We are getting settled in at home as a family of four, and Cooper is such a wonderful new addition! It’s always amazing to me how much stuff comes along with such a tiny little person. Fortunately this time around there wasn’t much new that we needed to purchase, but there was still the question of where to put it all.
When we were preparing for the arrival of baby number one a year and half ago, we spent most of our time decorating the nursery and getting it organized with all the baby essentials. Beckett’s nursery provided plenty of storage for everything we needed – diapers in the top drawer of the changing table, blankets in the next drawer down, tiny clothes, hats and sock organized neatly in the closet. But while all of the baby gear had a nice and organized home in the nursery, it was more than six months before Beckett moved in to the nursery. For the first months of his life, Beckett slept in a cradle in our bedroom, which is a floor above all of the other bedrooms. It was nice having Beckett just a few feet away for middle of the night feedings, rather than having to go up and down the stairs to and from the nursery all night long. However, since all of Beckett’s stuff was in the nursery, we still found ourselves going up and down the stairs all too frequently.
This time around, we needed to find a new solution. Cooper will be sleeping in the cradle in our room for 6 months or so, and Beckett will continue to stay in the nursery throughout that time. Since the nursery closet is already full of Beckett’s clothes, and to minimize the need to run up and down the stairs to get Cooper changed and dressed, we wanted to make space in the master bedroom for all of Cooper’s stuff. The answer was to convert our under-utilized armoire into “baby central.”
When we lived in our loft downtown, the armoire housed the television in our bedroom and provided much needed storage to supplement our small-ish closet. But since moving into our current house, the armoire, which sits in the corner of our bedroom, has just been holding an assortment of miscellaneous items – all of which could be better stored elsewhere.
Two small baskets next to the changing pad hold diapers, wipes and other diaper changing essentials, such as Desitin.
The clothing rod across the top of the armoire is an obvious place for hanging all of Cooper’s itty bitty clothes.
The two drawers work perfectly for holding all of Cooper’s swaddlers and sleep sacks (one drawer for cotton, the other for fleece).
In order to make good use of the remaining open shelving, I picked up two packs of Skubb storage bins from Ikea. The smaller bins contain all of the tiny things, like socks and hats. And the larger bins hold blankets, extra cradle sheets, and the like.
jenny gelwick says
This is so smart! I wish I had thought to do something like this before we brought our baby home. We have a supremely prepared/organized nursury, but no changing station or place to put baby stuff in the bedroom. We really don't use the nursury much, for all the time we spent prepping it. They should tell you to create a bedroom set up in the baby books. I'm taking inspiration from this to set something up in there, if I can find the time. It wakes me up in the night to walk down the hall to change him, but it's hard on the back (and getting too messy now) to change him on my bed. Good ideas, Angela!
City Chic Chica says
Hello! I was wondering where you got your armoire? We live near downtown Toronto and we are looking for an armoire for a similar purpose for the first addition to our family! Great idea by the way! 🙂
Angela, blue i style says
I City Chic Chica! We bought our armoire at Z Gallerie, but it was about 7 or 8 years ago, so I'm not sure if they have anything like it now. Congrats on your growing family!
RobinTMH says
Thank you so much for the congrats and the info on the armoire! I guess I will just shop around for something similar. We don't have Z Gallerie in Toronto but I LOVE that store when I am visiting friends in the states!
Nada Nada Limonada says
I had the same idea for our third baby's clothes and essentials. Its great to know it worked out so well for you! Everything looks so neat and organzied. Hope it works out as well for my baby 🙂
Angela, blue i style says
Thanks Nada Nada! It has been working great for us and hope it works well for you, too. Congrats on the upcoming arrival of baby number 3 and best of luck with everything!
kathy says
This is not ingenious but it is BEAUTIFUL also. Love it!
Angela, blue i style says
Thanks, Kathy!
Bridgette Salazar says
What are the dimensions of this??
Angela, blue i style says
Sorry for my delayed response! I measured and the armoire is 72" tall, 45" wide, and 24" deep. The upper interior (the open part above the shelves and drawers) is 37" high, 41'' wide, and 21.5'' deep. Please let me know if there are other dimensions you were wondering about.
Shannon Edwards says
Hello,
I love all of your ideas. I am curious where you got the woven storage basket that is holding your diapers?
I would like to find similar to organize my 8 month old nursery.
Thank You
Angela, blue i style says
I've had those bins for quite a while – they've been used throughout our house for various purposes – so I can't quite remember where I found them. I can, however, suggest where you might look. I typically pick up storage bins and baskets (especially non-plastic ones) when I'm at Target, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and Bed Bath and Beyond. It seems that most of these stores now sell a pretty wide variety of storage baskets and they are always getting something new in stock. Hope that helps!