We all know how tiny some NYC apartments can be!  All of us New Yorkers probably have a story or two, either a great deal we found on a cramped one bedroom converted to two, or that 6 story walk up studio only liveable if you don’t plan on having guests, or that party at a friend’s where all 5 people were elbow to elbow, or that dinner gathering where everyone had to walk through the bedroom, then the guest bedroom, then the bathroom to get to the kitchen.  All this may sound unappealing to some, but there is nothing like looking out your apartment window and seeing the lights, hearing the sounds and feeling the energy of the city.  New York City is definitely one of the greatest cities in the world and there are many lengths one may go through to call a piece of the Big Apple home.  Even myself.

My first NYC apartment I climbed 6 flights of stairs to my little piece of the Apple.  The living room had a small 2 seater couch and if you crossed your legs you had to be careful not to hit the TV in front of you.  It was a duplex and my bedroom was upstairs with a sliding glass door that led to my private balcony, a fire escape.  Oh how I loved my “terrace”!  I would sit in a small chair and read a book, while listening to the energy of my fellow New Yorkers hustle and bustle below on East 86th Street.  It was my minuscule piece of the Big Apple.  And I loved it.

So now, its 9 years later, I’m married with two children living in a 2 bedroom condo.  It has been quite spacious for the 3 of us, however three months ago we had a sweet baby boy and wanted to give him his own space.  So we thought, ‘where in the world do we put him?’  Our NY design instincts set in!  We were both thinking it, but didn’t want to say it…we had to surrender our precious walk-in closet to our new precious.  We turned our closet into a nursery AND had a blast doing it.  Here’s what our tiny space, turned nursery, came out like…

Phase 1 – We painted the walls with Pottery Barn grey by Benjamin Moore.  Found a small dresser and Monte bassinet.

Next we decided on a nautical theme using light grey, light blue, white and a touch of navy.  I gravitate towards soft colored nurseries – feels sweet and innocent just like a baby.

Then we added this cute whale, a few boats and seashells to our tiny nautical space.

Always looking for more storage, these personalized Pottery Barn baskets worked perfect.

A nursery is never complete without precious newborn photos.  We chose black and white.

Added a glow-in-the-dark star chandelier and VOILA!  A small space with perfect bliss for baby!

Have you been creative in adding space in your home?  Would love to hear about it.