Tyler is due any day now and we think he'll feel right at home in this charming room. Erika shares: I knew immediately that I wanted to incorporate our Michelle Armas painting in Tyler’s room. It’s such a vibrant, happy piece, that I couldn’t imagine it fitting better anywhere else! It was also important to us to give him his own unique space while ensuring it remained an extension of the rest of our home. We live in a pretty small two-bedroom condo, so keeping it fresh, modern, comfortable and above all, simple, played a big part in everything we did.

Considering how bright the painting is, I decided on a white palette, and pulled the aqua and gray out as accent colors. We traded our queen bed for my parents’ twin trundle, moved the credenza in for storage and ditched some books to make room for toys from our childhood on the spine bookcase. I am, however, embarrassed to admit that I put my Eames rocker in storage in favor of the glider. In the end, I just couldn’t picture sitting in the hard plastic shell during 2 a.m. feedings. (The horror.)

At one point I was worried that because I hadn’t wanted the space to be too “babyish” the nursery wouldn’t feel like a true nursery. In the end though, it was the small touches that pulled everything together. From old family photos to sweaters my grandmother knitted for me as a baby to words of encouragement from loved ones that hang on the wall, these details represent so much love that will undoubtedly surround Tyler.

I think my favorite of these details is probably the print above the changing table. Created by a close friend, it reads “sweet dreams” in English, Gaelic, Swedish and Italian, representing the equal parts of our heritage. Somehow, filling the space that embodies so much of our future with small pieces from our past captured the feeling I’d been trying to attain all along: magical.

Thanks Erika! Readers, find Erika at 2 by Design.

(Images: 2 by Design)

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