We’re in the middle of several projects around the house (office, dining room, living room), but we did manage to finish one small task: rearranging Clara’s nursery. She was seven months old and mostly stationary when we first set the room up; now at fifteen months she’s walking, reaching, and testing boundaries, so we moved things to improve safety and sleep.
The main problems we were solving:
- An air vent sat near the foot of the crib and would sometimes blow on Clara in the morning, waking her up early.
- Light leaked through the curtains and blinds and landed in the crib at dawn, also causing early wake-ups.
- As Clara grew taller, she could reach the curtains from the crib. That raised the worry she might grab and pull them.
- The bench under the window wasn’t used but could be a future climbing hazard near the window.
- The ceramic table lamp on the side table was within reach and could easily be pulled down by an active toddler.
Also, we enjoy rearranging furniture—call it a personality quirk.
Here’s how the room looked before we moved things around:
What I changed (John was working, so I handled most of the heavy lifting while Clara “helped”):
- I tried the crib in multiple positions and decided it works best under the high-hung mobile and floating shelves that used to be above the changing table. That eliminated the air-vent and morning light problems, and the wall-hung items are well out of reach.
- I moved the crib farther from the curtains so Clara can’t grab them. The mattress is also in the lowest position.
- I experimented with placements for the changing table and ultimately put it on the wall with the frame gallery, raising a few low frames so they’re not in reach during diaper changes.
- The chair, ottoman, and side table were moved under the green mirror, and I replaced the ceramic lamp with a floor lamp that’s not breakable and sits out of toddler reach.
- The bench was moved away from the window and placed on the wall near the closet to reduce climbing risk by the window.
The room isn’t perfect yet, but the functional improvements are obvious: fewer safety hazards and less chance of early wake-ups. Clara normally wakes at 7:30, and she’s slept until 8:00 the last two mornings since the change—small miracles count.
Here’s the new setup:
Small details that make me happy:
Plans and ideas still on the to-do list (no rush since other home projects take priority):
- Replace the makeshift side table by the chair and ottoman with something less awkward and more functional.
- Hang something over the green bench in the corner (I already have a concept in mind).
- Sew a new pillow cover for the chair using leftover fabric from past projects.
- Expand the frame wall above the changing table, raising a few pieces out of reach.
- Build a DIY dollhouse.
- Make a beanbag for a closet reading nook.
- Paint under the window with magnetic paint, then cover it so Clara has a secret magnet wall.
- Add crown molding.
- Paint the ceiling.
There are probably more ideas I’m forgetting — one step at a time. Did you rearrange or tackle any rooms recently? Did your partner boot up a laptop while the baby “helped”? Find dust bunnies behind furniture? Did pets try to sabotage the effort by offering toys for attention?
Psst—We made the flower mobile, refinished Clara’s dresser, painted and upholstered the bench, refreshed the green mirror, sewed the curtains, built book ledges, found the capiz chandelier, created the art wall, painted the walls, and stamped Clara’s closet during earlier phases of the nursery project.