OUTFITTING a nursery used to be a snap: pink for girls, blue for boys, yellow for babies whose parents were a bit more progressive. Put a crib here and a bassinet there, mount an animal mobile that plays “Farmer in the Dell,” and the work was done.
Today, there is a wider variety of well-designed products that are sophisticated and eco-friendly. Traditional pastels are giving way to other palettes, like black and white with bold accents.
When Christiane Lemieux shopped for a nursery for her son, William, now 11 months old, it was a mild case of the cobbler’s children having no shoes. She and her husband, Joshua Young, own Dwell Studio, a home furnishings company that will add a new line of children’s furniture, rugs and bedding in October. Preparing the new line kept her busy. “I’m still scrambling to catch up,” said Ms. Lemieux, who also has a 2 ½-year-old, Isabelle. “I’ve had to re-educate myself from one child to the next.”
With no time to lose, she headed out on a spree in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and found a world of color and ingenuity. At Olá Baby on Court Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, mothers, nannies and strollers were out in force by 10 a.m. “I’ve already got a crib, so I bought this one,” Ms. Lemieux said of a white model by Oeuf made partly of reclaimed wood and with nontoxic finish, that can be converted into a toddler bed by replacing its high bars with low-profile rails.
At Modern Tots in Dumbo, Brooklyn, Ms. Lemieux found a high chair that can tilt back to become a bassinet. She dismissed a velvet rocker (“For those who have a household staff,” she said). But she praised a changing table that looked like a dresser. Ms. Lemieux chose a three-section model with a blond wood base and plain white doors, simple and elegant enough to be used later as a sideboard after its tray top is removed.
John Derian Dry Goods in the East Village carries leather poufs (“Talk about convertible,” Ms. Lemieux said) that can act as seating or a child’s table; French costumes to hang as decorations until a future Halloween; and bold (and costly) ink drawings by Hugo Guinness. In the meatpacking district she found more poufs (in silver lamé) and a polar bear rocker at two branches of Yoya. “The whole animal thing is kind of done for adults,” she said, “but it’s still great for kids.”
The list of products needed to raise a child can seem endless, but Ms. Lemieux takes it in stride. “Parenting is scary; there’s no manual,” she said. “The right stuff makes you feel better, or at least sleep better at night.”
By STEPHEN TREFFINGER
Published: September 10, 2008
