A Small Cottage Nursery That's Big on Baby Girl Charm

Step into Tilly’s small, cottage-cozy nursery that includes two very special pieces from DaVinci!

I can’t believe it’s been almost nine months since I’ve shared a blog post – welcome back! So much has happened in those 10 months, the most exciting of which was the birth of our beautiful baby girl, Theophilia (who we adoringly call “Tilly”). Tilly’s now nine months old, full of spunk and the snuggliest, sweetest little peach there is. The girl absolutely loves to smile, crawls from one side of the house to the other in a flash and has the best laugh these ears have ever heard.

In case you aren’t caught up on the evolution of this space or have forgotten since I last shared about the plan, Tilly’s nursery was a unique design project from the start since it involved reworking what was once Emmet’s nursery. The goal was to transform it into a slightly more feminine space and once again make the tiny little room feel as cheerful and beautiful as possible, but still really functional. It’s a tall order, but a challenge I was excited to tackle since I now love nothing more than to make a cozy nursery space feel really magical. So many memories are made in these sweet rooms and after having Emmet, I realized just how nice it was to create a nursery for baby that we really enjoy spending time in, too.

Small pink rocking chair swivel glider for baby nurser

Davinci Beau crib and Charlie dresser in honey

Small nursery challenges & goals

Creating a space that’s full of personality, cottage-cozy as can be yet really practical for the many (often messy) needs of a baby and toddler was the goal here. It’s no secret that marrying those concepts can be tricky when you’re working with a small nursery space. Luckily, since I’d put those puzzle pieces together once before in this space, I felt fully prepared to take this one on! Here are some tips and tricks I swear by to make the most of those tiny nursery spaces like ours:

Small pink rocking chair swivel glider for nursery

Maximizing space in a small nursery

When working with a limited area, smart furniture choices are key. For this small cottage nursery, we opted for multifunctional pieces like a smaller dresser that could still fit a changing pad and diaper caddy on top and a side table with book storage. Other options that help save space are ottomans and cribs with integrated storage. Furniture pieces that can pull double duty are the best way to free up floor space and keep things organized in a small nursery.
Compact furniture is essential. We prioritized a space-saving rocker, a full-size crib with a more streamlined profile and like I mentioned, a more compact dresser that still included lots of storage space.
Utilizing vertical space is another tiny nursery game-changer. In Tilly’s room, accessible bookshelves on the wall and sacrificing a little bit of square footage to add a wall of storage cabinets helped keep the clutter at bay. Other options include installing wall hooks for towels, jackets and diaper bags and over-the-door storage to make use of every inch of free vertical space.

Pink and mustard yellow baby girl nursery decor

Cottage-cozy decor with personality

When designing a nursery, I always start with the essentials – the crib and the dresser. Making smart choices with these two substantial pieces can make it so much easier to outfit the rest of the space with ease. Here’s why, after much hunting, we chose the DaVinci “Beau” crib and “Charlie” dresser:

Tilly’s DaVinci “Beau” crib and “Charlie” dresser are Greenguard Gold Certified. That means they’ve been tested for over 10,000 chemicals and is certified as low-emitting, which contributes to cleaner indoor air. In fact, DaVinci has the largest selection to GREENGUARD Gold Certified nursery products!
DaVinci’s products are continuously tested by third party organizations to ensure they’re safe for parents and babies.
Tilly’s “Beau” crib features 3-in-1 convertibility, so it will grow with her and transform from a crib to a toddler bed to a day bed (toddler rail kit sold separately).
With how stylish and beautiful these pieces are, I was shocked by their affordable price point. This helped my budget go so much farther in this space!

Much like Emmet’s, Tilly’s small cottage nursery is a mix of high and low, old and new. Vintage pieces, original artwork from the same artist that painted Emmet’s beloved “Swamp Bunny”, cherished family treasures (like those sweet porcelain Cybis figurines that were fixtures in my grandma’s home when I was little), and some new pieces I absolutely adore. It’s such a happy space full of sweet little touches and I’ve absolutely loved watching Tilly thrive in here.