attic nursery that encourages sweet dreams and inspires imagination
There’s nothing like a growing brood to make a home suddenly feel tight on space. If you’ve got a baby on the way, using the attic may help your home feel a little less claustrophobic. If the space hasn’t been lived in before, a professional can help you ensure it’s free of sharp corners, dangerous materials and other hazards, leaving you with a functional space for a nursery transformation.
An attic nursery keeps a newborn’s erratic and noisy nighttime behavior out of earshot from other sleeping children, meaning that at least some of the family can still get a good night’s rest. Before the little one arrives, take some advice from the pros to make your attic space a cozy place for baby.
An attic nursery keeps a newborn’s erratic and noisy nighttime behavior out of earshot from other sleeping children, meaning that at least some of the family can still get a good night’s rest. Before the little one arrives, take some advice from the pros to make your attic space a cozy place for baby.
1. Paint can work magic in small spaces. You can make your attic nursery feel even taller by painting the walls and the sloped part of the ceiling the same color, says Heather Brown of True Interiors. This simple trick allows the two portions to visually read as one, taller wall. Have fun with the color, too. “Nurseries don’t always have to be pink or blue,” says Brown. “Use inspiring hues of boysenberry, sea foam, lemongrass or apricot, or try out an accent wall of chalkboard paint for an interactive wall your baby can grow into as a toddler.”
2. Use the space created by low ceiling heights or slopes for storage. Define the areas in your room and help keep things organized by adding freestanding storage or built-in shelves where the ceiling is low enough to create otherwise dead space. To keep things affordable, Brown suggests inexpensive custom-fit MDF shelves. “Make cubbies and shelves fun or unusual shapes, paint them dynamic colors and line the inside with a whimsical wallpaper to give your special room a unique touch that is tailored perfectly to fit its decor,” she says.
3. Avoid the drab and dreary with the right light. Make your space bright, cheery and functional with appropriate and ample lighting. “Suspend pendant lighting over seating areas or in reading nooks; anchor beds with wall-mounted electrical sconces; place table lamps atop dressers, bookcases or bedside tables,” says Brown. “Set the stage for nighttime relaxation by putting your lighting on dimmer switches or get creative by lighting the ceiling with holiday lights to create fireflies or constellations.”
4. Bounce light around by adding mirrors in unexpected spaces. If you’re lucky enough to have a window in your attic nursery, make the most of it by placing a mirror across from it to reflect light throughout the space. Brown recommends hanging mirrors in fun shapes and sizes.
Don’t have any windows? Brown has a creative solution. “Properly secure either a large mirror or series of mirrors on the wall and treat them with drapery panels as you would a window,” she says. The result: DIY faux windows. Hang drapery to the ceiling to increase the room's visual height.
Don’t have any windows? Brown has a creative solution. “Properly secure either a large mirror or series of mirrors on the wall and treat them with drapery panels as you would a window,” she says. The result: DIY faux windows. Hang drapery to the ceiling to increase the room's visual height.
5. Increase visual square footage by reclaiming vertical space. Create a visual line from the floor to the ceiling by adding elements with a vertical emphasis. “Hang drapery all the way up to the ceiling, use tall bookcases, hang mobiles or create eye-catching vertical stripes using strips of graphic wallpaper on the walls,” says Brown. “All of these things will invite your eye to travel from the floor to the ceiling, increasing the visual height of the space.”
6. Paint fun and inspiring murals. “Dressed with murals — anything from trees to a night sky — the walls will literally disappear,” says Brown.
7. Pick furnishings to interact with the murals. Take your murals a step further and your space will really come to life. In this nursery, the designer incorporated shelves that seem to grow from the tree branches. Brown suggests suspending wood planks from ropes secured to the ceiling for nightstands, shelves or fun seating.