Small Space, Big Impact: 5 Tips for Designing a Multi-Functional Nursery

Jan 18, 2024 | Residential

Finding out you have a baby on the way can be one of life’s most special moments. However, you’re likely in one of two camps: planned, prepared, and ready OR totally surprised. For Concetti Lead Designer + Brand Ambassador Taylor Grup and her husband, Cody, it was the latter! Starting a family was in their plans but they had no idea it would happen while they were still living in the same home Taylor purchased in college. With no plans to move, they needed to quickly figure out how to maximize the tight space and make way for Blair’s multi-functional nursery.

Taylor and Cody didn’t let their small square footage steal an ounce of their joy, and you shouldn’t either! They identified ingenious solutions within their cozy home, without having to sacrifice function or style. Below you’ll discover 5 ways to design a multi-functional nursery in your small space!

#1 Get Creative with Storage Solutions

Storage can be the biggest kicker in small space living. If you’re like Taylor and faced storage challenges long before baby – don't panic! A few simple, supplemental storage solutions will provide additional room for your baby’s items and save you from a dreaded wardrobe purge.

Taylor and Cody’s spare room was used as her closet and at-home workspace before transforming into Blair’s nursery. Taylor previously installed built-in cabinetry to provide storage space for her large wardrobe beyond the original closet. This addition was customized to her exact needs, featuring pull-out drawers and specialized areas for long and short-hanging items. While she didn’t know it at the time, this smart move would eventually free up enough room for a crib.

With all her items now in the additional built-in, the original closet nook provided enough room for various nursery needs. Removing the closet doors paved the way for a crib nook, complete with overhead shelving and linen and towel shelving on the side. The best part? This new space offered the perfect canvas for an adorable safari-inspired mural.

#2 Capitalize on the Seen and Unseen

Unlike the previous tip that speaks more to functional storage, this tip can enhance the nursery’s aesthetic (while serving a function).

For instance, the full-length mirror mounted behind the door doubles as jewelry storage and remains out of sight. Another example is the vintage-inspired accordion wall hook fixture. It provides an easily accessible spot for everyday items or décor while speaking to the design aesthetic.

#3 Invest in Double Duty Furniture

Furniture is typically the largest space-sucker in any room…which is why it’s so important to invest in pieces that serve more than one purpose. Here are some of the primary multi-functional pieces in Blair’s nursery:

Chair + ottoman combo. Whether your chair and ottoman are complementary or come as a set, you’ll want to make sure the ottoman has storage capabilities.
Dresser with a large surface area. Believe it or not, changing tables are not a requirement in a nursery. Instead, you can go for a long, low dresser with plenty of surface area. That way, you have plenty of space for changing and more.
Layered window treatments. Not only do window treatment layers enrich the room’s visual aesthetic with various colors and textures, but they also provide customizations that create environments tailored to your little one’s sleeping needs.

#4 Choose Longevity Pieces

Taylor and Cody couldn’t stand the idea of having to invest in furniture that would one day be sold or donated. While you may not be able to hang onto everything, many pieces can serve your child for years or decades. These selections will be in the Grup household for generations:

Textured NOIR dresser
Convertible Wave Crib that will eventually transform into a full crib and a toddler bed
Seletti monkey lamp

#5 Embrace Theme Over Concept

While conceptual design is the cornerstone of most Concetti projects, nurseries are perfect spaces to lean into a theme…and not just because they’re cute AF! Nursery themes can inspire your baby and encourage their imagination to thrive.⁠ Taylor and Cody’s trip to Tanzania inspired Blair’s safari-themed nursery from top to bottom.

One of the easiest things about designing a nursery is finding staple pieces that align with your theme. Here are a few of the Grups’ favorites:

Justina Blakely tiger rug from Loloi
Seletti monkey lamp
Wallpaper mural
Pottery Barn elephant rocker

Themes can also ramp up the nursery’s color schemes and keep the space feeling contemporary. For example, Tanzanian sunsets inspired Blair’s warm pink and orange nursery tones.

Lastly, a theme gives you extra room to get sentimental. All the baby animal photos on the wall were taken by Taylor and Cody in Tanzania – the perfect detail to tie together the theme and reflect on their once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Need help maximizing nursery space before your little one arrives?

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Hi Sam! We’re excited to catch up with you today. Let’s start with: How does a strong brand identity impact your mental health as a small business owner?

Sam: It gives me so much mental peace and saves a ton of time when trying to create new graphics. I love that I have so much more clarity and confidence knowing that my brand is speaking to my values and the feelings I want to convey when new clients are finding me. It’s so easy to see different templates in Canva and choose a different style every time and now I don’t have to worry about that!

We’re so happy we could help provide that clarity and confidence. How do you see your new brand impacting the success of your business and the experience your clients have?

Sam: Besides having more confidence to share my digital assets and grow a bigger online presence, it gives my clients a cohesive experience and taste of what they will feel like working with me even before they book a service or join a program. Plus, a clearer brand identity will be helpful for attracting more aligned collaborations.

Why should small businesses invest in branding?

Sam: Because it is a part of your business! Brand is not something just for big corporations. No matter the size of your business it’s that step beyond what you sell that creates connection with your customers and long-time raving fans.

Rachel, we’d love to start this conversation off with the same question we asked Sam – how does a strong brand identity impact your mental health as a small business owner?

Rachel: Wow! I love this question! We all want to feel seen and heard and the same goes for our business. A strong brand identity captures your brand persona and translates it into verbal and visual expressions. So often as a business owner, we are so caught up in the passion for industry, and speak in jargon that we often can’t see the trees through the forest. It all feels so important to us that we need to work with a brand partner who can reflect back to us what they are hearing. It is a soulful experience. Having gone through a rebrand for Concetti it means everything. And having worked with many small business owners on their brand, it’s a very powerful experience. To sit there and hear and see your brand come to life, the things you’ve been trying to say, the messages you’ve been trying to get across, the feeling you want people to feel, to see it come together in front of your eyes is incredible! Remember your brand is an extension of YOU!

How has investing in a wellness coach impacted your mental health as a business owner?

Rachel: Your business is an extension of yourself because it is your vision and your passion. So anything you are doing for yourself is going to show up in the business. I would say the biggest impact it has had is the ability to regulate my nervous system. It is so easy to slip into fight and flight mode when you are making big decisions daily. Building an awareness around what my body is feeling has empowered me to regulate my nervous system. Feeling the rush of emotions, letting it pass and then making a decision from a grounded place, instead of a reactive one, is a game changer.

How does it impact your team?

Rachel: Having Sam work with the team has been a dream come true. The fact is we spend so much of our lives working, so to have it be a place where we can be our full selves is important to me. Having come from many years of being in the performing arts, teamwork is ingrained in my DNA. I love when a group of people can come together to achieve great things. One of the things that I realized through working with Sam was that I was still treating life like I was preparing for world championships that never came. I am so grateful and proud of my work ethic and realized that it is equally important to pause and reflect on successes as a team and set intentions for the next quarter to create camaraderie and focus. No one wants to feel like there’s an endless to do list that never gets done, you will burn out. Sam works with the team on a quarterly basis where we either have a VIP day or a Concetti retreat. It is something the team looks forward to. And I love hearing how the work we do together is positively impacting their personal lives as well.

How does this culture approach allow your team to better serve your clients and other small businesses in the community?

Rachel: I think we’ve all heard the saying you can’t pour from an empty cup. It all starts with taking care of yourself first, taking care of the team, so we can show up fully for our clients and other professional partners. We talk a lot about having an empathetic journey, everyone’s experiences valid. And it is our responsibility to be self reflective and how we are showing up, doing what we say we’re going to do, and not stop until we’re proud of the work we’re doing. Because when we can all be ourselves, more good goes out into the world. It is a ripple effect that can surely be felt.

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