Fashion-forward nursery

When Ses Hamilton, one half of mother-daughter design duo Ses + Jen, found out her little babe was on the way, the nursery was destined to be special. Sourcing local products, collaborating with designer friends and harnessing her own talent, Ses created a stand out room that will grow with her little girl.

where did your inspiration for the room come from?
Ses: When putting together Georgia's room, we wanted to base it around amazing pieces that she could have forever and weren't necessarily babyish. The first piece we bought was the hanging wall art by Blacklist Studio. We had admired this for some time and managed to snap up the last one. The gorgeous golden tones in the art set our accent colour for the room, which was always going to be shades of black and white with accents of soft wood and copper. We reflected these accents with the Leander crib and the beautiful leather plant hanger by Lightly. While we didn't theme the room, so to speak, it ended up having somewhat of a 'little adventurer' look with the art, zebra rug, Moroccan wall hanging and Icelandic sheepskin.

where did you start in the decorating process?
We started with the hero piece, the art. The Leander crib was next and after this we worked in the essentials, like the drawers. Knowing the pieces which had to be in there helped us to work out how we would position things, then we would take progress shots as pieces were added – this helped to work out what was missing.

what is your favourite feature of the room?
It's hard to decide. I adore the diamond pendant light, which was made by Cross Street Garage, as it looks amazing against the white walls. I also really love the shelf and hanging rail that my husband helped me create using a floating shelf from Mocka, some leather strapping and copper piping.

The rompers that Jen, my mum and business partner, made for baby Georgia double as art and it helps to see them hanging when deciding on her outfit for the day.

The star light was custom made for us by our friends at Fromage la Rue.

what were the tricky bits?
When we moved into the house, we took the couch up our tiny flight of stairs and there was no way it was moving back down, so instead of a feeding chair we have a feeding couch. A Mr X Pony Rider cushion, from The Design Depot, made the couch a feature and it actually works really well. I put Georgia's change mat on one half and I sit and feed on the other – you can also get comfy and put your feet up when feeding, which is a bonus.

The little boho feather headdress from Gold Frankincense + Myrrh was handmade and embossed with Georgia's name (we used this for her name announcement).

how will you update the room as Georgia gets older?
We are fortunate in that all of the pieces that we have chosen are ageless. There are no shades of pink or blue, and the pieces can easily be moved around or swapped out. The Leander crib also transforms into a toddler bed so it will be perfect until Georgia is about three. As a safety measure, we will have to remove the hanging rail and also the wooden garland on the cot when she starts crawling and grabbing at things.

best bargain in the room?
The floating shelf and the set of drawers – Mocka is amazing for on-trend pieces that are extremely affordable. We recommend going to them first when looking for nursery furniture. any special family heirloom-type items in the room? There aren't any heirloom pieces, but many items were sourced from amazing New Zealand and Australian companies that are owned by friends of ours – including the zebra hide from The Cowhide Company; the cushion from The Design Depot; and the wall hooks, plants and Uashmama bags from Little Mash. Most of the other pieces are sourced from our own website, sesandjen.co.nz.

1 Large cross, $229, sesandjen.co.nz
2  Hanging star, $45, thefairylightshop.com
3  Leopard espadrille, $49.95, prettybrave.com
4  Blacklist Studio print, 45cmx64cm, $135, mildredandco.com
5  Copper hanging planter, $49.90, cravehome.co.nz
6 Jolt three-drawer unit, $199.95, mocka.co.nz
7 Monkey soft toy, $49.90, greenwithenvy.co.nz

8 Geo 1 light pendant, $199, lightingplus.co.nz
9  Stokke Sleepi cot, $1499.99, dimples.co.nz
10 Down to the Woods wooden garland, $48, teapea.co.nz