Teensy Nursery

The family with this boys room and this girls room has an unexpected guest coming their way: baby number three, due in September!  Eventually two of the kids will share the map room, but for now, they're turning a small office in to the nursery.

The room is maybe 6x9 feet, teeny indeed, with a weird niche that is too small for a crib.  Taking inspiration from all the recent crib-in-the-closet design, we're talking about building a custom platform and storage right in to the niche, in lieu of a traditional crib.

Here's some inspiration.

via apartment therapy

Love the drawers below and shelf above; we would just add a rail of some kind to the front for now, leaving a little reading nook later

One Little Minute Blog

There's a simple example of a rail.  And space for baskets below may be easier than drawers.  Stripes are cute, too, but I love the solid color of this next one.

via Daddy Types

If you really wanted to get creative, you could create cutouts for crawl spaces (for a toddler)

Or build a playhouse underneath

Or keep it simple, and build a curved rail instead of a slatted one.

via Oh Happy Day

What do you think: would you put the baby in the closet?

I think this is such a smart solution to open up a small room!

What's in a sofa?

Did you see this piece, analyzing the couch, from the Home and Garden section of the NYTimes?

The author asks the question: what is the difference (really) between a $1000 mass market sofa and a $13,000 designer breed?

The answer: quality.

The author concludes that under $1000, you are going low end and you will likely pay for it.  What I find interesting is the conclusion that there's not much difference in the mid-range, which, let's face it, is where most of us live.

Here's my two cents: when it comes to high-use upholstery, buy the best you can afford.  Have you ever read the reviews for an Urban Outfitters couch?  Go do it.  Complaints about everything from marked discomfort to quickly disintegrating product.  While I can't imagine buying a couch that costs more than my car, I have purchased couches twice in my life (and I am 38!) and both times I saved my pennies for a good one.  The first, (seen here at the end of its days) was from the ABC Carpet and Home outlet, so while I paid about $1000, the value was higher, and I certainly got my money's worth with 10+ years of hard use.

The second is the Bantam from DWR, the entry level price point for that often out-of-reach retailer. We have had it for 3.5 years and I imagine we will have it for many more.

Oh!  And our loveseat is from Lee, in a Kravet fabric, and I plan to have it forever.  The classic lines and small shape mean I can reupholster it and use it in various rooms and in any house, forever and ever, amen.

I often think about how weird it is that I am reluctant to buy "real" furniture--all my case goods are vintage or ikea, I made most of our headboards, curtains, and soft goods--but when it comes to upholstery, I firmly believe you just have to go with the real deal.

If you read the comments in the Time article, you will see that opinion on this point varies widely.  Where do you stand?

Did you know about this?

I'm going to do something a little unprecedented here and skip the back story.  That's right, I'm just going to tell you about this thing I discovered that is pretty awesome without any of the details that led up to the discovery.

Kincaid has a retail customizeable furniture line.  That's right: custom.  Retail.

Did you know this?

The frame is the frame (this isn't Hickory Chair, people), but then you choose your arm, your back cushions, type of seat, type of foot, and fabric.  Kind of great.  (There are actually a few more options if you go to a furniture dealer than what you see online).

And the pricing is good.  I was looking at a sectional--a one arm, three cushion sofa and a chaise--in a mid grade fabric and it came to about $2800.  About what you'd expect at Room and Board or Crate and Barrel.  Except I got to choose my arm and my leg and my seat back.

On the fabric selections, I saw them in person and there are lots of good basic choices (and really, in most cases you want good and basic for your sofa).  On the website I had some fun playing around with some not-so-basic choices.  You get to choose body fabric and welting and the fabric and welting for two sets of pillows.  Endless combinations.  Check it.

Coral geometric print with peacock blue piping:

Blue-green leopard print with teal piping, plus pillows in marigold matelasse and a citron check:

Crazy sunny stripes plus two patterned fabrics in complimentary green:

Black with white windowpane check and deep blue pillows

That last one is my fave: lilac and yellow ikat on the couch with a lilac check on the inner pillows and a bright sunshiney yellow on the outsides.

So.  Just sayin', if you're in the market for custom but not working with a designer (or can't afford the higher-end lines that offer custom options), check out Kincaid's Custom Select.

P.S.  While I think my blog is still way too small for me to have to use disclaimers, for the record the fine folks at Kincaid have no clue I checked out their upholstery, did not sponsor this post, and will probably only care a tine smidgen that I wrote it, if they happen to catch it through google alerts or somesuch.