Room Tour: A Stylish Nursery Designed to Grow With the Child
This baby’s room in a barn conversion in Kent is fresh and playful, but also elegant and adaptable
When the owners bought this tithe barn in the village of Stowting, Kent, it was in good shape structurally, but very much in need of decoration. “It was nicotine cream everywhere and needed completely updating,” Sophia Fish of Golden Feathers Interiors says.
The couple had seen Sophia’s previous projects on Houzz and liked her style. “I got a notification of a lead through Houzz,” she says. “[The owner] said, it’s really bland and I just want to add some personality.” The nursery was no exception, so Sophia’s challenge was to create a scheme that would work from babyhood through to young tween.
The couple had seen Sophia’s previous projects on Houzz and liked her style. “I got a notification of a lead through Houzz,” she says. “[The owner] said, it’s really bland and I just want to add some personality.” The nursery was no exception, so Sophia’s challenge was to create a scheme that would work from babyhood through to young tween.
Sophia included a day bed, which tucks neatly into the eaves. For now, it’s a place where the parents can sit, but in time it can become a bed. “When [the child] gets a bit bigger, and comes out of her cot, they can put a support bar on the front of it,” she says. It also hides a trundle bed, so she’ll be able to have friends to stay.
The bamboo pendant light picks up on the natural theme without feeling heavy in the space. “It’s one of the nicest features, I love it,” Sophia says. “We put it on a dimmer, so it can be low light in there.” The roof windows have integrated blackout blinds to ensure darkness for nap time.
She has painted the areas between the beams in a hardwearing, washable white paint, leaving the oak in its natural state. “The beams are original and we wanted to keep them that way,” she says.
Cot; day bed, both Aspace. Rainbow cushion, Scandiborn. Bed linen, Heal’s. Pendant light, Not On The High Street.
Contact interior designers in your area through Houzz.
The bamboo pendant light picks up on the natural theme without feeling heavy in the space. “It’s one of the nicest features, I love it,” Sophia says. “We put it on a dimmer, so it can be low light in there.” The roof windows have integrated blackout blinds to ensure darkness for nap time.
She has painted the areas between the beams in a hardwearing, washable white paint, leaving the oak in its natural state. “The beams are original and we wanted to keep them that way,” she says.
Cot; day bed, both Aspace. Rainbow cushion, Scandiborn. Bed linen, Heal’s. Pendant light, Not On The High Street.
Contact interior designers in your area through Houzz.
The original ‘Bedroom 5’ marked on this floorplan was the perfect spot for the nursery, as it’s so close to the parents’ room.
From this angle, you can see how the nursery is nicely positioned close to the master bedroom (left) and the bathroom (right).
Sophia’s husband, who runs the carpentry side of the business, made the oak shelf, which works well with the oak beams. “I was looking everywhere for a little shelf, but I couldn’t get one that fit perfectly,” Sophia says.
Chair, eBay.
Sophia’s husband, who runs the carpentry side of the business, made the oak shelf, which works well with the oak beams. “I was looking everywhere for a little shelf, but I couldn’t get one that fit perfectly,” Sophia says.
Chair, eBay.
The shelf and rail give scope for a changing display. “I’m sure the little girl will have fancy dress outfits on there in a few years,” Sophia says. “As I was doing the room, it was nice to imagine her as she was getting older and how she would use the space.”
Here’s the tithe barn seen from the outside. The nursery is above the living room in the section with low eaves.
Tell us…
What do you like about this room? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Tell us…
What do you like about this room? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Who lives here? A family with two young children
Location Stowting, Kent
Property A tithe barn
Room dimensions 3.3m x 3.6m
Designer Sophia Fish of Golden Feathers Interiors
The owner asked Sophia to come up with ideas for the room. As she’d seen previous Golden Feathers Interiors project photos on Houzz, it was no surprise when she immediately liked Sophia’s design.
“My client and I are quite similar in our tastes,” Sophia says. “She loved the design and said it felt calm – important for a nursery – so it was nice to go with that natural feel. It’s complementary to the house because of all the oak beams and the palettes elsewhere in the property.”
The focal point of the room is the nature-themed wallpaper, which is washable. “It’s just such a beautiful paper and I had it in mind when I first saw this room,” Sophia says. “It creates its own theme, because it’s quite natural, so the textures in the room work with it.”
The earthy corals, mustards and pinks informed the colours for the rest of the design, not least in the soft rug. “As the little girl grows, that [palette] will grow with her – even to 7 or 8 – as it’s not too babyish,” she says.
Safari wallpaper, Roomblush. Rug; chest of drawers, both Made.com.