Name/Age: Lyla Mae, 3 weeks
Location: San Francisco, California
Family: Lyla Mae, Mom Leah and Dad Jared
Room Size: 20 square feet
Division: Baby
Tip for Living Small with Kids: Don't buy every baby item that is recommended by big stores and manufacturers! Keep it simple and keep it organized.
Thumbs Up Voting is only activated for 48 Hours — so don't delay!
What was one of the biggest challenges you faced in putting together this room? The biggest challenge was actually building the room within our one bedroom condo. We had a wide hallway that was previously our office. We decided to divide the space and enclose half of it for our baby's "room." My husband framed in two walls along with many shelves and storage nooks, using the crib mattress size and location as a starting point.
Our most helpful resources were creativity, trial and error, and not being afraid to run a Skilsaw in the living room. :)
Some of my favorite features of the room are the sliding crib rail with lots of storage underneath the mattress, the fold down changing table that can be closed when we don't need it, and all the shelves where I can mix and match storage bins, supplies, books, and clothes.
Thumbs Up Voting is only activated for 48 Hours — so don't delay!
Ashley & Kyle's Personality Packed Home 
Aftermarket Resources for Customizing IKEA Furniture 
Like us on Facebook
RSS Feed (Atom)
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Elfa Decor Shelving
12 Recipes to Know By Heart
How To Make Cake Pops
Comments (50)
This is a great use of space! Just curious what you do for air flow, since the walls go all the way up to the ceiling? I think the only thing I would have done differently would be to only bring it up as high as the soffit vs. wrapping it up around the crown moulding. Any maybe gone a little more traditional finish to make it look more like a built-in (again, because of the traditional crown moulding).
Love the fold out changing table and decals though.
Incredible. So smart and innovative. Beautiful!
Wow. That is so cool!
Wow! It's beautiful! What a lucky baby!
Wow! That is a genius use of space. It works, it looks great and there is the ability it looks like to extend that mattress of the bed by at least a few inches so this could work well to the age of two. What a cool little room!
Truly a wonderful use of space. Serene, lovely, functional and a jewel box of organization. Congratulations on your new one!
There aren't enough thumbs up in the world to give to this project. I love the fold out changing table. So smart.
I love it. Very creative.
Awesome! Great creativity. You must go to a good church. ;)
Holy moly! If I could fit in a crib, I would be moving in to your hallway... That is great! I love all the bins and shelves and such.
Lyla Mae is one fortunate chicky with very creative parents. Beautiful.
Love the name! Love the creative use of space.
love the painted on floral design!
Who comes up with stuff like this? Very cool space...very cool home...very cool family!
wow what GENIUSES! no, seriously, it's amazing. i love the comment by revphred by the way. haha.
That design deserves to be in a magazine. Innovative and beautiful.
it rocks. nice work.
So creative! You are space-geniuses - how did you even dream that up? Kudos to you for following through on a great vision.
Brilliant!! And what lovely flowers ;)
You are so creative and have such good ideas! This is beautiful!
This may be the most functional and creative use of small space - for small people! - I've seen. It's proof that you don't have to give up your city pad or your style once you have a baby. Good job!
Creativity per sq feet is off the charts. They should divide votes by total square footage.
Nice work!
Brilliant design! Lucky little Lyla Mae--to have a daddy who's that good with a Skilsaw and a Mama who's so organized. I have never seen 20 square feet done so well. This is why I love small spaces. It's so much more inspiring to see what people create out of a tiny bit of square footage than what they make out of a large portion of it. The storage is ample, the bed is perfectly appropriate in size, and the hallway didn't lose 'elbow room' even with the addition of the box. Nicely done!
Awesome. Super smart urban parents.
I love those built-ins. Great creative location for the changing table!
Amazing and inspirational!
That is the smallest, coolest kid's room I've ever seen! Great creativity, ingenuity, and adventurous streak! You must be great parents.
very cool little space
Amazing! Wish we could hire you guys to do our space...
You have more style in that little baby box than I have in my whole house! I love the finished product!
You both did an amazing job!!!!!!!! WOW! love it!
If only I was so clever and handy as Jared. *Sigh* Only in my dreams...
Gorgeous! I think this could be the winner.
Leah and Jared,
You guys are awesome! I'm sure you will win!
Impressive. Most impressive.
Hope y'all win :)
Too funny- my sister-in-law just named her daughter Lyla May.
Lyla May has such creative parents! Love you guys!
love it!
Eeek. I agree that it's creative, but I fear this kid may have some flashbacks when she gets to the Skinner Box lab in Psych 101.
ktsigler, I couldn't agree more. Creative, but totally spooky. And also kind of short-lived--I wonder how this arrangement will serve this family when Lyla Mae hits 8, 9, 10 months.
Remember just last week when we were freaking out about this crib? And it's open at the top!
Definitely cool. And my daughter's name is Isla Maeve, which is very similar to Lyla Mae so I'm especially partial.
Oooh, it's too late to give it a thumb's up, but I would have. This is so creative and awesome!
Wonderful! I LOVE the fold down changing table
I'm too late to vote but I love the space, the creativity, and the love that built this wonderful little room for Lyla Mae. You two (er...make that three...) are AMAZING!
This is an amazing use of space, ingenuity, functionality and color for Lyla Mae! Great space planning too!
Some circular portholes drilled at the top might help with air flow if she needs/wants more light later -- and they'd match the dots!
I think it is a very cool space. But as a mother of a baby, I would be having nightmares of baby running out of air to breath. I started having nightmares and waking up every hour to check on my son upon reading a detailed article about SIDS, one of the reasons why it happens so much here in the US is, air flow and the rooms being too hot/warm. Well done design wise, but I would never place my infant baby in such a hole.
And I thought I had designed some very small nurseries/children's rooms. I agree with others about air flow. Decorative holes can allow air through to the closeted space. Why not use a clip-on fan way up high with cord stowed away carefully. I know that for the next year you are OK, after that...you will need more room for your child.
Way to go guys! Super proud of both of you and it should win!
Rob and Katy