For nearly three years I have seen friends and family post pictures of beautiful nurseries painted and poised to welcome new babies. I have to admit that I have felt a little outdone by these parents—but I do mean only a little.

On the one hand, a parent's intentions to create a beautiful space for their infant comes from the heart and therefore I do not believe in overly exposing its superficiality. On the other, we are talking about babies, and now, having had the chance to design a bedroom and playspace for a young child instead, I think it has been worth a great deal more. That, and I despise some of the common forms of nursery decor—think painted wooden letters spelling "angel", " family", or the somehow-misguided "hope".

So here it is. Really just a map framed in gold and a paint colour stemming from there. We already had some odd tables sitting around and I found the TV-table-turned-kitchen/drawing-table at Value Village for $15. There are a few more things to be added, but thus far it has been a great success: a few compliments from other parents, yes, but mostly lots of sleeping and playing.