Photo courtesy of Robin Wilson Home
Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with celebrity designer and new mom, Robin Wilson. She has designed offices for Bill Clinton in Harlem, NY, done dozens of TV spots on HGTV shows and shows like Good Morning America, and authored Kennedy Green Home. She is also an ambassador for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Robin’s design aesthetic is focused on being green and eco-friendly. As a new parent, she is especially aware of what to do to keep a nursery healthy, safe and green-friendly. We had a great talk on the phone as she was home with her baby and these are her top 5 tips for designing an eco-nursery.
5. Test antique toys and chairs for lead paint.
Heirloom toys are a wonderful addition to any child’s life, but be sure to make certain that they are safe. If you suspect lead paint, test the paint surface. Even if you are uncertain, it’s best to err on the side of caution. Robin’s husband had some lovely alphabet blocks to pass down to their daughter. They sent them out to a carpenter to have them properly stripped and repainted in order to ensure their safety.
4. Think carefully about draperies.
Drapes and shades are dust collectors, which can lead to little lungs being agitated and the possible development of allergies and asthma. Keep dust at bay by choosing simple window treatments that can easily be cleaned.
3. Choose a safe and healthy mattress.
So many mattresses are treated with flame retardants and these are supremely unhealthy for all of us. So, protect your little one by choosing mattresses, like the Naturepedic one that Tomato has, which contain organic cotton and are vinyl and PVC free. They sleep so much (hopefully) in those first few months, so keep their bedding as healthy as you can.
2. Go with VOC free paints.
There are so many options out there now for quality VOC free paints. VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) release harmful fumes into your living space. This was one of our big concerns too. We happened to have chosen Benjamin Moore Natura paints for Tomato’s room and love the ease of painting with them, the lack of “paint smell,” and the beautiful resulting color.
1. Keep the room simple and calm for your newborn.
By providing your child with a calm room that is free of clutter and isn’t decorated to within an inch of it’s life, you are giving him/her a chance at not having too much dust or dirt in the room and a peaceful setting. Less dust means cleaner air! Robin has a corner of the room where she has her nursing glider and it is free of decoration. It provides her and her daughter with a calm space in which to focus on nursing and enjoy each other’s time.
Photo courtesy of Robin Wilson Home
Robin’s tips are great for anyone who is designing a new nursery or if you are in need of going back and redoing a child’s room. If you didn’t start with an eco-friendly room, you can always make small changes to transition a room to being more eco-friendly and healthy.
Robin’s green aesthetic extends beyond the nursery into other areas in the home. If you have a room that you want to redesign, check out her Nest Store to upload photos of your rooms and get designer advice. Her textiles line has a variety of hypoallergenic pillows and bedding linens and bath towels. If you are looking for new cabinets, she has a line that she designed for Holiday Kitchens. The cabinets are constructed using pre-consumer recycled woods and use formaldehyde free glues.
So, with this information in mind, take a moment to look around your living space. What would you do to make your child’s room greener? What other rooms would you update?
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
She has a lot of great ideas. I like the idea of keeping the paint color nice and calm : ).
These are great tips. People often forget about how important things like paint, etc can be when choosing items for a nursery. Glad to see the info out there!
Great tips – things like paint and bedding is often overlooked as we are so worried about their food and diapers!
Her tips are helpful for parents that want to co-sleep with their children, or have the children in a bed near theirs for the first months of the baby’s life.
If I could do it all over, I’d incorporate more Montessori aspects into our nursery. The bed would be a mattress in the corner of the room and everything would be accessible for a toddler from the beginning. Now that I’m busy with two, there’s no time to redo the room!