If you have a small house or apartment and are expecting a baby, your only option might be to incorporate the nursery into your bedroom. With some space-saving and room-dividing tricks, however, the two spaces can coexist happily--and you won't have to run down the hall every time your baby cries at night. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Planning the Space
1. Look at your bedroom. Where could you fit in a crib and dresser or bookshelf? Jot down ideas.
2. Make a floor plan of your room. You can do this on paper or you can use software like Google SketchUp. Measure your room and the pieces of furniture you're going to put in it. If you're making a paper floor plan, cut out your furniture pieces from another piece of paper; that way, you can move them around freely within the floor plan to see where they fit best.
3. Take light fixtures, electrical sockets and phone jacks into consideration when deciding arrange the bedroom. Don't cover or limit access to plugs you need to use regularly. If you must cover them with furniture, invest in extension cords to make them accessible.
4. Remove extraneous furniture from your bedroom if you need more space. Decide what you're using least and put it somewhere else.
5. Demo your design: enlist friends (or splurge on a moving company) to help you move your furniture into its new arrangement. Walk around the room, making sure it's easy to get to and from the crib and baby dresser. See how far the crib is from your bed, and if that distance is too near, too far or just right. If you're displeased with your arrangement, alter your floor plan and try again.
Dividing the Room
6. Divide the space with Japanese paper shoji screens to create the feeling of two small rooms rather than one large master bedroom. These folding, wood-framed screens let light through, so they won't darken the room. Make sure you leave space to enter and leave the room behind the screens.
7. Hang a floor-to-ceiling curtain to divide the space. Install a tension rod from wall to wall or hang aircraft cable and thread a curtain onto it.
8. Repurpose your walk-in closet as a nursery. The space may be small, but if you have other areas where your baby can play on the floor, you don't need much square footage in your actual nursery; you just need room for the crib and storage.
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