I agree with FirstLorelei.

Is there a way to place this nook in the bedroom, instead?

yeah, its a cute "nook", but in the dining room?? i would have put in the bedroom or closet

So critical! We don't know how big their apartment is and I'm assuming Liyam's crib is taking up space in the bedroom. As long as the dining room doesn't smell like dirty nappies, which I'm sure it doesn't, it's no big deal.

Nice use of the space you've got. Babies and their belongings tend to take up a lot of room.

I agree with hydrozoan! I think it looks like a great solution. Love the color of red on that dresser. Nicely done.

In the dining room? Really?

I agree KarltonKelly on many fronts, but want to particularly express my love of the skyline piece. It's been 10 years since I moved to NYC from the Bay Area, and this adorable work of art totally pulled at my heart strings. And you made it yourself!! Awesome job.

Love that skyline cabinet, but I think I'd be afraid I'd stab myself in the chest any time I reached for anything!

Re the setup being in the dining room, I'm sure if there were any odour issues they would not have done it, so I'm sure it's fine.

I didn't expect such rude comments about this post. I mean, picking on the spelling of the babies name? Is that helpful?
I remember very clearly what it was like to have a baby in a small one bedroom apartment. The least of my concerns was the comfort of the make-believe guests at all the fictional dinner parties I certainly didn't have time or energy to throw. This couple has put their energy into a hand-made/re-purposed/thoughtful/functional/fun space for their child. It's adorable. Well done!

Oh, I love the skyline - what a great use of space! And second the thought that they should look into selling these.

Also, I believe Liyam is a Hebrew name - not a unique/different spelling of Liam.

Wow. All the negativity. Simmer down people!

To Sarah, this space is lovely and looks like a great use of the space you've got. Enjoy your wee one!

Wow, so many people who've clearly never been around a messy diaper. It's so cute how you folks think there's not going to be a smell in that corner.

The space is adorable, but it's really better suited to a bedroom. Exposed feces (and they will be there, no matter how quickly the diaper is changed) don't belong in the dining room.

I do agree that it's a super cute space and my heart strings also tugged when I saw that bookshelf. I knew immediatly it was SF..the place of my birth. I'm just 30 minutes across the Bay Bridge but I so miss SF.
If your husbands does makes them to sell, I would purchase one but with the opening up instead of it pulling down. Seriously
I do agree that it would be off putting to sit at the dining room table and see a diaper pail but you gotta do what you gotta do when you live in a small apartment and family comes first. You made it work so kudos to you.

Although this is really beautifully done, I just want to throw out there that a dedicated changing table is not actually necessary. If I were living in a small space it would be the first baby "must have" that I'd chuck. I had a table because I bought it before I had my first, when I thought it was a necessity. I probably did use it for changing for the first 3 months or so before realizing that the floor is actually much easier.

Luckily this family did such an awesome job designing the nook that if they reach the same conclusion they can nearly instantly repurpose the space. Remove the pad and it is a beautiful buffet/storage piece for their dining room.

I doubt if there are dinnner invitations out in the mail from these folks and I'm guessing their 1BR is so small that this IS the best option (and looks good). Also like the name Liyam. Dining room, for now, most likely is just for those two . . .er, three and maybe grandparents or close friends who won't wrinkle their noses in disgust.

Love the skyline shelve! Great idea!

Thumbs up for the changing table in the dining room! For both of my sons, their main changing table was the credenza in the "dining room" (really part of the living room, it's NYC) for the first few months. After that, we changed them on the floor and the credenza went back to being a sideboard (with some diapering supplies inside).

Poop smell ANYWHERE is unpleasant - the effect of having a diaper pail in a communal space is that it gets emptied more quickly.

I LOVE the little laundry hamper - I wonder if that was handmade?

And the push-on light is really handy - great idea for nighttime changes.

Some people do not have the luxury of living in spacious apartments with infants. Especially if one parent is on a maternity/parental leave, income is tight, why add the stress of moving into a larger space to the mix?

GREAT use of space & I love the red dresser and rocket ship art

I'd much rather smell the odd dirty diaper (which honestly, I've worked in infant & toddler daycares and if you've got a good diaper trash bin, you really don't smell it that much) in a relatively un-used part of my apartment than smell it in my bedroom when I'm trying to sleep.

i think everything about this is great--even the fact that it's in the dining room. pretty sure they won't be hosting elaborate dinner parties while overlooking poopie diapers next to the roast chicken.

Anyone with a small home knows how this works. Some things (diaper bin, changing pad) get moved elsewhere during dinner parties, the same way I deal with the stupid cat box that has to live in my eat-in kitchen (out to the porch and hope she can hold it until everyone goes home)!

I love it. Great use of space. Depending how baby is diapered and fed there may be no diaper issue at all. Exclusively breast fed cloth diapered babies don't have diapers that smell. But yes, a diaper gene full of formula poop disposables will reek to high heaven. Either way, I am sure the smell is minimal if they are eating nearby.

I love the San Francisco shelf.

It's not exclusively the smell. There are things, particles, that fly around. And yes, I'm sure it's not unheard of for a parent to change their baby on the kitchen, or dining room, table from time to time. There is poop everywhere (walk outside). However, it can't actually come as a surprise to anyone that this is the first place people's minds are going to go when the whole headline of the post is "look what we did to the dining room!" Maybe if that aspect of the post hadn't been played up, people could have focused more on the design. I call this an editorial flaw more than anything else.

Yes, exactly this. This is one of the most ridiculous cases of pearl-clutching I have ever seen on AT. If the parents of a newborn have the time and inclination to have people over for dinner I am sure they have the wherewithal to move the baby-changing stuff into the bedroom for the evening, for the love of God. One of my best friends is allergic to cats, so when we have her over to our house we - gasp! - MOVE THE CATS AND THEIR LITTER BOX INTO A BEDROOM ON THE SECOND FLOOR AND SHUT THE DOOR, and then CLEAN THE AREA THE CATS WERE IN. Same principal applies here on a significantly less complicated scale, surely.

ALSO, babies who are breastfed don't generally have stinky poop to begin with until they are introduced to solids around 6 months, and a Diaper Genie or similar really does contain the smell nearly completely.

Good lord.

Sarah and Oren - super cute skyline shelf and red dresser!! And, the handles are very clever. What a great solution to limited space. And, I second the comment that you could probably sell those skylines shelves to plenty of parents.

Don't listen to the naysayers. If your space works for you and your baby, then that's fine. You will be getting a TON of unwanted comments and advice now that you are parents. Just try to tune it out. :)

Great look for the station, but seeing and knowing what that area is has the potential to turn people (visitors) off.

As a San Franciscan (and a newish mom), I am swooning over the skyline shelf! Would love that for my daughter's room!

Can your husband please start producing those skyline pieces? There are clearly so many of us "ex-San Franciscians," whose hearts melt more than just a little-bit when we see that, and it's _sooo_ cleaver! I lived there for 4 years, it's been 5 since I moved, and I miss it so much. I'd buy one in a heartbeat (I actually clicked on this link to find out where you bought it, lol!). I think your husband found a small business idea. ^_-

Wow, KimberlyRose, it's not so cute that you're being so condescending. I've changed many a diaper, thanks. I bag poopy ones immediately in their own seperate bag and bin them outside as soon as possible. My place doesn't smell as there's no 'exposed feces'. I'm sure others have similar solutions.

I really like the skyline cabinet, but you will not be able to have that over the changing table for long. As soon as your baby can sit up that will have to be moved. I had a baby in a one-bedroom, it was actually quite convenient to have everything on one floor and close together.

I don't see what the big deal is. It's just a changing station, really. How many people throw their dirty diapers in the kitchen trash can? How many people change their baby on a towel on the floor? It's the same thing, just more sanitary. Good job to them for making the most of what they have until they can find something bigger.

Yes, I love the skyline cabinet and the car drawer pulls! Please do let us know if you decide to start selling them, and for about how much! GREAT JOB!!!

I LOVE that skyline. I want one of the NYC skyline for my dining area!! I'm going to figure out a DIY for that, indeed!