a neutral and minimal corner nursery in our bedroom
I’m so excited to share Luna’s nursery nook with you today! We moved into this duplex three months ago and I’ve changed my mind on the layout of this nursery space more times than I can count in just that little bit of time. I finally settled on this layout and I’m really happy with it!
Brandon (my husband) and I are fans of room sharing. We were living in a studio apartment when our son Isaac was born, so we didn’t have much of a choice at the time. This time around, we’re living in a two bedroom apartment but still chose to create a shared nursery corner for baby girl. I find it easier to have my babies in the room with me, where I can hear them coo awake in the middle of the night, especially because I nurse on demand vs on a schedule. I also didn’t want to worry about one of us waking Isaac up at 2 AM as we picked up Luna for a diaper change and nursing session. Room sharing is what works best for our growing family, so we rolled with it!
To say 2020 has been an intense year is the understatement of the century. Being pregnant through it all has been…challenging. Not being able to celebrate the way we’d planned, barely seeing our church family or extended family, and not getting to spend this summer soaking up our favorite activities as a family of three has been something we’ve been grieving all year. Add to it the grief of losing my grandfather in El Salvador last month and it basically goes without saying that I needed a hopeful project.
This little nursery corner is all the things I love: minimal, sentimental, and pretty. Let’s dive into the details, shall we?
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MINI CRIB NOOK
mini crib | crib mattress | crib sheets | lounge pillow | nursing pillow | nursing pillow cover | round velvet pillow
This room is much bigger than any bedroom we’ve had in a while, so we could have made a full size crib work in here with a different floor plan, but ultimately decided to use what we already had and loved. We originally picked a mini crib because it lent itself well to living in a small space. I’m happy to say we got a solid 18 months of use out of it with Isaac in both our studio and our one bedroom apartments before we moved him into a toddler bed.
My one complaint about this particular mini crib is that this is the highest the mattress goes, which means it can be tough for a short gal like myself to get a newborn in and out of there without leaning over the edge of the crib. Take it from me, make sure to look into the mattress height levels when shopping for a crib, don’t just pick the one that you like the look of. 😅
The SnuggleMe Organic lounge pillow is something I’m so happy to have for baby girl. Ours is two years old, but I registered for and was gifted a new cover to bring a bit of warmth and color to this corner. The basket next to the crib holds my nursing pillow and the just-for-looks pillow I keep on our bed, plus a couple of extra blankets.
I kept the crib sheets super neutral because I just love the look of white bed sheets. Just take a look at the corner of my bed peeking out of the corner there! I’ve been using the same brand of mini crib sheets since I had Isaac — they’re unbelievably affordable and hold up amazingly well. Extra crib sheets and swaddles are stored in the wicker basket in the dresser nook to keep them handy but out of sight.
I struggled to figure out what to put above the crib. We live in California so I have to keep the possibility of an earthquake in mind when setting up our spaces. As much as I love seeing beautifully curated shelves above cribs, I knew that wouldn’t be a safe possibility for us. I landed on hanging a poster print above the crib and chose this vintage looking botanical print. The plant on this poster is an Adam’s Needle Yucca, better known to my Salvadoran friends as the flor de izote, El Salvador’s national flower. My parent's both immigrated from El Salvador, so this my way of honoring my Salavadoran heritage.
CHANGING TABLE
changing pad | brass wall hanging | small wooden crate | leather mat | white noise machine
Ahh this dresser. It’s been a labor of love trying to restore this vintage gem back to it’s original beauty. This dresser originally belonged to Brandon’s dad, then Brandon when he was little. It was painted white when it belonged to Brandon. We talked about stripping the paint and replacing the drawer handles when we got it handed down to us and finally had the outdoor space where we (read: Brandon) could tackle the project once we moved. We still have to replace the cabinet door but just having it back to its walnut finish made such a difference!
The changing pad is another item we got while living in our studio. It was small enough to fit in the built-in hutch and works great on this dresser too. I cannot sing the praises of wipeable changing pads enough! They’re so easy to clean plus they cut down on laundry, they’re one of my top baby registry must haves (especially if it’s a boy — can’t tell you how many times I thanked my lucky stars I just had to wipe up pee instead of stripping the changing pad entirely)!
I decided to hang our beloved brass wall hanging from Electric Sun Creatives above the changing pad to hopefully give Luna something cool and beautiful to look at. I don’t think this wall hanging is really meant to echo the moon phases, but I like that it reminds me of that. It’s a subtle little nod to Luna’s celestial-inspired name.
To the right of the changing pad is a little crate that holds some teethers, a rattle, and a folded up Gathre mat that’s too pretty not to display.
Next to that is our Hatch Rest+. It’s a white noise machine, a night light, and a two-way audio monitor (plus a clock) that I’m so happy we got off our registry for Luna! I made the mistake of not registering for a sound machine when I was pregnant with Isaac and we ended up buying the original Rest since it was multi-functional. We’re big fans of these little machines, especially since we can set programs and control everything from our phones!
On the far right is a small vintage basket that holds the few pacifiers we have for Luna. Isaac was never a huge fan of pacifiers until he was 11 months old, so we’ll see if Luna likes them. On top of the basket is a little dip-dyed, hand made book of encouraging notes and Bible verses that my friends wrote down at Luna’s baby sprinkle. I’ve sat down and read through their sweet words once and barely made it through without crying. It’s the perfect token of support, especially during a time where I can’t be face-to-face with many of them.
The peg rack above the dresser will probably end up holding baby hats and more bows, but for now, it’s a place for me to enjoy looking at her tiny clothes that aren’t comfy pajamas. Side note: her clothes here form an almost muted rainbow and I love it, even though I didn’t hang them in this order for that reason!
STORAGE
Because Brandon and I are using this dresser to hold our own clothes, I knew I needed to come up with an extra storage solution. Again, we looked at what we already had. We’d used this IKEA cart in our kitchen for years and after a good scrub and a couple of coats of spray paint, we had ourselves the perfect extra storage we needed.
The bottom level holds what I call Luna’s comfy clothes: leggings and bodysuits plus a few rompers. Similarly to how I dress myself, I want my babies to be comfortable, not just stylish. These are all of Luna’s clothes minus those few more dressier items on display on the peg rack. The middle level stores pajamas and sleeping gowns. I like to have at least 14, because it accounts for possible blowouts or leaks in the middle of the night and saves me from having to wash baby clothes every day. The top level currently holds a crate with folded burp cloths, plus diapers, wipes and the diaper rash cream, although I’ll most likely end up storing the wipes and cream in the wooden crate on top of the dresser instead of in this cart for easier access.
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That’s it! Luna’s little corner of our bedroom is such a source of joy for me. Having it done has me all kinds of excited and impatient to meet her now. Thanks for reading along and indulging me as I gush about all the little details that went into this corner nursery nook! I’ve wanted to share the process of making our rental spaces feel like home for years but always let perfectionism and comparison hold me back. That ends this year so be on the lookout for more tours of our rented home!
Take care,
Alex
