Let iL Tutto help style your dream nursery, partnering with Stylist, Amanda McKenna

Creating a luxe look for your dream nursery is easy with iL Tutto. Imagine bright and sunny days spent cuddling your baby on our range stylish and comfortable chairs, while feeling the superior quality of our Oeko-tex certified fabric.

Our elegant Nursery Chair styles would complement any modern home, no matter what room you choose to style it in, all while supporting you on your feeding, cuddling and storytime journey while your baby grows. We offer a versatile range of premium Nursery Chairs, that’s here to inspire your journey into parenthood and help you create the Nursery of your dreams.

This month we’ve team up with the amazing stylist Amanda McKenna to take us through our last iL Tutto shoot and her styling tips and tricks to help inspire you when designing the perfect space for your newbie.

Learn all the best tips & tricks with our interview with Amanda McKenna, stylist amandamckenna.com.au

Hello Amanda, we absolutely loved working with you at our last iL Tutto shoot, can you please tell us more about what you do?

"I am a stylist, I style spaces, wardrobes and people - and I love it!"

Why do you love doing what you do?

"I have always loved creating beautiful spaces. It is so important to feel at home within yourself and your space and style is an extension of that. I love to help people find that "

Nursery Style 1:

Tell us about your inspiration for each Nursery

"I was lucky enough to be able to choose from the gorgeous Il Tutto range so after selecting a few pieces I picked my colour palette."

"This nursery was inspired by Manhattan-style apartments. Modern yet classic and warm. Using black tones to complement the grey and navy I also used more grown-up pieces in the lamp and rug to elevate the look into a stylish nursery that could grow with your child"

Nursery Style 2:

"I wanted a fairly neutral colour palette and played off the warm wood tones of the cot using orange and pink accents without being too girly. The use of different shapes and a pop of colour modernised it and kept it a bit fun. Overall creating a beautiful, calm, modern and timeless nursery"

Nursery Style 3:

"This room was inspired by the wood grain and wanting to create a modern space for parents and bub. A clean space with soft colour accents. This nursery was all about letting the furniture speak for itself and using greys, pinks and green pastel colours to create a bespoke and gender neutral space that both mums and dads would enjoy being in for years to come"

What’s your best, most ideal Nursery style?

"I love a warm, comfortable space - this can be achieved through a neutral palette or colour but it's important to have lighting and functional spaces.

I tend not to fit into particular styles or categories however I would style my nursery the same way as my house. I want it to be inviting, warm and contemporary with bolts of colour and/or patterns and eclectic touches through interesting pieces. Whether that be the wallpaper or the furniture or soft furnishings. I love kid-friendly nurseries however I would want it to be a little more long lasting so something that could take them to their early teens."

What do you suggest to new parents when designing their Nursery?

"Think firstly about how you will use the room, we like to think the nursery will be a baby bubble where we can contain all things bub however as you may know or soon to find out, your entire house will become the baby room! So perhaps it's more of an escape for you to spend some quiet time in which case you really want to make a nice space for you. Easy to reach, soft lighting using lamps. Baskets are essential for quick storage, tidy and can look great."

If that space for you is somewhere else in the house and the nursery is purely a place for your little
one to sleep and change, then consider functionality.

 Consider the space you have to work with. The size of the room, the layout. It’s easy to push everything to the walls however try re-arranging things, maybe having the cot in the centre of the room which would eventually be a single bed or angle across a corner. You have then created extra corners/spaces to fill with baskets for example.

Colour - think of what colour theme you want to go with and as above the space you are working with. Do you have a smaller space and want the room to feel bigger, in which case lean to a lighter more neutral palette. Do you want a theme, something more bold and colourful? You can pick a piece of furniture as I did with Il Tutto or art and pull a few colours from that. It doesn’t have to be exact or too much, just little nods of 2-3 tones you can play with. Think long-term about what you and your little one might like as they change and grow. If you need help there are so many resources online to find about colour matching."

How do you create a calm environment for Mum and baby to feed using textures and colours?

"I like to soften the furniture with blankets, large soft toys and baskets. If you’re unsure of what colour scheme you like, go for calm. Warm neutral colours are a great way to achieve this, and then you can introduce a splash of colour. For a calm environment, avoid lots of heavy block colours and colours that tend to invite negative emotions such as red, if you have a beautiful piece of furniture with a block colour for example the Il Tutto chest of draws or cot in navy then implement that colour in a different pattern to soften it and tie into the rest of the room.

Consider lighting, you don’t want to have to always be turning on the main light. Lamps are a great way to soften and style the space."

What are your top 3 products when styling Nurseries?

1. A Chair.

"I love chairs. No matter the room. I have decorative chairs in hallways and corners of rooms, one to catch my clothes. I do love a good chair but even more so in a nursery. It’s functional and the Il Tutto range of chairs are so comfortable and timeless. No doubt they become a sentimental piece you love when you think about the stages with your baby, from nursing to reading to them, to them reading in the big chair all on their own!"

2. Baskets.

"Baskets are an extremely functional way to keep tidy, throw in dirty laundry, separate small fiddly baby socks, keep toys but also a great way to complement the style you are going for and/or fill a space/soften hard edges."

3. Art.

"It could be something you make, you buy, you can download and print yourself. You can frame wallpaper. There are so many creative things you can do to make it personal or complete your overall nursery theme."

What do you suggest to purchase as the biggest splurge for a Nursery?

"I would get whatever is most important for you but for me, I would treat myself to a beautiful nursing chair. I love the idea of creating a space, a little nook for you and baby."

Are there any other lessons learnt to share with the iL Tutto audience?

"Buy a statement piece you love for the room, it could be a chair or a piece of art and then invest in the practical pieces that you may use again or can pass on. As with any room, find a home for everything, then it is easier to keep it tidy and a place of calm.

It doesn’t always have to be matching if there are pieces you love - I find more often than not, you can make them work together. Trust yourself and enjoy the process! It’s the first of many journeys!!

If you need help, reach out and I will see if I can help. Sometimes small tweaks and re-arranging of spaces that can make all the difference!"