Nursery Design: Functionally Appealing

*Photos coming soon*

Designing a nursery was probably one of the most overwhelming parts of my pregnancy. Most likely this was because I'm totally Type A and wanted everything just so. I remember having my husband adjust the floating shelves 1/2 inch and rotating the dot of the letter 'i' in my daughter's name sign multiple times so that it felt right. Yikes. While these things are lovely to have and look nice, in the long run, it's not what matters at 3am when you've been trying to rock your baby to sleep!

So then what makes our nursery functional? It really comes down to a few basic components.

1. A change pad on top of a dresser
We use the Hemmes dresser from Ikea because it is affordable, has so much opportunity for storage, and doubles as a change table. The idea here is that you aren't needing so much furniture in your nursery and it saves space to not include a separate change table.  I put a change pad tray that a very dear friend made for us on top of the dresser and inside sits the change pad and cover. 
We store diapers directly under the change pad section in the top drawer for easy access. The second drawer beside it we have medicines, creams, soothers, and other items we need to access quick!

2. Side Table & Dim Lighting

I found that a side table was necessary to store items for myself including a notebook and a pen for quick thoughts, phone charger, quick snacks, waterbottle, gum, earphones, kleenex, and extra waterbottles in case I ran out of water.

We experimented with lamps a little bit during the first month and learned that the tall standing light didn't work for us because it would shine directly into our baby's eyes when nursing. Another issue with it was that it required us to step on the button to operate, but because it was so far behind the recliner, it wasn't easily accessible. This could be a benefit to you, though, depending on your lamp location. Since ours was right behind the chair, w changed it out and opted for a small lamp to sit on the side table that I could easily pull the string to turn on and off in the dark or with one hand. Minor detail, big result.

3. Storage

As mentioned above, the Ikea dresser was essential in storing diapers and other items such as medicines and creams, but it also holds clothing. My inspiration for organizing the dresser came from this blog. As my baby grew, we changed out her clothing to match her age. As she outgrew items, they are stored in a clear bin labelled in the basement. Clothes that doesn't fit into yet is stored in the closet where we have a Kallax shelf. The top shelf holds books that are not currently on display on the bookshelf (I switch these out every so often) as well as stuffed animals, dolls, and other gems that we tuck away, while the inside has baskets for the 'next size up' clothing, crib sheets, blankets & quilts, toys for later, diaper genie refills, extra wipes and diapers.

4. Disposal

Aside from having a small garbage bin beside the recliner, a diaper disposal of some sort is key to keep the bedroom smelling clean and fresh. We put a diaper genie directly beside the change pad/dresser so that we never needed to walk away from our baby during a change to dispose of a diaper.