ARTICLE by Charlotte Gelstharp

Design Tips For Small Nurseries

 |  Reading time: 5 minutes
B_for_Blog | Natural Baby Shower

Planning and decorating a nursery is a special time and often a favourite experience for parents-to-be as they go through their “nesting” period and prepare for their new arrival. The nursery is where your little one will be spending a lot of their time sleeping, feeding, playing and growing, so it’s a space that needs to be enjoyable to be in for the whole family but also work functionally for family life.

When it comes to designing interiors, our instinct tells us to flock to Pinterest in search of magazine-worthy inspiration. There’s no denying it’s one of the best places to find ideas for the nursery, but all too often the nurseries we see are big enough to house a small army and unfortunately our modern homes and apartments just don’t allow for that! But fear not, with a little creativity, a mix of clever furniture and throw in some useful hacks we think you can make even the smallest of spaces into a functional and Pinterest worthy nursery for your little one.

 Design Tips For Small Nurseries

 

Dresser into changing table

Why get two separate pieces of furniture when you can use 1 for 2 purposes. We always recommend avoiding cluttering up your nursery with furniture and instead look for multipurpose items. For example, on the top of most chest of drawers there is the perfect space to turn into a changing table. You can either choose a dresser that has an integrated changing table on top such as SnuzKot Changing Unit, or you can simply put a multipurpose changing mat on the top of your changing table which works just as well. We go to Boori for timeless wooden chest of drawers that have the perfect flat top for popping a changing mat. 

Design Tips For Small Nurseries

 

Functional Furniture to Suit Your Space

A cot is often the first thing you think of when you are planning your nursery. There are so many options out there, convertible ones, traditional ones, ones with extra storage, the list goes on. Whilst these are all useful and have their place, most cots measure roughly 80cm wide and 140cm long depending on the design. This standard size will fit most rooms but if you have a smaller space to work with, you may want to consider a smaller cot to maximise your valuable floor space.

Design Tips For Small Nurseries

A smaller cot certainly doesn’t always mean you’ll have to compromise on quality or style, Boori have the perfect answer with their brand new Boori Turin Cot, exclusively at Natural Baby Shower. With two base heights, this space saver cot is designed to fit perfectly in smaller nurseries or living spaces with it's slightly smaller compact dimensions of H: 82cm W: 70cm L: 124cm. Although slightly more petite in size the Turin still features Boori's signature quality; they’re crafted from sustainable solid wood and are finished in their trademark Eco-Blend Bio-Paint which is made from natural sources to help keep your home free from nasty chemicals.

Plus, the Turin cot is lightweight and can fit through a standard door frame making them ideal for those who are looking for a safe bedside sleeper thanks to the detachable wheels. When the time comes the Turin Cot can be wheeled on its lockable wheels into the nursery, where it'll last you until your little one requires a toddler bed.

Design Tips For Small Nurseries

 

These four walls

When floor space is limited think outside the box, by box we mean the four walls of your nursery space. Utilising your walls is the perfect space saving answer to get more things into your nursery without taking up any more floor space. Turn an empty wall into storage with handy hanging wall pockets like this one from Fabelab. You can pop toys, clothes or even baby essentials in these pockets without using any extra floor space.

Alternatively, for a more traditional look you could go for shelves on the walls. These are great to keep clutter off the floor and also make the room look more interesting. We love the Cam Cam Copenhagen shelves, they just look so stylish and pretty, they will add the perfect focal point to any nursery. For a little but more of a modern and quirky take on a shelf our go to is Snuz, they recently introduced Teepee shape shelving and house shaped shelves. These offer the perfect opportunity to do something a little different with shelving that brings a nursery storage solution with a twist.

 Design Tips For Small Nurseries

 

Space Savers

We all know little ones need a lot of “stuff”, but where does it all go when you are limited on space. Skip those bulky toy boxes or bookcases and opt for a space saving storage solution instead such as the Play & Go Storage Bag. A play mat and storage bag all in one, they really are the stuff of storage dreams! When its play time simply spread it out on the floor of your nursery, let them play until they can’t play anymore and then when it’s time to tidy away pull the drawstring up to keep all those toys in one place. Simple, unique and super easy storage at it’s finest. They can also be hung up on pegs or on the back of doors to really save on that space and keep them out of the way and off the floor.

Design Tips For Small Nurseries

 

Think to the future

Whilst it may be tempting to save space by getting a small chest of drawers, or a mini wardrobe for all their mini baby clothes, the fact is they won’t stay mini for very long and these small pieces of furniture will very quickly be outgrown. The reality is that often these smaller furniture units are simply smaller in height, but take up a very similar amount of floor space with their base dimensions. Although it may seem logical to opt for a small infant wardrobe, they often take up just as much floor space as an adult-sized wardrobe but lack height and internal space. You will only thank yourself later if you invest in a normal sized wardrobe now and work these into your floor plans, as you are going to need it eventually. Pick a wardrobe that also offers draw space as well as hanging space to truly maximise is storage space from a single item. 

Design Tips For Small Nurseries

Just because you have a smaller space for your nursery, it doesn’t mean it is any less Pinterest worthy! These useful space saving products and handy tips should bring your dream nursery to life and offer the perfect family space for your little one to grow up in.

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