Comments on: How we're turning a walk-in closet into a nursery

By: Wendy

Wendy — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 02:29:04 +0000

Nancy – although it's not the same as the NYC tenements, I think about that all the time. With my first on the way we are not leaving our apartment and will have to do some creative re-arranging to make it work. I am constantly reminded that IN THE VERY SAME APARTMENT that I am currently in (2BR), in the 1970s it housed my then-infant boyfriend, his parents, as well as a set of grandparents! If 4 adults and a baby can do it, I should be fine

By: Valerie

Valerie — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:54:49 +0000

You'll love the Amby Baby! I used to it for all 3 of my kids and I never needed a crib.

By: blu_star

blu_star — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:18:50 +0000

Hey – So glad that my son's room (Jonas' walk in closet) was an inspiration to you! Your 'room' looks great.
Best of luck!

By: Zahra

Zahra — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:43:35 +0000

My 3yo daughter has a room with her very own two story pink castle that daddy built her and she STILL sleeps with us. We sneak away or have parent date night when we need to, but we love having our cuddlebug with us.
My experience has been that you need the playpen/crib for day naps and unruly or colicy moments when no good can be done to stop the screaming. Other than that, baby goes where Mom and Dad go.

By: Margaret G.

Margaret G. — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:07:17 +0000

Thank you for posting! I'm 18 weeks pregnant and my partner and I just moved into a townhouse with a HUGE walk-in closet off the bedroom and my first thought upon seeing it was, "wow. this would make a great nursery!" I excitedly told several people including my partner's father and the response was overwhelmingly… negative, so I've been keeping the idea quiet lately. But seriously, back when I was a single mom with my first child (now almost 13!) I lived in an efficiency studio downtown that didn't even have a real kitchen and we did fine. Some people just can't look beyond the original use of the space I guess and think it's wrong to put a baby in a closet, but it's not like we were planning on locking him/her in there with the winter coats and the shoes! There's quite a bit of light and space, enough for a crib AND a changing table. I'm glad to see someone else making use of an unconventional space for the same purpose.

By: April

April — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:16:26 +0000

As for spending the summer with grandparents, I think the only issue is waiting until the child is old enough to understand that you are coming back. I started my boys with overnights at gramma or aunt's houses and now they are well behaved enough to spend 8 wks gone from us during the summer visiting 2 sets of grandparents (through luck, they have 3 sets- all young enough to spend lots of time and money on them!). I think that it is great for them to be able to experience the rules of other homes and to listen to other adults. Plus, I read a bunch of books while they were gone!! it was amazing!

By: April

April — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:16:19 +0000

Remember, you don't need space for the child, it's the space for all their toys and clothes…. mostly the toys. For the clothes, I've needed more space because I've been trying to get the boys as independant as possible. For toys, it will never stay clean. I think lasting until preschool wout work fine. For the toys, I would integrate some baskets of stuff into other areas, such as the living room, which it were the kid will be playing alot anyway. And if you can get your family on board with not buying so much stuff, congrats!!! My family seems to have no concept of "buy less". I clean the boys' room twice a year, once before the winter holidays and once during the summer when their on vacation.

By: Melanie

Melanie — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:39:27 +0000

Is there a way to put a thin dowel rod or something similar in front of the bins to hold them in place, but still be able to lift them over it & down?

By: Karissa

Karissa — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:40:56 +0000

This post is great to see. You don't need a huge place to be able to have children. When my little munchkin was born, her room was actually a small office space connected to a closet in a downstairs apartment. And, it was the perfect size! For the first few months, she slept in our bed with us, so we pretty much just used her room for storage. Once she started sleeping in her own crib, my little one got used to the noise of the people upstairs. And… when she played, it was in the living room or other places. So a big room for a little person is not necessary.

By: Dani

Dani — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:41:44 +0000

when you are pregnant with your first you feel like you need all this "stuff" but once you have the baby you realize none of that "stuff" really matters. I had a crib for my first that was never used (except as storage) I didn't even bother with my second. Both of my girls have their own rooms now although they are tiny (maybe 7' x 10' or so) They work just fine. I'm definately not opposed to room sharing I always shared with my sisters even when we did have our own rooms we would end up sleeping in the same room. My daughters are 7 yrs apart so it would have been hard to ask my 8 yr old to share a room with her 1 yr old sister. My older one has a loft bed so there is still a play area underneath and my little ones room only houses her clothes and toys at the moment but is also used as a guest bedroom. We will probably end up getting her a loft bed also when she is big enough. Gotta love IKEA and there space saving furniture!