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Timeless and Traditional or Glitz and Glamour?

Creating a Hollywood Nursery at Home
By Katherine Bontrager

Celebrities have the money and power to transform their nurseries into a dream world. After all, who wouldn't want access to top designers and an endless budget? What if you could intelligently imitate such coveted designer looks without the towering bank accounts and ensuing paparazzi? You can capture the look of top celeb's nurseries. And, it's easier than you think.

Designer Nurseries
"With all of the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, one might think celebrities design over-the-top, outrageous nurseries for their little ones," says Andrea Edmunds, the president and co-founder of PoshTots.com. "Think again. Hollywood nurseries feature subtle colors and timeless furnishings accented with traditional fabrics like chenille, toile and gingham. Whimsical art and other fun décor accessories, like hand-painted, personalized wall hangings, take center stage in the nursery adding a creative flair."

PoshTots.com is a company started in 2000 by dot.com moms with a love of children and unique art. The group searches the world over for exceptional and creative furniture that will spark the imagination of children, and along the way have caught the attention of some of tinsel town's hottest stars. In the celebrity sect, simplicity and classic lines reign supreme, providing rooms with the flexibility to grow with little ones.

Set designers for NBC's Friends chose a simple white crib from PoshTots.com for Ross and Rachel's baby, Emma.

"The look is classic with clean lines; the furnishings have a vintage flair," Edmunds says.

The good news for the rest of us is that it's a simple look that can be recreated easily.

The Look for Less
"While celebrities may have expensive, hand-crafted furnishings and custom bedding in their nurseries, the look can be duplicated easily," Edmunds says. "To achieve the look, pair a simple white crib with a matching changing table or existing dresser. Dress the crib with off-the-shelf bedding that combines sweet fabrics like gingham, stripes and toiles."

Edmunds advises decorating the walls with lithograph reproductions, a more affordable option than hand-painted wall hangings.

Wendy Bellissimo agrees. Bellissimo is the designer of choice for the likes of Kelly Ripa, Alex Kingston, Brooke Shields, and countless others. Bellissimo has even been featured on VH1's television special Hot Mamas as the fashionable designer to the stars. Her company, Wendy Bellissimo's baby'n'kids provides designer fabrics and adorable artwork.

Bellissimo is renowned for relying on softer, more muted tones of color with only a few small splashes of color so as not to overwhelm infants. "If you want to create an inspiring environment you still need to be calming," she says.

In addition to color, comfort is another element that requires careful consideration. "You have to have a great comfy glider rocker for sure because you are going to be using that for the next four of five years at least," Bellissimo says. "A lot of parents say they had thought they could use their glider rocker for the next child, but their first child doesn't want it out of the room. It's a place of comfort, where you curl up and read books, so you want the rocker to go a long way."

Hollywood Inspiration
Many of her designs are captured in Wendy Bellissimo Nesting (Inner Working Books, 2003), which seeks to offer lifestyle inspirations for the growing family. The book, which has been featured on Oprah, comes complete with a DVD and includes advice on getting ready for a new baby, party ideas and a variety of room designs.

"I think it's important to always think function and beauty together because that's what is going to allow you to truly enjoy the room," Bellissimo says. "Approach it from that standpoint, because it's what's going to make the room pay off in the end. A lot of time people don't think it's possible, but is absolutely is."

Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic” is a popular stop for Debra Messing, Reese Witherspoon, Pam Anderson, and Sharon Osbourne. Even new mom Kate Hudson recently bought a Shabby Chic’ home décor book at the Malibu store.

In keeping with the expanding needs of her celebrity clientele, Ashwell has recently extended her brand to include a baby bedding collection with coordinating accessories. In keeping with her renowned style, she offers vintage-inspired prints in a subdued palette. Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic” has expanded this attention to detail and comfort into sleepwear with its launch of its newest collection.

Ashwell's first piece of advice on nursery design is not to overdo it. "While it is a very important room, a nursery has a limited time of use. It should be as pretty and inspiring as can be, but not cluttered. Beauty, comfort and function," she says.

Ashwell suggests getting more for your money by using items that can transform as the baby grows into a toddler and then a child. The designer reports there are a variety of cribs that transform from crib to daybed to twin bed.

"Art, curtains, rugs, etc., should not be so babyish, but just sweet things that can be enjoyed for many years," she says. "A little bit of select vintage makes for a unique nursery, but the best items are those that don't have to be touched, like things for the wall such as art and mirrors. Hygiene of course is most important in a nursery and vintage is hard to make sterile."

Ashwell says that she finds her inspiration in vintage items that are beautiful and one-of-a-kind. "Vintage is all about detail and patience to me," she says.

Detail and patience – good advice for decorating a room, and for raising the little one who will soon fill it with love and laughter.

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