When preparing for a little one on the way, it can be difficult to imagine the days that won’t be filled with diapers, onesies and bottles. So, when it comes to designing a nursery, it’s natural to get caught up in all things baby. However, as much as we’d love our children to stay babies forever, they outgrow their cribs and changing tables faster than we can keep up. 

This is why Colleen Waguespack, interior designer behind Colleen Waguespack Interiors and cofounder of Fig & Dove, expanded her home décor shop’s selection to offer baby products specifically designed to last throughout children’s lives. With her collection, Waguespack encourages customers to think longterm and invest in high-quality pieces that will last from a nursery to a “big kid” room and beyond.

Instead of purchasing a matching set of baby furniture, Waguespack recommends curating pieces you love and improvising for your child’s needs. With the simple addition of a foam topper, an antique chest becomes a diaper changing station—and then in time, back into a dresser that will last in your child’s room beyond the toddler years. Even if you take the traditional route with baby furniture, add style with smaller accents that can later be used around the rest of the house. 

“I love acrylic side tables,” says Waguespack. “They are durable, look great in both modern and traditional rooms, and stand the test of time. It’s a perfect piece to invest in for a nursery and can find its home equally well in any other room in your house.” 

Along with furniture, art is another great investment that can be carried with a child throughout his or her life. While we tend to gravitate towards softer palettes for nurseries, art is a great opportunity to implement brighter colors that can be pulled into the room as your child grows. 

“There are plenty of artists whose work lends itself to a baby nursery, but then lasts well beyond the baby years,” explains Waguespack. “At Fig & Dove, we carry Baton Rouge native Logan Ledford’s art for that purpose. It adds a pop of color with a wide palette that will work equally well with pastels as it will with a bolder color scheme.”

While Waguespack is a proponent of versatile investment pieces in a nursery, not every item you’ll need for baby will be around forever. For temporary items, she recommends keeping it simple. 

“I find the item people most love but can’t wait to get rid of is the glider!” says Waguespack. “Though we have tried to find ‘chicer’ versions that fit the bill, at the end of the day the ease and comfort can’t be beat. I would go with white or neutral, add a beautiful pillow and a throw over the back, and know this is not something you are going to be hanging onto for years.” 

This article originally appeared in a September 2021 edition of inRegister@Home.

See more of Waguespack’s nursery style, as well as her Fig & Dove line, in this story from the inRegister archives.