Stuff We Love: PetitNest

When we hit the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas a few weeks ago, we were pretty much bombarded with wall-to-wall baby gear, maternity wear, nursery decor… you name it. But one of a few emerging new brands that stood out from the pack? PetitNest. Not only do we love its chic modern take on everything from crib bedding to nursery furniture (plus the fact that you’ll wish they made pieces for your room) but we also think the story behind how the brand came to be is pretty cool, too. Read on for our quick Q&A with the ladies behind it all — actress Tiffani Thiessen and interior designer Lonni Paul — and flip through our slideshow to see some photos we snapped of the drool-worthy collection at the ABC Expo.

TB: How did the two of you come to meet?

Tiffani: Lonni and I met on a show called Design Star on HGTV. My home was one of the homes that was chosen to be featured and Lonni was picked to redesign a room in our house. As the show goes, you don’t know which designer (or celebrity) you’re going to get, or even what’s going to happen to the room in your house. But when my husband and I came back and saw the room she did, we fell in love with it. And were over the moon with Lonni herself, too. After that, we became fast friends with Lonni and hired her to redesign more rooms in our house — the kitchen, our playroom… and then the nursery.

TB: What led you to start PetitNest exactly?

Tiffani: When we were designing our nursery with Lonni while I was pregnant, we noticed we were having trouble finding nursery furniture that was a little more aesthetically appealing to our taste. We wanted to get into the realm of having something that looked a little different than having the same traditional-looking baby furniture that we kept seeing out there. And that’s really how it was born…

TB: How long did it take you to put together the line?

Lonni: The actual designing of the furniture came together fairly quickly — it was the process of going through manufacturing regulations, choosing of the fabrics, etc. that took the longest time. But altogether we put this brand together in less than six months — we’ve been going like gangbusters!

TB: What tips would you give moms-to-be out there who are looking to put together a nursery that still reflects their own style? Where should they start?

Lonni: One of the most important things is to choose a good glider. You’re going to spend a lot of time in it, so you’ll want to find one that you love — and one that’s easy to clean. The other thing that’s important to remember when designing the nursery is that your design aesthetic doesn’t need to stop at the nursery door. I think you can feel free to carry it through the house right into the nursery, which is what we’ve tried to do with PetitNest — to give it a high-style feel, make it kind of timeless, elegant, and modern. The pieces grow with the child so that you don’t have to change all of the furniture in a few years.

Tiffani: Remember that a nursery doesn’t have to be this odd place, in the sense that when you go through the rest of the house it’s one aesthetic and then you step into the nursery and it has a completely different feel. It should still go with the rest of your house; though of course at the same time, you want it to be a very child-like, beautiful place for your kids to be. I think we very much achieved that in our line.

Want to see some of the collection? Flip through some of the photos we snapped >>