We might have to start a new feature on Ohdeedoh called My Closet as we're seeing more and more parents transform a small, utilitarian space into warm nooks for their babies. A reader tells us about her son's comfy closet: Nobody puts baby in the corner, but we sure did put him in the closet! Yes, its true. My name is Kate and my child sleeps in a closet.
Let me explain a bit here. We moved from our 2 bedroom condo to a smaller apartment in Boston. We didn’t realize we were losing essential space- our sunroom played an intergral part in our old home as a home office. So we had two bedrooms (one of which belonged to Colin) and a home office. We still need a room to function as an office. But we have a baby. What to do?
In our new home, we have two large closets. The closet in the second bedroom, or Nurfice (nursery/office), as we call it, has much needed storage space, which left us to decide if the master bedroom closet was worth a shot. With a little creative thinking and a quick call to our management office, we took down the shelving and removed the door of the master bedroom closet and created a nice cozy nook for Colin.
Everything he knows and loves is still intact (save for his giraffe which is in the Nurfice). His Sharon Montrose animal portraits still hang above him while he sleeps. His way too expensive mobile still amuses him when he wakes. We can feed and sit with him in his chair. And you know the best part? It’s about three steps over from where I sleep when he requires his middle of the night pacifier fix (especially now since he is teething!), rather than the little trek I used to take nightly at our old place.
We played around with the idea of painting it or using decorative wall decals but in the end, I like the simplicity of it- I think it keeps the space light and open. Keeping with the light and neutral decor also means that we can easily convert this back into the closet it was intended to be when we move out.
Thanks Kate! Readers, you can find Kate at Didn't I Tell You That.
(Images: Kate/Didn't I Tell You That)
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I am loving all of these small spaces transformed! This is very cute and tasteful and I love the framed animal portraits... I agree that they do the job better than wall decals ever could :)
i really like this room. your decorating style is cozy and soothing...i'm sure your baby enjoy's it enormously. =)
it s a nice style
i understand the lack of space but does the baby get enough clean air or espacially light in there?
i'd rather put the office it the closet
nurfice...that's awesome. so is the room, i think.
Lovely.
And very glad to see a fan in there and that the doorway is completely open, not curtained off! That's my only issue with the idea of a kid sleeping in a closet. Proper air circulation is really important, especially very very little ones at risk for SIDS.
love the dichromatic/no color theme. these neutral spaces are always so much more calming to me
I always laugh at the comments about fresh air and sunlight. Do you think the parents leave their babies in the cribs all day and night? If they're good, the babies actually get to come out and enjoy other spaces in the home, maybe even go outdoors once or twice a year. Nurseries serve mainly one purpose - sleep. Nursery windows serve mainly one purpose - demonic sun, noise, and draft portals that need to be covered and sealed using all man's ingenuity of design. As for the SIDS comment - SIDS is a serious tragedy, please don't make flippant comments about it's causes that are not supported by medical research.
I love the photos on the wall. Where did you get those?!
Wow, that's a pretty large closet to take a cot, couch and side table! Love the space and how you've utilised it. I love my babies close too. As for the SIDS comments it is actually safer for baby to be sleeping in the same room as mama than another room ie nursery. I'm sure Colin loves it as much you do.
@ anyone who is wondering if a baby in a closet gets enough light, i think the babies are only in there for sleeping! it seems to have a room for living/playing/learning where it gets the light! :)
and for the fresh air - the doors were removed, it gets the same air as the parents in their bedroom...
i like this idea for small places - my nephew has a huge room to sleep in, but he prefers playing in the living room where his parents are. so the space in this room is - for now - useless.
i think we will also put our baby in the closet :D and it will get a proper room when the time is ripe... i also like that the baby is really close to the parents. maybe with a sliding door (our closet has one) you can get some "privacy" and open it again for sleeping.
oh and as for colins room, it is wonderful!!! :)
Kindswhereitcounts, I don't think the comments about SIDS are flippant at all. Known risk factors for SIDS are when kids are exposed to smoking and when kids sleep in overly warm environments. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sudden-infant-death-syndrome/DS00145/DSECTION=risk-factors
It may not actually be a scientific fact that sleeping in a closet contributes to SIDS, but I don't think it's outrageous to be concerned that a baby is getting enough air. I don't think this is the case hear because there is no door, but, again, hardly a flippant comment.
Totally unrelated question: is that a painted Stokke crib?
There is no 100% reliable known cause of SIDS, so we all go with a combination of what we know, one solution being fresh circulating air. I saw the fan on the little dresser and smiled; this mom is doing exactly what the rest of us do: her best. And I believe the curtained off nursery closets we've seen (nurserets?) intend to use the curtain when the baby is NOT in the sleeping area, to tuck it away.
This wouldn't be my (or anyones) first choice for a nursery, but she has taken what she has available and done something really wonderful with it, with her child in mind. It's gorgeous and soothing, I love the oatmeal less-is-more mood, so clean and crisp.
ek76 - Stokke makes a grey crib now!
Carrie
Hi all! Colin's mom here. Thanks so much for commenting on this post! It is really great to have been featured on Ohdeedoh.
To address a couple of concerns: The "nursery" gets more than enough light- the opposite side of the room is actually a wall of windows to our patio, so it is actually making it dark enough for a nap that is a concern, but Colin seems to do fine. Also, there is more than enough circulation as we have a fan in the closet which is on constantly. My husband and I considered all the concerns of putting our 5 month old in such a tight space, but it suits our needs- we need an office space that is separate from the bedroom more than Colin needs a large room that is separate from us. Especially now that he is in the throes of teething, I am especially happy to have him nearby. And I do let him out of the closet on occasion, when he is being a really good boy (kidding!). But more than that, children need a place to lie their heads- anything big enough to fit a crib (from which they cannot escape) is large enough at this age. He plays in other rooms in our home.
The crib is by Stokke- in the grey as a previous poster answered. The prints are by Sharon Montrose- we love them! I am in the process of creating a "Sources" page on my blog, I hope you will stop by and check it out!
Regarding air - I planned to do a closet nursery until I actually painted ours, and discovered that even with the door open and a fan on, the paint odor lingered for weeks - so I think we did have bad circulation. It probably depends on each situation, so I might suggest a clear-the-stink-test for anyone who's unsure :)
I ended up keeping the crib out of the closet and made it just a cute changing table/dresser/storage nook.
Lovely.
Looks great. I think there is plenty of air circulation and as others have said, light is the enemy to be conquered.
This is a beautiful place, I especially love how soothing the colors are. Since this is a sleeping area, not a playing area, I find it absolutely perfect !
I love this space! Living right outside of NYC, we understand space constraints and I think you executed it beautifully!
Also - love your Sharon Montrose wall photos! We have 6 of her baby animal prints hanging above my son's crib. I LOVE THEM and spent a fortune getting them all framed :) All worth it!
Well done!
that's a big closet! we live in a little beach bungalow where space is a premium. i wanted to start my own jewelry business but all the bedrooms were spoken for- so i made my jewelry shop in the closet (our closet is about 1/2 to 1/3 the size of that closet!) i am loving seeing the ingenious use of small spaces. very nice work!
How lovely. I love the use of the space and the tasteful and simple take of the farm animal theme is wonderful!!
I'm really in love with this room. Now shopping on Sharon Montrose website!
Nuseries and cribs are cute, but I am pretty sure a baby is most happy sleeping next to a pair of warm boobs.
"Babies who slept in a room with a fan were 72% less likely to die from SIDS, according to a study released today from Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. The study included interviews with the mothers of 185 infants who died from SIDS and the mothers of 312 other babies."
Its not flippant. 75% is a HUGE number. Also, the higher the temp is over 69 degrees, the higher the risk. So stuffy, poor circulated, small spaces are high risk zones...places like closets that don't have air vents.
And it doesn't matter how often the baby is in the other areas of the home, what counts is when s/he's in there to sleep because thats when SIDS occurs. It can happen in just a few minutes. And considering babies spend, on average, 16 hours sleeping per day...thats a lot of time in the closet.
I realize these parents are trying to use space efficiently, but honestly, the baby would be better off having NO bedroom, than to be sleeping in the closet. Put the crib in the master and wait until s/he is old enough to share with big brother/sister. Or like someone else said...move the office. Put it in the kitchen/living room/master. Have the kids share (yes, it can be done even when one is a baby). There are plenty of other options. No one is "forced" to do this.
This is one "trend" I do not support, and I wish Ohdeedoh didn't either. Its not cute or clever...its dangerous.