A nautical nursery
For a designer who’s expecting, there’s a powerful motivating factor for learning the sex long before the baby arrives: the all-important nursery decor. When Erin Feasby of Toronto’s Feasby & Bleeks Design learned she was having a boy, it meant that she and husband Sam Ventresca could indulge their love of East Coast nautical style that they’d long admired. When baby Max was eight months old, the new family of three moved into a larger home and rather than start from scratch, the nursery design stayed the same, albeit in a bigger space.
Before the renovation
Click on this image to see how the room was transformed into a beautiful nursery.
Wallpaper and stylish storage
The wallpaper sets the perfectly boyish-but-not-babyish nautical tone in the room. Canvas floor baskets are stitched with the geographical coordinates of the family’s previous home for a sentimental – and sailorly – spot to stash baby Max’s toys.
Wall decor and crib
The alphabet prints on the wall over the crib are a fun learning tool that look great, too. Erin used inexpensive silver frames and removed the glass for safety. The mod crib gives the room a contemporary edge. Erin suggests keeping crib bedding simple rather than letting it dictate the nursery's design, since it’s usually not very visible.

Shelving
A collection of model sailboats gathered over the years found a home in the nursery. The new built-in shelves were designed by Erin to appear as though they’d always been there.

Planning ahead
The height of the long dresser works perfectly as a change table but is a sophisticated piece that can stay with Max well into adolescence. The map over the dresser is an inexpensive boating chart that Sam and Erin picked up in Cape Cod and had framed.