apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

goodness, this excites me!

Fun!

i heart this crib...can you tell me who it is by and where to find it. thanks.

That looks just like my crib... it's the AP Industries "Lollipop Crib". I bought ours at Buy Buy Baby, but I believe it's widely available. Here it is on-line: http://www.albeebaby.com/ap-industries-lollipop-crib.html

thank you lisamfb!!!! do you recommend this crib?

Not everyone can afford to have their children sleep in a separate room.

WHat about those of us squeezing families (in our case, a family of 4) into one-bedroom apartments?

The Smallest-coolest contest should have a special "family" prize in each category (tiny, little, small). It is a lot harder to fit a family with kids into a small space, than a single individual or couple.

A nursery contest doesn't quite do justice to the creativity required to fit a family into a tiny space.

For example, our kids don't have their own bedroom (we all share), but we've carved out playspaces in the living room and hallway (with the latter also doubling as the kids' library).

Another flaw in the contest design: If you live in a small space with more than one kid, your children probably share a room and they might not be in the same age category!

(Our 4 month old and 5 year old sleep in the same room.. the same room where *we* sleep, btw.)

Frankly, it would make more sense to do a family edition of Smallest Coolest, with the same categories (by size), but limited to families with at least one child.

I'm with MamaChilanga; except that it's a moot point because lacking any sense of style, organization, or color, I will never win any contests! (why do you think I started reading AT? ;-) )

hello-

Co-sleeping and shared bedroom entries are most welcome, of course! We plan to include them in the category based on the age of the older child. All of these details will be included in the complete rules and faq, which will be posted with the entry form.

Hey ccmarie - we LOVE the Lollipop crib. It's really sturdy, and looks great. It also converts to a toddler bed OR daybed, so there's an added bonus. Our son is 18 months old now, and it has held up VERY well. I couldn't be happier with it. (I also recall that it comes in a load of finishes, if you don't like the white. I saw the dark brown finish in the store, and it's very sophisticated and modern looking).

Maybe you need a separate category for parents who share bedrooms with kids.

You can't really compare a nursery or kids' bedroom with a family bedroom that sleeps three.

And it seems random that a bedroom shared with parents would be categorized under the age of the older child. WHy the older one? Why not the younger one? Seems arbitrary.

Really, I'm most interested in how others in small apartments have managed to make their whole homes family/kid-friendly, not just the bedrooms or the kids' bedrooms.

We're a bit too nursery-obsessed around here, if you ask me.

lisamfb thank you for all your help! we have the ikea dresser you raved about (too funny...just got it) so i feel like you are my nursery designer! thank you!!!! i will check out the different finishes to see if i can find one with that crib that might lend better to the off white of the dresser. thank you again!!!!!!!!!

ccmarie... Actually I AM an interior designer! I'm honored and flattered that you've taken some of my suggestions for your nursery. Good luck! :-)

I'm with MamaChilanga! Although we live in a 2 bedroom apartment...on;y by default..our 80 yr old neighbour passed away and we got it! but back to the topic...we were in a 1 bedroom with 2 kids and i would love to see how other families do it! It needs it's own category!
BTW having been raised abroad i believe only americans are obsessed with separate spaces for kids...most ppl universally live with 5-6 kids in 1-2 bedroom houses!

I also don't understand why there is a size limit to the home (less than 1000 ft) when the contest is all about a particular room (the kid's or kids').

Is it harder to decorate a tiny nursery in a mansion, or a large nursery in a tiny apartment?

I, too, would love to see how other families of 4 manage in under 700 square feet... and we'd love to see the entire home, not just the sleeping areas.

So I discovered this a bit late, but that's my kids' room from the Small Cool last year (Family of Four). We have 2 "sharing" that room; although really we cosleep part of the night and not part of the night.

Yes, that's the Lollipop crib, and we like it pretty well. Particularly for the cost, it's a nice looking option. There are more pics of the room in the finalist entries. Sometime we'll get around to a new set of pics now that the baby is a toddler (18 months old) and hence has more presence in the room. Kinda funny to remember what that corner looked like then; it's the play kitchen center now!

Here's our entries from the Small Cool 2008 contest:http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/small-cool-2008-east/east-5-family-of-fours-two-bedroom-studio-047040

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/small-cool-2008-east/east-finalist-family-of-fours-two-bedroom-studio-050441

I like the homeschool area we have set up now better, but it was nice then too. The new couch is a billion times better! http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=175442&id=1617583953

Technically, this is a 540 square foot studio with a sleep loft. We have a small bedroom literally the size of the queen bed downstairs, and the kids lofted, short-ceilinged space upstairs. It's totally doable, especially with cosleeping.

It's very funny to design for cosleeping; the architect friend and the contractor kept telling me how much roomier it would feel to not build the wall out to surround the bed and leave this little... I don't remember exactly 7 or 8 inches maybe? not enough to upgrade to a king width anyway... space alongside the bed. Ours in the world's perfect cosleeping bed though--No one can fall out!