Before and After: Nursery to Toddler Room

I'm a firm believer that no space in your home should remain static, least of all a kid's room. A nursery is built for the parent's ease of use, but once your babe turns into a constantly-on-the-move toddler, it's time for their space to work at their level and start to reflect the things they love.

Our little Leo is 15 months old now (where did the time go?!), and I've made a few strategic changes to his space that are working really well for us all. My hope is that I can inspire you to make some changes so you and your family can better function in your home, too. If you haven't already, check out his nursery tour to see the "before" photos--spoiler alert, not that much has changed!

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Leo is all about his books, which made these book ledges an obvious addition. Now that he's walking, he loves to toddle up to this wall to choose his bedtime story. In addition to his expanding book collection, we also have an ever-growing collection of toys. Most of his toys are kept in our living room, but this inexpensive cube shelf helps corral a few pieces now and has space to expand into down the road. It also helps hide the cord for his air purifier (a.k.a., our white-noise machine) that comes from the protector-encased outlet on the other side. Win-win!

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Having a (high) spot to hang his towel and sleep sacks was a game changer. Before we got the peg rail we used to hang things on his closet door handles, but they would drag on the floor and he'd grab them and throw them into the hamper with the dirty laundry. No parent ever needs someone creating additional laundry! I can totally see snagging another one of these at some point to hang down low, so he can have easy access to hooks, too.

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We must be some of the lucky ones because Leo doesn't tend to pull at his mobile, so we've been able to keep it up. That said, he is a chewer and the crib rail was starting to look pretty rough. We snagged these washable crib-rail covers that have worked perfectly! You can't tell here, but I also added room-darkening liners to our existing curtains. The shade and blackout curtains weren't quite cutting it for nap time and these have really made a difference.

All in all, I don't have any regrets about how we initially set up Leo's nursery, and I'm glad I left space to make changes. The room has been playful, functional, and a joy to be in. That's all I can hope for in any space! If you're expecting a new little one or need to make some tweaks to your soon-to-be-toddler's room, then get in touch and let's see what we can do!