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We often work with customers who's  nursery or child's bedroom is on the "small" side. This is never discouraging to us. It is our business to know about amazing tricks and products available to create a personal yet functional space, not matter what the dimensions. Even those no larger than a walk in closet. 

Keep reading to learn how to do it yourself.​

Our client ElShane gave up her at-home office to create a 50 square foot nursery for her second daughter. She use a temporary partial wall that was custom outfitted with shelving and compartments to accommodate clothing, toys and the changing area.

In the video below see more about this temporary wall turned storage as ElShane gives you the full tour of her tiny 50 square foot nursery.

One of the must-haves for the nursery is a comfortable way to rock your baby. But in the case of a small space that doesn't need to be an actual glider or rocker that are oversized and take up to much precious square footage.

Our tip is a portable Ready Rocker, by Rockermama. It's an excellent substitute if you can fit an actual chair in your nursery. You can also use it anywhere in your home, in a chair or in bed. You can even pack it along on trips when where you are going may not have a glider.

If you are lucky enough to have windows in your NYC apartment or condo most likely you are going to need window treatments. The best environment for a baby's sleep is a dark one so you'll want blackout shades. There are various options for keeping light out including hanging drapes, permanent window shades, and even temporary window shades. But you want these in blackout materials.

If you own your space and plan to be there for 2-3 years then making an investment in honeycomb shades is your best bet. These will block out the majority of the light. The Bali Cellular Shades from HomeDepot are installed in one of our NYC client's shared boys' bedroom. Layering in room darkening curtain rods and blackout drapes for maximum reduction of light, sound reduction and cold air. These curtains also add a layer of style and visual warm to the space.

One other option worth mentioning here is a temporary paper shades, perfect for short term rentals. If this isn't going to be your long term residence you don't want to loose your investment on installing permanent window treatments when you leave.homedepot.sjv.io/ENX2n

We suggest using these easy to install Redi Shade temporary paper shades from Home Depot that come in blackout or room darkening styles. They only cost from $5-$10 per shade. Then install those stylish fabric curtains to cover them up and add extra light reduction. Check out this video on how easy they are to install!

In small spaces, floor space is a precious commodity so get things off the floor where ever you can. This means installing storage and lighting on the walls. There are tons of options for floating book shelves, side-tables and plug-in wall sconces that are adorable and functional.

With limited floor space we may suggest putting the crib or changing station in the closet. Tucking the crib and or dresser, equipped with changing pad, into a closet saves tons of space and creates a cozy nook. You can use the height of the closet to add storage with shelving. We've even see rocker snuck into a closet along with a mini crib! 

A mini crib can turn any space into a nursery. Place it in your master bedroom, tick it into a closet or squeeze it into a tiny nursery. 

A mini crib will last for about one to two years depending on the size and weight a baby grows. Be sure and check for those details in the product description. The crib shown below is from Project Nursery and comes in various colors. It can be easily collapsed making it portable too! 

​Some styles will grow with your baby using a conversion kit. The kit can be used to stretch a mini crib into a full size as needed.

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Predicted top baby names for 2020. (Originally posted on Goodhousekeeping)

So many cool names on these lists and we think you find these ideas for displaying them in the nursery or big kid bedroom just as special.

This post is sponsored by some of our favorite brands and retailers, but the content and opinions expressed are our own. This post may contain affiliate links which help support our blog efforts.
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Like babies each nursery project is unique and beautiful, this nursery design for Natalie Ehrlich is no exception. Nor was this mama's honest account of pregnancy whilst raising a toddler and all the tough stuff that sneaks up and tries to steal the bliss of motherhood.

Natalie is a mama already with a little girl Lilly – a lively, now two year old, girl who ruled her world. But as only a mother knows their world was about to change with the arrival of her second baby, a boy to be named James.

This post is sponsored by some of our favorite brands and retailers, but the content and opinions expressed are our own. This post may contain affiliate links which help support our blog efforts.

I connected with celebrity stylist ElShane through a national community for working moms like myself called HeyMama. Our early communication was a bit shaky. You see ElShane had one little girl already and has an amazing larger than life personal style. So why would she need a nursery designer?

She admitted it was hard to trust another person with the creation of such a personal space, even a design professional. On our first calls I shared my initial thoughts on how she could get all the functionality in the tiny space she was having to carve out of her New York City rental and I walked her through the convenient e-design process – she ultimately realized the YouthfulNest virtual expert service was exactly what her busy schedule needed.

This shining star of a nursery is the true meaning of good things come in small packages.

This post is sponsored by some of our favorite brands and retailers, but the content and opinions expressed are our own. This post may contain affiliate links which help support our blog efforts. Disclaimer - Bare is the best practice of nothing but baby in the crib.
Items in crib are for photography styling only.

If you are like me you can't stop gazing at this nursery image and not feel pure joy. It also makes me smile because I recall the first conversation I had with Christine Yeargin, author of Cake for Breakfast blog, about her vision for the nursery and the bold, bright oversized floral print she was in love with.

After seeing our first designs and considering the bolder wallpaper prints Christine decided they just weren't for her and we moved away from colorful wallpaper to a minimal look using a clean wall paint as the backdrop to delicate, fresh and soothing styling. We're calling it Boho Chic.

Is it just us or is Mr. Octopus just every where? Maybe its because it's summer and we are dreaming of "cake by the ocean" and our up coming beach vacay.

The real reason is because the octopus is this season's new "IT" creature and we want you to find a way to bring him home with you. We've found a dozen stylish baby and kids products featuring his free flowing shape and cool blue hues. Perfect for those easy breezy beach and coastal inspired nursery or child's bedroom design.

It is with much pleasure to introduce you you to the boutique company Baby Jives & Co.. Their hand made pieces are full of enchantment and wonder whether its a nursery mobile or little girls hair accessory. Keep reading and looking to see what I mean.

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Hello YouthfulNest readers! My name is Shelbi and I’m a lifestyle blogger over at EverydayMrs as well as a first-time expecting mom. Being a first-time mom is overwhelming for so many reasons. However, nursery design doesn’t need to be one of these reasons. Today I want to share with you four nursery tips I have for fellow nursery newbies (or even second time moms who may need a little extra motivation!).

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So you’re having a baby or seriously considering it? Then you might be house hunting for a bigger place – maybe a home with enough room for a separate nursery or a large one bedroom urban apartment with space to carve out a spot for baby.

In either case before you jump on Zillow or go on showings with a realtor, I have a few home search tips and interior considerations to help you be more prepared to make room for baby.

 This post is sponsored by some of our favorite brands and retailers, but the content and opinions expressed are our own. This post may contain affiliate links which help support our blog efforts.

This is a classic case of the second child. Typically, a second baby gets along just fine with a bit less of their very own and enjoys hand-me-downs of gently worn clothing; lived in strollers; and well-tested toys. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with this scenario.

BUT, keeping your first child's newborn photo hung over the second baby's changing table is taking this whole hand-me-down thing a bit too far. That was the case in a client and friend of mine's baby number two's nursery. (It was clearly time for a nursery re-design for this baby number two.)

About a year after I designed a big girl bedroom for a friend's daughter, their second daughter Hadley was born. As busy parents now of two little girls, the nursery remained the same as it had been when big sister moved out over a year prior – with big sis's newborn image still hanging over the changing table.

One day just after Hadley celebrated her first birthday Kim (mom) and I got to talking and decided it was time to do something about the impersonal space that was the nursery. We discussed plans to freshen it up, bring in some personalized décor and add in significantly more functionality that was missing. I wasted no time and within a week we had a sweet, budget conscious nursery design.

Scroll down to learn the six key steps of designing any nursery that were applied to this makeover.