Is the perfect nursery a room your baby won’t outgrow?

When Monaco-based Dubliner Lauren McCreery, a communications consultant and former fashion stylist, had to deal with the confinement of Covid-19, the birth of a child and a difficult divorce, it triggered ideas that resulted in her setting up an online kid’s concept shop, lespetits.fr, which offers a mix of high-end furniture, toys and bedroom decor for children up to the age of six, as well as an interior design service.

“My daughter was born in 2018, and during Covid, I wanted to create the perfect nursery room for her in our apartment but found it difficult to find all the pieces I wanted in the one place,” she says. “So I decided to start my own with a careful selection of the best brands I could find.”

The site offers premium French, Scandinavian and Spanish brands, her point of difference being a Shop the Look section, which is like a magazine with styled bedrooms and playrooms from which customers can shop directly on the page. “It’s interior design for time-strapped parents and, as a side part of the business, I offer interior design for kid’s rooms so I can create the room, take photos and then have customers shop the page on the site,” she says.

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In her experience, the most popular current trend is for a unisex, neutral nursery. “Soft tones of beige, cream and taupe accented with natural fabrics in linen, wool and organic cotton muslin as well oak and rattan furniture create a soothing look. It’s nothing to do with the sex of the child: everyone in France finds out before the baby is born; people were shocked when I said I didn’t know the sex when I was pregnant with my little girl.”

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Money is not an object here – they want the perfect room and they want it now

Another growing trend is for wallpaper, “mostly on one wall of the room as a feature. Safari themes are favourites,” she says. As for furniture, “people want quality pieces that will last well beyond the baby years, like a changing table that can convert into a regular chest of drawers afterwards or a newborn crib or cot that can later become a ‘big kid’ bed. The overall look is very Scandinavian with a strong emphasis on wooden toys that last, sustainably constructed furniture and organic fabrics.”

Given where she lives in the Côte d’Azur, local clients are wealthy, demanding and prepared to pay up to €4,000-€5,000 for everything in the room, including furniture, wallpaper, soft furnishings, wool rugs, cushions and tasteful wooden toys.

“Money is not an object here – they want the perfect room and they want it now. One thing I have found dealing with high-net-worth individuals is that they have the same problems as everyone else.”

In Ireland, sites such as Les Trois Enfants and JosJennakids.com offer extensive ranges of nursery furniture and decor. Zarah Hartung founder of JosJennakids (called after her two children) set up her site six years ago, which has an extensive collection of bedroom furniture, nursery and kids decor, outdoor toys and a wonderful selection of wallpapers, though she doesn’t offer an interior design service. It is possible also to visit her showroom in Fashion City in Dublin by prior appointment.

Friends Catherine Ryan Roland and Jessica Sigrist, both interested in interior design and both mothers, set up an online concept store called Les Trois Enfants (lestroisenfants.ie) in Dublin two years ago. They offer an interior design consultancy service specialising in nurseries, bedroom and play areas. “We do mood boards showing lighting, flooring and the look is simple but luxurious,” says Ryan Roland.

“People want classic, timeless design that integrates well with the rest of the house. Trends are for neutral tones, playful touches with a lot of tactile natural fabrics keeping it stylish, elegant and sustainable”, she says. Popular items include Charlie Crane baby rockers and sheepskin snugglers from Binibamba. A one-hour interior design consultation with Les Trois Infants with a thirty-minute follow-up costs €250, redeemable against purchases from the store. “Our aim is to source beautiful items that are both aesthetically pleasing and Earth-friendly – what we struggled to find when shopping for our own children”, they say.