Most apartments have small bedrooms, so there is not much room for zoning a bedroom and nursery, but here are three ideas for a bedroom with a crib, all involving lighting:

  1. Overhead light is the most common and at the same time useless. A child in a crib lies on their back and looks straight up, so when the ordinary bedroom light is turned on, recessed lights shine directly into their eyes. It also rules out waking only one adult. That is why additional light sources are essential, and they should cast reflected rather than direct light on the crib. Hidden LED strips, wall lamps with adjustable arms, and floor lamps will work.
  2. Even if you are not doing a complete remodel and cannot run wiring for separate light sources, it is not a problem. You need very little light to get ready and dressed in the bedroom, and even portable battery-powered lights with a couple of LEDs will be enough for you without waking the child.
  3. Good sleep requires complete darkness in the room – otherwise melatonin production is suppressed – so hang curtains, preferably blackout curtains. That will make the little sleep you get more productive =).

Bedroom Design with a Crib

The baby’s crib can stay in the parents’ room for at least the first six months, and preferably up to a year, as recommended in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ safe-sleep guidance. It is closer when you need to run over and soothe the baby, and the baby will cry less often too.

Bedroom design with a crib modern bedroom with infant crib

The next question is where it is better to put the crib: by the window or on the other side of the bed. If the apartment has natural ventilation and air enters only through the window, it is better to place it on the other side. Otherwise, in winter the choice will be either no ventilation because the window is closed or strong temperature changes by the crib – a radiator nearby but cold air coming from the window.

Place it next to the bed or put the crib separately. There are no rules here – do what is more convenient for you.

Bedroom interior with a crib bedroom with a toddler bed under the main bed a bedroom with 2 children 1 Bedroom with two children's cribs by the window Gray wallpaper in a two-in-one bedroom and kids' room Bedroom with a child's bed with a safety rail bedroom lighting with kids' bed bedroom and kids’ room in beige tones bedroom and kids' room against the wall in one room Turquoise wallpaper in the bedroom with a kids' bed Classical bedroom with kids’ room classical design bedroom with kids' room turquoise wallpaper crib and dresser in bedroom white wardrobe in the bedroom with a kids' bed Light bedroom with nursery in one room crib not next to the window in the bedroom Bedside crib in the bedroom kids' room and bedroom for girl in one room crib near the window in the bedroom kids' crib perpendicular to bed in bedroom Kids' bed near the window in the bedroom Children's wallpaper in a bedroom with a crib Brown furniture in the kids’ room in the bedroom crib in the bedroom opposite the window furniture arrangement in bedroom with kids' bed stylish modern kids' bed

Bedroom and Nursery in One Room

Should it be made like a kids’ room or like a bedroom, and how do you balance it at all?

A proper kids’ room design should not be too bright anyway. That is why the answer is to make a simple contemporary bedroom. The ideal style is Scandinavian.

white and gray bedroom-kids' room living room, bedroom, and kids' room in one room partition with shelves under the bed Light modern bedroom-nursery curtains in the bedroom with a kids' bed kids' zone in studio apartment kids' crib in the living room kids' bed crib in studio apartment kids' bed crib in one-bedroom apartment design in modern classic style for bedroom and kids' room in one room child's crib in a bedroom-office Modern classic style in a bedroom with a crib modern design bedroom and kids' room bedroom and kids' room in light tones

I have already written about the approach to one-bedroom apartment layouts. When you have children, it is important to choose the right style and set priorities. I strongly recommend making a contemporary apartment design. It is easier to carry out, cheaper, more practical, and most importantly, allows mixing and unconventional solutions.

And a bedroom combined with a nursery consists almost entirely of unconventional solutions. This places limits on the finishes – they should be neutral. Because of the complex, unusual furniture and high density of items, you simply cannot afford a complex ceiling design or colorful wall finishes. All the finishes are only a background; do not fuss over them.

To make the bedroom work as a kids’ room too, add brightness with bedding, curtains, a bedside rug, and pictures. Children simply like bright things, and it does not matter that they are added with easily replaceable items rather than finishes.

Zebra bedding and a corner wardrobe in a bedroom with a child's bed simple bedroom renovation before a baby's birth Textile decor in a kids' bedroom-living room Décor through curtains and bedding in the bedroom and kids’ room red bedding and curtains in the bedroom neoclassical design bedroom and kids' room in one room bright carpet next to kids' bed child bed for under 2 years in parents' bedroom Bedroom and crib in one room

Zoning a Room into a Bedroom and Nursery

Before School

The child still needs a place to sleep, but now a bed rather than a crib. They also need a place to play. And most importantly, the parents now need a place for at least relative privacy.

At this and an older age, your main attention should be on the furniture. Appearance, meaning design and finishes, is very cool and will please you for about a month after moving in. In practice, people then stop enjoying their apartment’s style, no matter how great it is. But if you screw up the ergonomics, you will suffer for a long time.

Read about designing a boy’s room and a girl’s room.

Children's desk with a two-level bed for a kids' room and bedroom

When combining a parents’ bedroom and kids’ room in one room, function > design.

I recommend looking carefully at the photographs in this article and ordering a furniture unit made to the room’s exact dimensions. It will cost more than ready-made options, and you will have to rack your brain quite a bit, but it is worth it. The next section will show how the furniture should look. For now, a few words about choosing a company to make it.

There are now a huge number of companies that make custom furniture. And they can make very complex and unusual furniture. Project development and cost estimates are often free – use that. If finances are a problem, do not be embarrassed to visit at least ten furniture makers. In my experience, quotes for making roughly the same children’s furniture unit or loft bed can differ by a factor of five.

storage solutions under a children's bed layout and placement of a kids' desk in the bedroom arrangement of kids' and parents' beds in the bedroom bedroom with kids' play zone

Separate lighting is what almost everyone forgets, and correcting it after the remodel is difficult. Be sure to separate the main overhead light in your half and the child’s half; this will make everyone’s life much easier. Besides the overhead light, we recommend making additional dim light in your half that you can use when the child is already asleep. Floor lamps, sconces, hidden LED strips – anything will work.

Either a wall of open shelves or a solid furniture wall with shelves on the parents’ side works best as a divider. A permanent block partition can also be made, but first, that is possible only during a complete remodel. Second, a furniture partition is completely functional, while the area under a permanent partition is simply lost.

partition between bedroom and kids’ room in one room child's bed in a room with parents partition for kids' room in one room with parents

Bedroom and Nursery with a School-Age Child

The child starts school, which means that besides a bed, they now need a desk. The previous sections had no specifics because they would have been harmful. From the time the child is born, you should plan how to combine the bedroom and nursery when the child starts school. That is better than redoing it twice. So the child needs:

  1. A bed
  2. A desk
  3. A cabinet for belongings

The only way to squeeze this into a room where the parents also live is a multifunctional children’s furniture unit. They are sold ready-made, but custom-made is better. Ready-made furniture never fits perfectly, which means the already scarce square footage in a one-bedroom apartment will be wasted.

bedding for bedroom and kids' room in one room concept bedroom and kids’ room with a bunk bed area

When choosing or ordering a children’s furniture unit, try not to pay attention to its appearance at all. Focus on convenience; it is many times more important than design. Pay special attention to the desk. Often, extra pullout drawers are placed where the legroom should be – this is unacceptable. Sitting correctly at such a desk is impossible, which means it threatens posture problems. The unit in the photo below is no good.

design of bedroom and kids' room in one room
  1. Using the room’s height, not only its length and width.
  2. Separate lighting for the child’s and parents’ zones.
  3. A furniture divider, not a permanent one.

When people say “small apartment,” they mean specifically the floor area, meaning length multiplied by width. And you have already noticed in the photos the trick with children’s furniture units – they also use the third dimension, height. You cannot invent anything better than bunk beds or loft beds because they are the only way to double the useful function per square foot. Children under six should not use an upper bunk. We recommend choosing a children’s furniture unit with a desk below and a bed above, even when the child does not need a desk yet. Before you know it, the child will grow up and start school.

bed-study with stairs for child bedroom and kids' room in one-bedroom apartment closet with loft bed in child's nook bedroom

You can find many ideas and photos for using a loft bed in a kids’ room in the articles:

  1. Shared Room for a Boy and Girl
  2. For Two Girls
  3. For Two Boys
kids' zone in one room with parents kids' room with a student's bedroom design Two-level kids' zone in parents' room bed-loft for both bedroom and kids’ room in one room how to make kids' room and bedroom in one room a child's schoolroom and bedroom in one room combined bedroom and kids' room bunk bed zoning the room into a bedroom and kids’ room bedroom and kids' room in one room design bedroom and kids’ room for a child under 2 years in one room

I hope the photos and ideas using height and separate lighting help you with the difficult task of dividing the room into zones for yourself and the child. Good luck with your remodel!