In this post, I\u2019m sharing how we turned the third bedroom in our home (aka the Box Room) \u00a0into a modern small nursery for our youngest. As well as some tips and tricks on how to make the most of a tiny space.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n So\u2026 just under 2 years and the man cave<\/a> is no more.\u00a0It\u2019s the\u00a0end of an era, albeit a rather short one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And before you echo the sentiments of my younger brother, who seemed to imply that I had wronged my husband in some way (\u2018Poor Vince\u2019 were the exact words he used when I told him about our plans for the nursery), this was actually HIS idea.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s right.<\/p>\n It was my \u00a0husband who had suggested we do this, although I could see\u00a0<\/span>the moment the words left his mouth , he wanted to backtrack. LOL (yes I\u2019m laughing to myself as I write this) .<\/p>\n Too late of course. \u00a0The idea had already taken full form in my mind and it was full steam ahead. His<\/em> mistake for not knowing me better after 12+ years of marriage.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cue late night mood boarding in my head, which involved lots of \u00a0very intentional scrolling (makes a change) on Pinterest and Instagram<\/a> (you must follow me on there if you arent already) \u00a0. \u00a0I mean who needs sleep, when there\u2019s a room that needs to be decorated right?<\/p>\n Oh and wanna know the cherry on the top? \u00a0Little Greene Paint company had reached out around this time asking if I was going to be doing any updates and since the seed had already been planted, we decided to collaborate on making my idea of a small nursery makeover come to life<\/p>\n (note: collaborate on Instagram that is, this blog post has not been sponsored by them but the paint was PR PRODUCT)<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This post may contain affiliate links. Please see disclosure page<\/span><\/em>\u00a0here.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2013 My little one (you can read more about our IVF story here<\/a><\/strong>) has turned 1. Yeah, no matter how cliche it sounds, time really does fly when they\u2019re young!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2013 \u00a0He is not sleeping through the night yet (which is fine, he\u2019s still young). However it has dawned on me that having his own space to sleep could help with his overall sleeping. He\u2019s a really light sleeper and a lot of the time I was waking him up with my snoring, or when I\u2019d try to quietly sneak back into the bedroom after unwinding downstairs (here\u2019s the space we created for him in our bedroom<\/a>)<\/strong> ! The plan had been to put him with his older brother (who recently got a room makeover of his own<\/a>)<\/strong> \u00a0\u2013 but he\u2019s also a light sleeper, so it didn\u2019t seem fair to do that while little one\u2019s sleep was still a little unpredictable.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2013 He\u2019s slowly weaning off breastfeeding, especially at night . Having him close by when he fed often was just easier, but with fewer night feeds now, it didn\u2019t seem too taxing to walk over to his room, which is just down the landing.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I kinda feel like I\u2019ve over explained myself here, but I love a backstory.\u00a0Nothing ever makes sense without a good meaty backstory to sink your teeth into right? And if there isn\u2019t one, I\u2019m totally that<\/em>\u00a0 person who will pause a movie just to grab my phone and Google. You know, \u00a0dig a little deeper. \u00a0<\/p>\n Please tell me I\u2019m not the only one who does this?<\/em><\/p>\n Full disclosure, this project took us about 4 weeks to complete \u2013 which is quite quick by our standards but as this involved a working commitment via Instagram I was on a tight deadline.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As you can see the biggest change with this space was the wall colour. We went from all black and a wallpapered ceiling to a soft white and warm yellow \u2013 see below pictures.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Now, I do love a moody tone but I just don\u2019t think it works for a small nursery. \u00a0Also, any excuse to slap on a bit of yellow (if you\u2019re new here and didn\u2019t know, yellow is my colour! Yellow IS<\/strong> Grillo Designs.) \u00a0The colours we used were: Yellow Pink, and Linen Wash from Little Greene Paint Company.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I had a tonne of fun using a laser level and tape to get a half painted wall \u2013 this is the level I have.<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 The half painted wall effect (which I also did in my bedroom<\/a>) is a painting \u00a0technique that will never get old. Much like rattan.. It\u2019s a classic!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The wallpaper on the ceiling \u00a0<\/span>also had to go because I couldn\u2019t match\u00a0 <\/span>it up to the design for the nursery (sorry Kieth Haring)<\/strong><\/a>. \u00a0Removing the wallpaper was hellish by the way.<\/p>\n Hellish<\/em>.<\/p>\n As we pulled it off, it peeled off the paint and you could see the plaster coming through . We ended up having to scrape all the paint off which took about two days. I say we, but it was really\u00a0m<\/span>y husband who did a majority of that.\u00a0<\/span>I hyped him up from the sidelines for moral support. I\u2019m really good at that by the way.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Side note: I\u2019ll never paper\u00a0<\/span>a wall again in traditional\u00a0<\/span>wallpaper again. It\u2019s only ever going to be renter friendly from here on out (check out my favs here) \u00a0<\/a><\/strong>or browse here<\/strong><\/a> if you\u2019re not sure where to buy removable wallpaper from.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n After the painting, it was time to panel.<\/p>\n The style of panelling I chose was a super, simple vertical one inspired by this @mycityapartment<\/strong> <\/a>on Instagram<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Since having my youngest son,\u00a0<\/span>I\u2019ve\u00a0<\/span>really become a soft core kind of\u00a0 <\/span>DIY-er , the less fuss the better! Plus my home didn\u2019t\u00a0<\/span>feel like it would suit the usual \u00a0traditional panelling as it\u2019s a \u201cmodern\u201d 60s boxy style house. I felt the style of vertical panelling I chose would add a modern touch and also provide a false sense of height, to the fairly low ceilings we have. I think it worked really well and added another element of detail\/interest.<\/p>\n To sum it up : I \u00a0used 18 x 28mm wood (bought from here)<\/strong><\/a> , cut to size. I then nailed the wood to the wall with 40 x 16mm nails (liquids glue would have been too permanent, potentially caused damage and as you know I rent, it is much easier to fill in nail holes than repair plaster) . I used a level to ensure panelling was nailed in straight .<\/p>\n You can cover nail holes with wood filler if you want , but I decided to skip this step as I don\u2019t feel the nails were noticeable through the paint. I also skipped the caulking \u00a0step to the sides of the panel because again, I didn\u2019t want anything too permanent.<\/p>\n At least this way it would be easy to remove and patch up with a little polyfilla\u00a0whilst providing a simple,\u00a0effective detail.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Or bulk head as it\u2019s sometimes\u00a0 <\/span>called .<\/p>\n I decided to turn this space into a little reading nook. Thankfully it\u2019s already had a box built around it , so I didn\u2019t have to do any physical building. I just added a foam cushion (from dunelm<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 had no idea they sold them) and some reading shelves.<\/strong> Not actually\u00a0 <\/span>sure why I chose clear shelves<\/strong><\/a> \u00a0\u2026 but I actually ended up really liking them.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This corner feels a little unfinished though so\u00a0 <\/span>I do plan\u00a0 <\/span>to build up on it in the future. Maybe I\u2019ll add some more shelving as he\u2019s got a lot of books. Most of them passed down from his elder brother. The Cool Kids Poster is from here\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The room is a literal box. I\u2019m not kidding . The\u00a0<\/span>furniture really had to be kept to a minimum if we were going to have space to even breathe in here.<\/p>\n So there\u2019s a cot, a really compact IKEA one<\/strong><\/a>, a dresser (this one I upcycled a few years ago)<\/strong><\/a> with a hanging DIY rail made from driftwood\u00a0 <\/span>just above it (I\u2019ll share a tutorial for that soon) and a basket\u00a0 <\/span>(second hand from eBay) for toys.<\/p>\n My biggest tip<\/strong> for decorating a bedroom with very limited floor space, is to forgo large boxy furnitures likes wardrobes, and consider something like a rail or open storage to allow better light flow.<\/p>\n Also, use the ceilings and walls \u00a0to hang as much as you can. Another tip would be to hang your curtain rail as high as possible to give the ill lions of taller ceilings. I bought this wooden \u00a0curtain rail from Dunelm,<\/a> and added gorgeous black out curtains.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s it. I don\u2019t see myself adding anything more because I feel the room will start to feel really cramped.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I think the statement piece in this room is definitely the\u00a0<\/span>mobile which is from Pavilion Broadway<\/a>.<\/strong> And I think the Hello Sunshine canvas<\/strong><\/a> art, above his cot looks great here. The mini peg toys used to be my eldest\u2019s \u2013 I got\u00a0<\/span>them handmade for him when he was 3 years old.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I think that\u2019s everything but as always if you have any questions about this small nursery makeover, \u00a0 let me know in the comments below!!<\/strong><\/p>\n Photographs taken by : Kasia Fiszer photography\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n TIPS FOR CREATING A NURSERY IN YOUR BEDROOM<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n TRAVEL THEMED BOYS ROOM MAKEOVER<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/grillo-designs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/SMALL-NURSERY-REVEAL.png\")
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![\"A](\"https:\/\/grillo-designs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/SmallNurseryReveal_02.jpg\")
<\/b><\/h2>\nWHY WE DECIDED TO CONVERT THE BOX ROOM (PREVIOUSLY MAN CAVE ) INTO A SMALL NURSERY:\u00a0<\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/grillo-designs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/SmallNurseryReveal_05.jpg\")
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![\"the](\"https:\/\/grillo-designs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/SmallNurseryReveal_12.jpg\")
<\/h2>\nTHE NURSERY WALL COLOURS\u00a0<\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/grillo-designs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/SmallNurseryReveal_13.jpg\")
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<\/em><\/p>\n![\"the](\"https:\/\/grillo-designs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/SmallNurseryRevealBefore6-e1662998135463.jpg\")
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![\"the](\"https:\/\/grillo-designs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/SmallNurseryRevealBefore2.jpg\")
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![\"a](\"https:\/\/grillo-designs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/SmallNurseryRevealBefore3.jpg\")
<\/h2>\nTHE PANELLING IN THE NURSERY:<\/h2>\n
![\"small](\"https:\/\/grillo-designs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/SmallNurseryReveal_01-1024x683.jpg\")
![\"the](\"https:\/\/grillo-designs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/SmallNurseryReveal_03.jpg\")
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THE STAIR BOX \u2013 SMALL READING NOOK<\/h2>\n
![\"Black](\"https:\/\/grillo-designs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/SmallNurseryRevealBefore7.jpg\")
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![\"A](\"https:\/\/grillo-designs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/SmallNurseryReveal_04.jpg\")
<\/h2>\nFURNITURE PLACEMENT IN THIS SMALL NURSERY:<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n![\"How](\"https:\/\/grillo-designs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/SMALL-NURSERY-REVEAL-PINTEREST--602x1024.png\")
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<\/a><\/p>\n![\"DIY](\"https:\/\/grillo-designs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/DIY-easy-childrens-FABRIC-BOOK-SLING-grillo-designs-www.grillo-designs.com-1-16-300x450.jpg\")
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