Living / 9 April, 2018 / Leo Bamford

How Leonora Built Her Dream Nursery, Third Time Lucky…

When I had my son eight years ago, I went all out on the nursery. I think I spent more time planning the dream nursery than I did the rest of the whole house! There’s something about making that perfect space for your first born. I remember agonising over how soon was too soon, but in the end the paint was barely dry when I went into hospital.

I remember sitting on the nursing chair feeling a great sense of pride and, at the same time, having an overwhelming fear about the month to come. What I did knew was that I had a beautiful room for my baby to feel safe in – so peaceful and zen – somewhere to feed him in peace and somewhere, well really, somewhere for me! It wasn’t until a week after that I realised the white fitted chair and sisal carpet wasn’t the best idea for a nursery!

The following year, I fell pregnant very quickly and had a beautiful daughter. I ended up having to buy yet another cot because my son was only one! This time, I moved him into our guest bedroom and was a bit more sensible with the pieces I chose. I don’t know why but choosing furniture for an 18 month old boy is almost harder than that of a tiny baby. I literally looked at every cot in London and in the end went with an American brand!

I painted the knobs on my son’s old chest of draws a dusty pink, tied the cot curtains with a pink grosgrain ribbon and bought a beautiful soft blanket to go with the pink theme and that was that! Nursery transformation complete!

Fast forward six years and I was expecting again. This time my daughter wouldn’t let me have her cot! It’s being used as a daybed under her window and is home to dozens of teddies. “Where will they sleep?” she asked with her big blue eyes. I gave in and the teddies stayed snug!

I set out on a mission to find the perfect nursery furniture and, although there were so many on the market and the internet was awash with cots and dressers, rockers and baskets, I couldn’t find what I was looking for. The main difference from having my last was Pinterest. I spent hours looking at ‘the perfect dream nursery’ and pinned literally thousands of beautiful nursery inspirations.

I knew that I wanted to plan the room around the perfect cot with curtains hanging down. I dreamt of having a giant comfy chair for the whole family to snuggle on for stories and I had seen a gorgeous border on Turner Pocock’s Instagram.

As I was about to pull my hair out over the cot, I got a press release on my desk from TeddyOne. It was literally perfect! The perfect nursery furniture I’ve ever seen! I could have closed my eyes and picked one – it was that easy.

I went for the Hurlingham with its high back and gorgeous grey colour. It looked perfect with the oatmeal bed hangings and pale blue spot. They weren’t on sale yet but the lovely Niall, who was about to launch the brand, let me have a sample with the matching changer, which I now use as a chest of draws. The nursery was complete and it looked an absolute dream. Totally Pinterest-worthy!

When the cot arrived a few weeks before my son, I found my other two fast asleep in it the next day, literally melting my heart. Now we all sit huddled together on the giant love seat and I can easily say, it’s our favourite room of the house!

To shop the complete Hurlingham collection, click here. Don’t forget to check out TeddyOne’s beautiful array of furniture, nursing chairs and storage here.

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