Chic design comes to the nursery — and to local shops

The light pastels and traditional look of most nursery décor didn't appeal to Melissa Van Flandern when she was pregnant.

She yearned for modern colors and contemporary nursery design but compensated by painting the walls a vivid lime green and covering the floors with red, fuchsia and orange carpet.

Her friends teased, "Is (the baby) going to be able to sleep in this room?"

tottini

But now, more than two years later, walk into tottini, the children's store Van Flandern and business partner Melissa Maffei opened this month, and you'll see brushstrokes of vibrant colors contrasting sharply with the modern space, and brands like ducduc, the Netto Collection and Argington.

At their store in the South Lake Union district, a back wall boasts a saturated orange color; a sleek crib features bedding in deep browns, reds and greens normally reserved for adults; and bold, graphic Angela Adams rugs dot the concrete floor.

"That's why I love what we have," Van Flandern said. "It makes a statement."

Urban parents are more finicky than ever about creating nurseries as modern as the rest of their homes, and a recent surge in modern design for kids has accommodated their tastes.

Lucky for them, it's easier now in the Puget Sound area to stock those nurseries with contemporary cribs, changing tables and toddler-sized tables.

Merry Go Round Children's Store

Modern, urban parents want that clean, simple style, said Molly Brown Pressey, owner of Merry Go Round Children's Store in Bellevue. "It is really a trend."

Pressey started carrying dwellbaby bedding — a modern line featuring graphic prints and muted colors — more than two years ago, then moved into furniture with the Offi line in response to customer demand and more modern options.

Now, the store's entryway is dedicated to modern cribs and furniture. Bright green Nurseryworks bedding adorns a modular-styled Nurseryworks crib, and a nearby dresser features a teal-and-brown color scheme. Bedding and pillows by dwellbaby are prominently displayed on Netto Collection cribs.

"You have to buy for your customer base, but it's kind of surprising once you start carrying it how many people are really excited you're carrying it," Pressey said.

Going modern, however, is not cheap. At Merry Go Round, a Nurseryworks platform crib is $915. An Ooba nest bassinet is $500, and a dwellbaby crib linens set is $290.

Prices for these furniture lines are similar on the Web and at other stores in the area.

Merry Go Round also carries more traditional — and affordable — lines, like Natart and Rumble Tuff. Cribs from Rumble Tuff range from $490 to $690, while Natart cribs start at $600.

Traditional lines still outpace modern sales, Pressey said, though of the modern lines, Oeuf has been the best seller.

Velocity Art and Design

A handful of other local stores tuck in a small selection of baby furniture among the regular, adult choices.

A corner of Belltown's Velocity Art and Design is dedicated to modern cribs, bookcases and rockers from lines like Oeuf and Nurseryworks. Velocity also offers a much more comprehensive collection of baby and kids' furniture on its Web site.

Owners Lara Coffman Tusher and husband John Tusher became more interested in modern baby furniture when Lara became pregnant, but customers also wanted that look, said spokeswoman Ali Records.

"There was a growing market demand; people who were clients for the last five or six years are having babies," she said. "And there's all these great products from the last two or three years. It's both personal and professional."

Eco-friendly décor

Modern these days also often means organic.

The urban moms running tottini, Maffei and Van Flandern, made sure the store included organic toys (a stuffed horse costs $28), natural soaps and hypoallergenic products. Mio wall art ($28- $34) is made of recycled cardboard. They plan to carry organic mattresses, too.

They're also selling some local brands, like Portland-based Posh Baby's colorful bedding and clothing. A Posh Baby crib set starts at $168.

Maffei said while other local stores carry a few items here and there, tottini aims to bring all the furniture and accessories into one store.

"It'd be great if I was having my baby now," Van Flandern said.

Nicole Tsong: 206-464-2150 or ntsong@seattletimes.com