Renting in Manhattan often means you might end up moving each year. It took us quite some time to find the right building and apartment for our family, and we currently live in apartment number 4 since our first was born. This means I have put together quite a few nurseries over the years! Today I am sharing the first nursery I designed.

Once I knew we were having a girl, it didn’t take long to dive right into designing the nursery. I started by heading to Pottery Barn Kids for some inspiration, and immediately fell in love with the Madison crib. Sadly it’s been discontinued but the Ridley crib has a similar feel. Pink and gray was a popular combination back in 2014, and I’ve always been a fan of chevron so those decisions came quickly. The It’s A Girl banner is the banner was hanging at my East Coast baby shower.

When I came across this birdcage shelf I thought it was so unique, and I had to have it! This is how I settled on a bird theme for the room. Pottery Barn Kids had just put out a bird themed crib mobile, and some framed prints from Etsy tied it all together. The Madison book rack underneath was a savior because we did have enough space for a full bookshelf in this little nook. Don’t you just love that Shakespeare quote?

A must have for our nursery was the ability to fit a full sized bed. I grew up in California, and my mother was planning on coming to stay with us for a few weeks after our daughter was born. Plus, I always like the idea of having a place for guests to stay even though we lived in a small New York City apartment. This nursery room had some odd diagonal walls in it but the HVAC unit ended up being the perfect headboard!

These window ledges were an awesome perk for adding storage baskets. Unfortunately, they were a dark wood color that stood out and didn’t go with the room at all so I covered them up with some grey chevron contact paper.

Since I gave up that precious long wall under the window for the bed, I struggled to find a changing table that could fit on the one remaining wall. In the end IKEA saved the day! Pottery Barn Kids had not yet released their small spaces collection so my options were limited. That IKEA changing table is still going strong almost 6 years later and currently serves as a back up changing table down in the basement of our weekend home!

It’s all in the details. I purchased these beautiful frames from Pottery Barn Teen when I was in my early 20s. I touched them up with some paint pens and then cut out these inserts from gift bags that were given to me at my baby showers. The corner flower poufs were hanging decorations at my East Coast shower as well. I loved finding these mementos a home in the nursery.

Closing out the tour is our glider chair! If I can give one piece of advice about the registry process it is to go in person and sit in a bunch of gliders before you make your choice! Don’t get me wrong, this glider is wonderful, but I registered for it site unseen, and I may have selected something different (smaller) if I had taken the time to pick it out in person.

Tip: if you need extra storage, you can fit three underbed storage boxes under the crib.

I literally used every piece of space in this room! Manhattan living definitely forces you to get thinking and get creative. I’m embarrassed to admit how many hours I spent searching for a storage solution that would fit into the tiny nook between the HVAC unit and the wall. And wow did I score! I love this rolling storage cart from PBTeen so much that I now own one for each of my four children.

I took this panoramic shot of the nursery to commemorate its completion. It was exactly one week before our sweet Layla was born. You can see how everything just barely fits!