David Brooks, N.Y Times Opinion——“The universe is a silent, colorless place. It’s just waves and particles out there. But by using our imaginations, we construct colors and sounds, tastes and stories, drama, laughter, joy and sorrow.”
THE FOUR WALLS
When my daughter and her husband purchased their home one late September, they offered me a preferred design space. It was the Nursery for their Christmas Baby. DISREGARD THAT TIME LINE
It was the day before Thanksgiving and I was lunching with a friend amidst the clamor of enveloping noise, squished tables, Japanese fast food when my cell phone rang. My daughter was in a Phoenix hospital awaiting an emergency C-section at 9:00 p.m. that night. My husband and I were in San Diego.
FOUR VERY DETERMINED RELATIVES
My watch dial pictured 1:45 p.m. I offered a nervous, graceless good-by and become a purposeful NASCAR driver on a busy California freeway not known for sensible or sparse traffic. My husband dismissed his University rehearsal, the Aunt-to-be was already at a satellite L.A. airport and the Daddy-to-be was piloting a plane from Canada with extra gas to get to the hospital pronto.
ACTUALITY
Television news relentlessly informs us that this Thanksgiving week has unusually heavy air traffic. We know! No tickets! But wait, A Wrinkle in Time opens for us and we become the last two standby passengers to board a late afternoon flight.
SERENDIPITY
Three of us meet in the waiting room along with neighbors and friends. It’s a crowd scene.
The Daddy appears behind a glass wearing a deliriously sappy grin holding a 3 lb., 6 oz. baby girl. Entranced, our noses are at the apex of the glass window as we gape, grin, and hug. Heaven! All too soon, she is whisked back to her Mommy for their first skin-to-skin contact.
OUR MAGICAL BABY IS HERE!
Our beguilingly new arrival needs a room of her own and since it was too soon to ask her what color room she’d like, I chose green. To me, It is a source of energy and takes its cue from the natural world with green walls that are intimate, livable, and inspiring. 
Green is a life force, a hue that is “shown to reduce stress and foster creativity.” Her Daddy is a distance walker, hiker and loves moving in fresh air. Her Mommy is a Master Gardener who grows “Jack-in-the-Beanstalk” veggies, Moringa trees for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory assets and creates picturesque leafy trellis walls. Green!
HER OWN ROOM!
I planned to create a joyful space containing pops of animated and whimsical figures from the artist Silke Leffler.*
“Silke Leffler’s delightful and whimsical drawings capture some of the happiest and most curious moments in life. Inspired by a childhood exposed to a variety of cultures, nature, books and poetry her illustrations reflect a world that is part make-believe and magic.” We laminated her creations and placed around her poem.
What could be better, for my Granddaughter!
. 
Sweet dreams, hopeful dreams, peaceful dreams to hopefully evoke and support her fast changing development with a poem of her own. Written words that will always be “hers” and will watch over her.
IMPLEMENTATION!
The green walls were a snap to achieve. Her Mommy and Daddy painted them. Painting the words of my poem on the wall to her was another story! Not only did I want meaningful thoughts, I opted for a clever arrangement proving detrimental to my neck, arms and back because I was doing it on a small stepladder in the dark while a projector was shining that “clever poetic arrangement” on the wall. I had clearly underestimated my painterly ability as the ladder and I stumbled back and forth. Her Mommy stepped in to lend a helping hand.
TOGETHERNESS!
The ladder and I still needed more togetherness moments. I eschewed curtains in favor of blinds for privacy and light control, but wanted a stylish window treatment and found a lace pattern that I could stencil in white around her windows.
HGTV: “A key advantage of using a stencil is that it can be used repeatedly to rapidly reproduce a design or lettering.”
ME: (It is not rapid and unless it is a large one piece stencil. The constant overlapping, matching, and repositioning of the stencil over and over can be monotonous.) Guess who came to rescue?
ACCENTS & FURNISHINGS
We used a combination dresser and changing pad to save space, anchoring the dresser and crib to the walls, covered electrical outlets and used the top dresser drawer to store medicines/ointments and diapers. A comfortable rocking chair for sleep and night time stories with arm rests at a restful height was a priority. Also necessary, a video baby monitor to check on our baby when she was sleeping.
Small bookcases and shelves appropriate for a nursery’s toys and books, two streamer ribbons with rosettes at the top held tiny gifts, even a decorative vase to hold future baby teeth. 
And of course, the real purpose in designing a nursery is to offer a nurturing, creative and safe room that incorporates an environment to spur intellectual growth. Words, colors and figures that teach the magic of discovery. As a professional designer, my goal for my grand baby and every client is to interpret and embrace sustainable design.
Again, as David Brooks said, “… by using our imaginations, we construct colors and sounds, tastes and stories, drama, laughter, joy and sorrow.”
Our grand daughter has given us millions of precious memories.
Sy’s Salient Points:–SustainableDesign:
Design that protects people’s health and well-being while also protecting the environment. (We used paints with no VOCs——volatile organic compounds,) to improve indoor air quality, recycled furniture, and materials.
*Silke Leffler: Silke Leffler was born in 1970 in Vorarlberg and grew up in Holland, Austria, Germany, and Africa. After graduation she did a tailor’s apprenticeship and studied textile design. Since 1998 she has worked as an illustrator for stationery and children’s books. She lives with her family near Lake Constance, Switzerland.
My grand daughter loved having her own poem. When her family encouraged her to move to a larger bedroom with bath, she wanted them to move her wall poem and delayed moving. She eventually did and together we designed her new digs.
Blaire wishes Happy 4th of July to all!