A Walk-In Closet Became a Moody, Dramatic Nursery — and the “Favorite Room in the House”
Kim Cox’s three kids are the fourth generation to live in their house, and the newest sibling is seriously benefiting from a decision her husband’s grandparents made decades ago. In the 1990s, those grandparents added an extension off of their primary bedroom to create a sort of glam room for “Gran” — a “wardrobe room” where she could also apply her makeup. However, the room had since become a catchall space, and so when Kim had her third child, she thought it was time for it to serve another purpose.
“Our house has three bedrooms, and we have two older kids who each have their own rooms and aren’t quite ready to share rooms yet based on nap schedules,” Kim explains. “I knew I wanted baby number three to have a quiet place tucked away for naps and bedtime that would allow the older kids to keep their own rooms and not worry about waking each other up if the baby made noises or vice versa.”
The closet had all the features of a typical bedroom (like outlets and heating/air conditioning) except for windows. But Kim actually thought that was a bonus, because it meant the room could stay extra dark while the baby slept. And the room’s proximity to the primary bedroom meant Kim wouldn’t have to go far or wake the other kids during nighttime feeds.
Knowing that the baby would one day outgrow the closet-turned-nursery and it would likely become a closet or quiet reading space, “I didn’t want to choose any permanent design elements that leaned ‘childlike’ or too ‘cute,’” Kim says. “My goal was to make this a multipurpose space that could be used for baby now and for myself later.”
Kim began the transformation process by gathering ideas on Pinterest and Instagram. Once she narrowed down her inspiration, she created a visual mock-up to see how her favorite finds worked together. She’s always on the hunt for “a foundational piece” that anchors the room, she explains. In this case, it was belarteSTUDIO’s Tapestry Landscape Teal wallpaper.
“I love nature, so I chose a dark, moody woodland-inspired wallpaper that is really popular for nurseries right now,” Kim says. “The wallpaper was the showstopper that embodied the dramatic change I was looking for. My goal was to open the closet door and be in awe of how completely different the room looked compared to before.”
For the nursery’s paint, Kim had to find colors that complemented both the wallpaper and the color scheme of the primary bathroom (which is connected to the space). At first, Kim tested out greens and blues but was unimpressed; she eventually landed on painting the trim in Behr’s Aubergine. (Speaking of the trim, one of Kim’s proudest DIY projects was installing the molding herself after watching only two YouTube videos.)
To make up for the lack of windows in the space, Kim left the built-in hutch — now a changing table for her son — painted cream. The paint’s brightness illuminates the room, and the ample storage is helpful in the small space. Another small-space hack: Kim still needed a spot to put her clothes, so she cleverly hung a tension-rod curtain rod and velvet curtains at ceiling height to accentuate the room’s height and hide her items.
Kim reused a black Jenny Lind crib she had purchased when one of her older kids was a baby. And a Chris Loves Julia rug from Rugs Direct makes the closet feel snug but not cramped.
The gorgeous room, which took Kim three months to complete, is now an oasis for all of the kids — the older ones even “pretend they are ‘playing in the woods’” in the room.
“What’s not to love?” Kim says of the space. “It is one of my favorite rooms in the house. It’s so cozy and intentional.”