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We love living in Brooklyn, but one thing that's definitely lacking is space. Before the twins were born, our apartment felt pretty roomy, at least by brownstone Brooklyn standards: we had a large bedroom, a nice-sized kitchen, a huge living room, and even a separate dining area. One year, we even hosted our families for Christmas Eve! It was fantastic. But add two more humans and their stuff (and even if you live as pared-down as we do, babies still come with a lot of stuff) and you've got yourself a "four's a crowd" situation.
Still, we've made it work, and Jack and Nellie's nursery, which used to be our 8x10 foot dining room, is hands down my favorite room in the apartment. Here's a peek into their little world, as well as six tips for making a small space work for your little ones.
1. Nix the gigantic crib(s). There are some grandiose cribs out there; they're not really our style, but even if they were, there was no way we were going to get two in our teeny nursery. We wanted something simple and classic, so we went with white Jenny Lind-style cribs. They create a small profile, and they're so sweet looking. We added Serena and Lily sheets (we saved money on the cribs so we could splurge a little on the sheets!) and blankets, and handmade blankets given to us by my great-aunt Marion.
2. Choose a "friendly" wall color and keep the walls clutter-free. The rest of our apartment is pretty neutral, but we wanted something a little brighter and more kid-like for the nursery. I'd seen Benjamin Moore's Robin's Nest used one some design blogs, and I just fell in love. It's the perfect soft aqua, and it kind of acts like a neutral. We used a lot of yellow accents, as well as light pinks and blue. The point here is to keep the room bright and airy.
3. Buy Ikea, then make it your own. Evan and I buy a lot of our furniture and accessories at Ikea, and many times our friends have been shocked to find out that's where it's from. Why? A few reasons: one, we mostly buy pieces from the Hemnes collection, which is our aesthetic (clean lines, real wood, classic details) and we mostly buy it in white, because it just looks "richer." It's one of the pricier collections at Ikea, but still cheaper than shopping at the Big Three (Crate and Barrel/West Elm/Pottery Barn) so we like it. Two, we add our own touch to anything we buy from there; specifically in the nursery, we used Anthropologie knobs on an Ikea armoire (the nursery doesn't have a closet), and we prettied up a changing table with cute polka-dotted cover and some baskets from Pottery Barn Kids. Three, we mix it with other non-Ikea furniture, which leads me to...
4. Use what you have. On July 4, 2011, Evan and I went with his parents to their country house in the Hudson Valley. We were helping them clean out their basement, when we came across his mom's sweet old dresser. It was not in great shape, but I thought it was adorable. Evan and I had just started trying to have a baby a few weeks earlier, and casually mention to his parents that we would love that dresser if and when a baby arrived. (Little did we know, I was already pregnant; I took a drugstore test when we got back to Brooklyn and a few weeks later we found out it was twins!) Evan's dad cleaned, sanded, and painted the dresser, we added Anthropologie knobs that matched the ones on the armoire, and the rest is history. It's one of my favorite pieces, just so sweet.
We found this little table down my parents' basement, and it was dark brown and a little sad looking. A few coats of white paint later, and it was the perfect addition to the room, along with the floor lamp that we already had.
5. Make it memorable. As you may have noticed, I love mixing the old with the new, and in the nursery we did that with decor as well as necessary furniture. The yellow art above the cribs and the pink alphabet poster are from Etsy. The animal print on the bookshelves is actually a Paper Source gift bag that I loved and repurposed. The "you are my sunshine" print was a gift from our dear friends Rick and Jess. Nellie and Jack have a TON of books, but only the most special ones are on display. I love how perfect Where the Wild Things Are fits with decor; the book was a gift from my sweet friend Nikki, who cried and spilled her drink when I told her I was pregnant with twins. The Peter Rabbit book set? New. The Peter Rabbit cup and saucer? Evan's from when he was a baby. The bunnies on the bookshelves are from the Brooklyn Flea, and were one of the first things Evan and I bought for them. The bunny cards on top of the armoire are from Uncle Matt, Auntie Ellen, and Luke, three of the twins' favorite people. Every time I go into their nursery, it's like a little walk down memory lane, and I can't wait to share all the stories with Jack and Nellie.
5. Everything has a place. This is kind of a mantra for small-space living. Everything has a place, and it should be kept in that place and put back in that place, lest a mess erupts. I'm a liiiiiittle anal when it comes to this, but it's really worked in their room, and it helps keep the sanity (not 100%, but it does help). So whether it's clothes, bows, blankets, diapers, bunnies, books...figure out where everything goes and then just put it back at the end of the day. Seriously. You'll thank me.
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