TheLittlestChicken's Profile

Have you had a handyman come in to see if there's a way to hang them? Or did you mean stylistic weight rather than poundage? Our handyman can hang anything anywhere with his collection of bits and bobs.

Otherwise, another vote for horizontal with stuff on top. Candles and whatnot?

Nicely done!

Our guy is only 2, but for us we make big toys out of cardboard, like a playhouse or a fire station/parking garage, and then recycle them when we're bored with them. Also, just having lots of storage items (Tub Trugs, IKEA cardboard storage boxes, IKEA fabric boxes that are meant to go in Hemnes bureau drawers but zip shut) handy means we can rethink our arrangements every few months as our guy gets interested in different toys, we have more or less hand-me-downs waiting to be grown into, etc.

How about those Kartell Componibili Round Towers? Very modern to go with your sink. Not a built-in but at least you can customize the height via the number of pieces...

Wow, I haven't been on AT in a long time, but the superior tone of some of the commenters is not very welcoming! No crib, no changing table, no diaper pail? Congratulations! We all need to make the best choices for our families, no one needs to have a contest.

Anyway, here's what worked for us:
--Ikea Hemnes dresses with a changing pad on top--lots of storage and nice and tall
--twin bed in addition to a crib--gave me a place to nurse and co-sleep as desired without disturbing Dada
--Serena & Lily glider and ottoman--a big splurge, but we have spent endless hours nursing, reading, rocking in utter comfort, and just as much at 2.25 years as at birth
--I couldn't find blackout curtains but we kind of made our own out of brown cotton curtains...I love that Pottery Barn has them now.
--A very loud Blueair HEPA filter--clean air and white noise...our house is old and creaky, we definitely need white noise.
--A dimmer switch on the overhead light and a little lamp next to the glider.
--A side table for the glider (which we had to ditch when our guy started crawling) was a great place for my food and phone when I nursed.
--Hooks on the wall near the changing table (but out of reach for little hands) for towels, wet clothes, etc.

What we didn't have that I wish we did:
--A really soft rug for playing on the ground in the first year. Our rug is very thin and not much improvement over the hardwood floor, so we couldn't lay him down and play there. That was frustrating.

And in the not essential but very nice category:
--A few nice fleecy "sherpa" covers for the changing pad
--Organic cotton crib mattress with wool waterproof covers--we only had a few leaks ever with disposable diapers, but I found the wool waterproof covers to be 100% effective and make sooo much more sense than putting plastic over the organic mattress...then your baby is breathing plastic fumes.
--Tub Trugs in all colors and sizes as versatile toy and book storage
--A kid-sized chair (we have that Pottery Barn form one)...our guy really sits and looks at books and toys there
--A small laundry basket (doubles as a toy)
--A ton of those cardboard IKEA clothing storage boxes...I always have one in the closet to throw outgrown clothes into...when it gets full I label it and put it in the garage for baby #2.

I WANT I WANT I WANT

The Demco and the Smith System are both pretty great...

I have a very long time to think over the colors while I save my pennies...

What a feat! Beautiful execution.

I would have kept it to 1-2 walls, though--the barn feels a little preschool rather than residential.

Having visited Mabel's house myself--and am delighted to find it on AT, just by accident--I can attest that it's as cute, cozy, and smart as it looks. Ditto on the house tour...do it now before you have to babyproof it all into storage!

Yay B&B&M!!!

I realize I speak from a position of privilege, as a (mostly) stay-home mom who works outside the home 12 hrs/wk and has a PT nanny for my toddler, but I really believe a child needs undivided attention from a caregiver. Just caring for a child means you're already taking time for cooking, cleaning, caring for siblings, etc. When you're trying to work at the same time, how much time and energy do you have left for them? Is it fair to be shushed and shooed away so often? And how productive is your work really going to be? Obviously kids become more independent as they get older, and there are financial realities to be faced, but I would work VERY hard to avoid this situation....

I work in a big tech company with beautiful offices and lots of perks, but my favorites are the jars of Hershey's miniatures and the free cartons of milk--the perfect afternoon snack!