Name: Mila (6 weeks)
Location: Glendora, California
Room Size: 9 1/2' x 14'
Designing the perfect nursery can be a little overwhelming. Alex and Jackie decided to let interior designer Jenika Kurtz take over the process. Jenika has experience designing nurseries for friends, so they were really excited to get her help and advice on their special room.
How would you define the style of the nursery design?
Parents: Contemporary and super cool!
Jenika: Just like Alex and Jackie said, modern, fun, cool and kind of edgy. Definitely not too "baby" or "cute."
What was the inspiration behind the design?
Parents: Music theme and gender neutral
Jenika: I was inspired by the rest of their home, they've done a great job in decorating. They have a very clean aesthetic and like color so I played off of that.
What was the thought process behind selecting the art for the nursery?
Parents: We are both big Dave Matthews Band fans and have collected show posters through the years. We collected a series that included the five instruments played by each band member and decided on a music theme, perfect because we were waiting to find out the sex of our first child.
Jenika: I have to be honest, I was scared at first when they told me they wanted to work the look of the room around some Dave Matthews art, but it turned out to be pretty cool and very appropriate for a child's room. The prints are sweet and ethereal.
What was the biggest challenge when designing the space?
Parents: For us it was how to end up with a stylish (hence hiring Jenika), functional and inviting nursery.
Jenika: For me it wasn't too tough. It's a small room, but I think that's nice for a nursery, things feel more cozy and intimate.
How long did it take you to design the nursery from start to finish?
Parents: We always had an idea of what we wanted the nursery to look like. We knew we wanted to incorporate the posters, a custom instrument mobile, as well as an oval crib and Jenika took those ideas and ran away with it! It took us working on our days off the month of August. Advice for first time parents designing their nursery is coming up with a theme and hiring Jenika!
Jenika: It took me about 2 weeks to come up with a design to present and, lucky for me, Alex and Jackie loved everything! They started purchasing right away and I think everything was installed and complete within 2 or 3 months. The advice that I would give is just do a little research, search for imagery that you like, tear out ideas you think will work from magazines, and then try to pull all of that together. Don't put too much pressure on yourself, it will come together in the end.
What are your dream sources for decorating a nursery?
Parents: This one is all Jenika.
Jenika: I like to source things from places that aren't necessarily geared towards kids or nurseries. Cribs and changing pads, of course, have to come from those places, but light fixtures, rugs, tables, and dressers can come from anywhere. For example, in Mila's room we bought a vintage dresser from an antique shop and repurposed it as a changing table by painting it a fun color.
Sources:
- Chair: Alto Rocker by Monte
- Pouf: CB2
- Rug: Crate&Barrel
- Crib: Sleepi Crib from Giggle
- Bookcase: Ikea
- Floor Lamp: Kulla Ikea
- Mobile: Custom
- Dresser: Vintage re-painted
- Drapes and Hardware: West Elm
Thanks Alex, Jackie, & Jenika!
(Images: Jessica Comingore)
8 Secret Spots to Hide Valuables at Home
The Live/Work Studio of Robert Siegel Handmade Ceramics
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Howard Butcher Bloc...
Why I Rent Apartments When I Travel
Recipe: Chopped Brown Rice Salad with Grapes and Pecans
Wow, what a gorgeous room. And great photography too!
Love the mobile!
Gorgeous! Can you tell me what paint color you used on the walls?
Love! Would love to know the paint color, as well as there the baskets in the Ikea shelf were bought!
Where are the pics of the dresser?
Love this! A refreshing break from the MCM nurseries and the ubiquitous pompoms, bunting, and wall decals (all of which I like).
Where is the ceiling light fixture from? It's perfect for this space.
I would love to know more about how the mobile was built. We're trying to finish our nursery now. For a few reasons, we're trying to avoid hanging the mobile from the ceiling or a side wall. The only clamp-on product we found for the crib was much too short to be useful. We definitely need some diy and frugal ideas at this point!
One of my favorite nurseries ever. Adore the floating crib. Well done!
http://thenestinggame.com
lovely. it's not over the top and easily convertible to any kind of room - guest room perhaps?
Yeah pyrexmaniac, I totes feel ya'. AT was way better when it was underground.
I agree that the transition to merging Ohdeedoh to Apartment Therapy is not as smooth as I had hoped it would be. Bummer. If I wanted to read Real Simple I would.
It's a pretty room. Very cool. I would love it as my own. But an interior designer for your baby's room? Kinda leaves the "love" out, IMHO. I would prefer something less cool and more personal. Or maybe it's just sour grapes because my son's room isn't as nice?....
Nice room, but did they really put the crib directly under a light fixture with a bare bulb?? Maybe the parents aren't thinking about it, but the designer should if she has that much experience doing nurseries. Babies spend A LOT of time on their backs. Staring straight up.
Lucky little Mila. With design and beauty from her first days, she's sure to grow up inspired! Very creative and feel-good room.
I love the room but I can understand the earlier comments though about the merging of AT. I want 'apartment therapy'. That's all I'll say.
Love that crib dust ruffle...:)
the mobile is very pretty for us to look at, from adult height. but the baby will look up and just see the bottom of the instruments that look like a few weird blobs floating above. its a shame when children's things aren't designed with children in mind.
sunsoaked you're right
we left out the mobile (xmas gift) as our son kept crying out in his cot, usually a happy baby when waking. i then saw on tv that mobiles can infact scare babies from their perspective - no matter how colorful/creative/pretty they are. he then woke up in his normal manner, bubbly and ready with a smile.
what a sophisticated room - love it! Especially love the light fixture and the black pictures hanging on the walls.
Hey, I'm wiley on the interwebs, and I found the instruments for the mobile on Amazon, for you do-it-your-self-ers! These are definitelty the exact ones they used....
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=mini+instrument+ornament
Now I just need to find out how to get those little balancing metal bars to make the thing!!
This is a great baby room, and not just because ours is awfully similar (and no designer in sight). We have same white crib, grey walls, similar white cube bookshelves (land of nod), similar striped rug (West Elm). Instead of dave matthews art, though, we have a day bed with thai bespread and pillows on it (actualy, an aerobed, but she loves it as a place to read).
Based on the crib mattress height, my guess is that Mila is pretty small still. My kid is a little older, so two tips: (1) there are inexpensive pendants with diffusers-- so the baby doesn't stare at a lit bulb. We have one with a leafy pattern on it, and the baby loved to look up at it, lit or not. (2) once that kid gets mobile, those drapes are likely going to get pulled down.
Hello all! Thank you for the comments they are appreciated. Jackie and I had a great time working with Jenika. She did a fantastic job helping us put our ideas together. The nursery fits perfectly with the rest of our home (which we decorated ourselves). I will try to answer all the questions asked. For starters, we have known of Jenika through a close friend. We didn't want a stranger coming in and telling us what to put into our unborn child's room. She did a great job capturing the feeling we wanted. This being our first child, we wanted to do it right. That's why we got together with Jenika to help us design a gender neutral room(we waited to find out the sex). All the work was done myself (i.e. painting,building the crib,and finishing the antique dresser etc). Our personal touches included the music theme, posters, the instruments throughout the nursery collected from our travels around the world, the crib, as well as the mobile. The crib skirt chosen by Jenika (good eye) was made by my parents. I enjoy playing many instruments so having a music theme fit so right for us. We did purchase the mobile instruments online, but I don't remember the custom mobile place we used. It was somewhere in the west coast, and very inexpensive to put together. The baskets we got at cost plus. The only paint color I remember is the spicy banana pepper, used for the dresser/changing table. We love the light fixture, but it isn't super bright either (good point by the previous comment). Mila hasn't had any problems with the mobile or the light. I guess we're lucky. We are thrilled with the nursery! This room went from the "red headed step child room" to the most beautiful room in our home. Thank you Jenika for helping us design a room that truly captures our personalities. It's perfect for Mila!
beautiful! have i met you? andrew tobin, saxlover on daveposters. big poster collector also. our son was born n3 of ac this past year. poster is framed up is his room. his grandma loves elephants, perfect bday poster. also had a friend snag a setlist that night. thats also in his room. awesome baby room!! saxlover@hotmail.com
shoxit - thank you, i was going to look myself as these mini instruments will be great for my son's bday in may and used again on the christmas tree.
saxlover
thnx for the compliment. I think I've purchased a poster from you in the past. That's awesome about your son. Looking forward to this summer!
Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful. The most beautiful post of the day (in a long time). What a bright and cozy and welcoming room for a child that adults can also enjoy. I wish I could be specific, but I just love everything about it. Lucky child, lucky you.
Very nice room, although I like a little more color in a nursery. Love the mobile! You're really inspiring for an advanced baby with your reading materiel (National Geography). LOL
Can you tell me where you got these white curtains--love them!
The light fixture is beyond amazing! Please tell me where you got that!
I love it! A Lot! I wonder where I could get those music theme which you guys collected (five instruments played by each band member)... really want it... :P Thanks a lot.
Just found the mobile parts they used for the music instrument mobile - Its the Flensted Postcard Mobile kit. $22 dollars on mysweetmuffin.com, or 20 bucks on Amazon. I can't WAIT to make this mobile, now that I know I can buy all of the exact parts on Amazon! Hooray!
can't find it!!!! :'-(
What's the paint color. Beautiful, clean and sophisticated.
I agree, love the paint colour. Can we please get the name of it?
Can you please tell me were you got your stokki crib dust ruffle. I can't find anything for our stokki crib or bassinet
thanks
Can you please tell me about (name of it, where) the fabric for pillow (or just pillow if not DIY) on glider chair. I'm in love with it.
stormlight: The crib ruffle was made by my parents with a couple of box pleats. They make clothes for a living so they just took measurements and put it together. I'm sure you can find someone in your area that can sew it together. Good luck
Poppybanks : If I remember correctly the pillow was purchased at Ikea. I do not remember the name. Good luck