If you’re faced with a tiny or small nursery space, organization is going to be key.  One of the most important design decisions is to make sure every item has more then one purpose, or will be able to grow with your child.  Some of these are so basic that I think we forget them when looking to put together a room.

Six Double Duty Basics:

1. The crib.  I’m a true believer in purchasing a small crib that will grow with your child.  I do not believe that you need to buy one that will grow with them all the way to college (the crib to double bed phenom), but it should get you through little kid stage at the least.  In our house, we chose the Stokke Sleepi for this, but if you look at the Sleep section, there are many other wonderful options (with more to come as I continue to add new options!).  One element of the Stokke Sleepi that is not perfect for organization is that the design doesn’t allow for easy storage below it.  There is plenty of room to store out of season clothing, or extra diapers, it’s just really hard to get to, and every time I look at it I think…”Grrr that’s a waste of perfectly good space!”  So if you really have a tiny room, consider a crib that would allow you some under bed storage.

2. A dresser.  You will want somewhere to store clothes, blankets, diapers, toys, more diapers, etc.   A small, waist high dresser is a great choice because the top of it can also be a changing table. If you have room, you can put the diapers next to the changing pad, but you can also store them out-of-sight in the top drawer.  Below is a great example of what this could look like (our drawer for Teapot’s diapers is organized but not pretty right now).

 

3.  The walls. This one may sound funny, but don’t forget to look up.  Walls are great storage opportunities – think about where shelves would work, or a few great hooks.  Peep’s room doesn’t have a lot of wall space due to the 6 windows and 2 doors, but there is a bookshelf that runs 10 inches from the ceiling along 2 walls.  Perfect place for books, and other decoration.

Look at the picture below – dream land of shelving!  I’d probably make it less about toy display and more practical, but you get the idea.  For ideas about hooks and hangers, Land of Nod has really made some great wall storage items which I wrote about here.

 

 

4. The closet. Some of you, like my sister, are laughing right now – closet??? Are you kidding?  We only have one closet in the whole apartment!!  Ok, so if you’re lucky enough to have a closet in the room (as opposed to using your walk-in closet AS the nursery) then utilize every last spec of space in it.  Move the bar down or up.  Put in shelves.  Take the door off for easy access.  You get the idea.  If you can’t visualize, here are a couple courtesy of my Pinterest boards.

 

 

5. A bookshelf. This is of course a no-brainer, but a small well placed bookshelf can host well, er, books, and anything else you can think of.  A few good boxes/baskets are always a great oranizational investment.

6. The floor. No really.  If you have a few extra empty feet, consider putting a basket or a bucket for shoes.

Organization for a small nursery can make or break the room way more than what color scheme or bedding you purchase.  Consider and explore all your options before doing anything to the room (nook).