• Contact
  • Disclosures
  • Free Printables

A Nod to Navy

Home Decor & DIY Blog

  • Home Decor
  • DIY
  • Organization
  • Home Tour
  • Shop Our House

Transitioning From A Nursery To A Toddler Room

10/11/19 | Home Decor, Home Tours

Transitioning from a nursery to a toddler room doesn’t have to be hard. In fact most of the time it’s just repurposing the furniture and items you already have!

ikea kallax, wood rainbow stacker, colorful persian rug, natural woven blinds

When we moved into our current home, our daughter was two.  As we approach the milestone of having a three year old, it seemed like a good time to do an update on her nursery turned toddler room and show you all of the ways we’ve repurposed items from the nursery at our old house and a couple of new items we’ve added along the way!

While her bedroom in our current home is quite a bit bigger than our last house, I think it’s always a struggle for space when it comes to kids and stuff. Can I get an amen? We’ve tried to find creative, attractive solutions to storing toddler toys and other miscellaneous items while still making them easily accessible for her.

puffin classic book set, grimm wooden nesting bowls

Transitioning From A Nursery To A Toddler Room

Nurseries are so cute. Do you know what I mean? You get to decorate the room however you want, the baby doesn’t move anything (or move themselves, ha!) And it’s all about the fun little details rather than trying to figure out where to fit what seems to turn into a never ending pile of Fisher Price toys.

A toddler room is truly where the rubber meets the road when it comes to decorating something to be both functional and pretty to look at. After all, if something’s not working for a toddler, you’re going to find out real quick.

pottery barn kids dahlia flush mount, lowes woven wood blinds, ikea kallax changing table hack, puffin classic book set

Repurposing Nursery Furniture

We repurposed every piece of furniture from the nursery in our last house except for the crib. Our last nursery was so small we actually had to use a mini crib, which, by the way, is a great option if you live in a small home or apartment. When we moved into this home, we upgraded to a full size crib that converts into a toddler bed. Fingers crossed, our goal is to hopefully go another year before having to convert it to the toddler bed.

We still use our rocker for bedtime stories every night, and our Ikea Kallax turned changing table is still going strong. Once we were done with diapers, we just removed the changing pad, diaper wipe warmer, etc. and now use the top as more of a traditional dresser for a diffuser, some books, and toys. You can read more about  how we converted the Kallax in this post.

serena and lily lidded baskets, pottery barn stuffed cat, target stuffed bunny

ikea kallax hack, navy pom pom curtains, woven wood blinds

taget stuffed swan wall bust, crate and barrel kids acrylic book cart, serena and lily lidded baskets

Adding New Storage Options

Finding good storage solutions that work and look good has by far been the the hardest thing to incorporate. I’ve found lidded baskets to be a total game changer. They hold a lot of stuff, are easy to move around the house as needs change, and look great all while doing it.

One of the things I didn’t realize until having children was how out of control the book situation can get. In a good way. Initially I had books stored in baskets all around the house, but as the collection grew, I realized it was getting harder and harder to find books when they’re piled twelve deep, especially when you’re two or three years old.

So in an effort to find something small, movable, and toddler friendly I went in search of a good bookshelf.  After a lot of research, I came across this acrylic book cart .  While it was a bit on the higher side price wise, once I saw how practical it was and how perfect it was for fitting in a smaller size room, I was sold. I’m happy to report it’s made all the difference when it comes to story time and encouraging independent reading.

target pillow fort stuffed swan wall bust

Swan Wall Decor

west elm niels glider, children wall bookshelf

 

Decorating With Everyday Items

One of the things I love most about making a home (aka decorating it, organizing it, arranging it, etc.) is figuring out how to turn everyday items into something beautiful to look at. It’s almost like a big puzzle. If you can figure out how to turn something useful and functional into something that also doubles as decor, you’ve hit gold.

For a kids room I love to use books this way. Some favorite picture books displayed on the wall facing out becomes instant art. A couple of corduroy dresses, a tulle skirt, and a little purse displayed on wall hooks are both easily accessible for little hands and a fun reminder to enjoy this short, sweet period of time growing up.

ikea spice rack bookshelf hack, childrens book wall display

Gaston // A Little Princess // Bon Appetite // You Belong Here // Madeline

target hearth and hand wood wall hook with pink pegs

grimm rainbow stacker, puffin classics book set, grimm wooden nesting bowl set

target swan wall head, serena and lily lidded baskets, crate and kids acrylic book cart

crate and kids acrylic book cart

Acrylic Book Cart 

How To Keep It Colorful But Not Crazy

Lastly, I wanted to make sure the room felt colorful and playful, but given the amount of time we spend in here nothing that would make me crazy. Kids toys and belongings are by nature pretty colorful, so I tried to keep that in mind when it came to pairing it with the decor.

A colorful rug is really the only major color element I added, while keeping the furniture pretty neutral and  basic. The acrylic book cart adds a ton of color through the books but still feels light and visually simple. The art is pretty neutral with some pops of pink to help tie things together.

farmhouse word art, westwood whitewash crib, serena and lily lidded baskets

Crib // Similar Curtains // Similar Art

puffin classics book set, grimm wood nesting bowls

Book Set // Wooden Nesting Bowls

grimm wood rainbow stacker, holztiger wood sheep toy

Rainbow Stacker // Wood Sheep 

While no room is ever truly done, and there are a few thing I would still like to do to the space, this little room is a hard worker that we all appreciate having!

Shop The Post

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Want to save this post? Pin it here!

ikea kallax hack, puffin classic book set, grimm wood rainbow stacker

You might also like...

  • A Small Nursery TourA Small Nursery Tour
  • How to Organize a Small NurseryHow to Organize a Small Nursery
  • Making The Most Of A Small BedroomMaking The Most Of A Small Bedroom
  • The 20 Items We Use to Organize Our Whole HouseThe 20 Items We Use to Organize Our Whole House

Comments | 6 comments

Subscribe

Get the latest posts and inspiration straight to your inbox!

« Cozy Fall Touches For Your Home
Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate (With Real Pumpkin!) »

Comments

  1. Jessica Gaetke says

    at

    Where did you get the rug from?!

    Log in to Reply
    • Tiffany says

      at

      Hi Jessica! I bought it from Rugs USA a couple of years ago. It look like they still sell it here: https://www.rugsusa.com/rugsusa/rugs/rugs-usa-bordered-herati-medallion/Navy/200RZSW13A-P.html
      Hope that helps!

      Log in to Reply
  2. KCheng says

    at

    This room is beautiful. Where did you get the 4 woven baskets for the closet? Can you please share how to decorate/hack the closet with the drawers and baskets?

    Thank you.

    Log in to Reply
    • Tiffany says

      at

      Hi – The baskets are from West Elms, they are about 4 years old and I don’t think they sell those exact ones anymore 🙁 The dresser is the Ikea Kallax shelf, Ikea sells the drawers inserts separately if you want to add them to the kallax (here is the link to them: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/kallax-shelf-unit-white-80275887/). We added the feet to the kallax with ones bought at home depot (I spray painted them gold). It works great in small spaces! I hope that helps!

      Log in to Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Unique Book Storage Ideas For The Whole House | A Nod to Navy says:
    at

    […] One of the best purchases we made for our toddler’s room when we moved was a kid-sized bookshelf in the form of this acrylic book cart.  Her room is short on space for a traditional bookcase, and this pint sized book cart fits more books than you would think all while keeping them readily available for reading breaks throughout the day. You can see the full toddler room tour here. […]

    Log in to Reply
  2. Organizing Kids Toys When You Don't Have A Playroom | A Nod to Navy says:
    at

    […] The outer four cubbies are used for storage. This storage has ranged from baby gear, to toys storage to its current incarnation as bookshelves and toys storage. You can see it in our original nursery here and in a toddler room here. […]

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Oh, hi there!

Welcome! I'm Tiffany. I love renovating, decorating, and classic design with a touch of whimsy. I hope you'll join me as I share the little things that bring me joy! Read More…

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Search

Don’t Miss Out!

Join our family of subscribers and get all of our latest posts & inspiration straight to your inbox!

Get Free Printables!

Most Popular

Scandinavian Farmhouse Kitchen Reveal

Our Crate and Barrel Lounge II Sofa Review

Make A Vintage Armoire Out Of A Thrifted Cabinet

How To Install A Vertical Shiplap Backsplash

A Light & Bright Dining Room Tour

Get the latest

Get all our latest posts straight to your inbox!

Copyright

Would you like to feature us? YAY! We would love for you to! However, we only allow one photo with a direct link back to A Nod to Navy to be used when featuring our work.   Read More…..

Disclosures

A Nod to Navy is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.   Read More…..

Let’s Be Friends!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Categories

Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Tasteful theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2023 · Tasteful Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in