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Colors and How They Can Affect Your Little One

Color is one of the most noticeable attributes of the world around us. For babies and small children, understanding color is an essential building block they will use for learning in all areas of their life. So when it comes to designing kids’ spaces, color is one of the most important elements to consider!

Not only does color play an important role in the overall aesthetic of a space, it can also impact an individual’s mood, emotional wellbeing, productivity, learning and behavior.

Newborn Age

Research from the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute in San Francisco, amongst others, has shown that in the first few months of life, a newborn baby sees primarily in shades of black, grey and white.

For this reason, a monochrome (different shades of one color), or dark color scheme filled with contrasting patterns and shapes provides a newborn baby with the best form of visual stimulation, without overwhelming them with a “circus” atmosphere. 



Shades of one color, for example: (black-gray-white), used in a nursery in different shapes and patterns can send the strongest visual signals to a baby’s brain without over stimulating, according to the Dr Sears Wellness Institute. They further state that stronger signals mean more brain growth and faster visual development.

As a result, creating a monochrome nursery for the first few months of life provides a beneficial environment that is said to boost your child’s attention span and curiosity, while also improving memory, and nervous system development. 

3-6 Months

By three months of age, experts say most babies are able to see color, with a preference for bright primary colors for brain stimulation.


This is a great time to start implementing toys that contain wide ranges of color.

They toy pictured above is a great option, as well as anything from this website! 

You could also add some color to the nursery, without over stimulating their environment. Here is some more information on how to not overwhelm your little ones environment. 

6-8 Months

Around the age of 6-8 months, a baby’s color vision is well developed. It is during this time that you may want to introduce a different color scheme into your child’s nursery.


This transition can be gradually achieved by the simple placement of a wall art, toys and books. There is no need to change everything, you can easily add color by using your child’s existing toys or books as functional decor items.

One of my favorite colors that I added to my sons nursery was muted green. I found it was a great color to stimulate sensory development in a subtle yet non-obtrusive way.

1-2 Years

A child’s oral language development begins to emerge between one and two years. It is during this time that a child will also begin to differentiate between colors (around 18 months). 

For babies and toddlers of this age, I like to introduce a few more colors to stimulate cognitive development. Add a fun rug, or some brightly colored books. 

Some of my favorite colors to stimulate cognitive development for little one’s aged 1-2 years are: 

Red

– Red is one of the most stimulating colors at first glance. It is rich and highly emotive, red excites and energizes the body, increasing heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration. Red has always been my sons favorite color! 

Pink

– Evokes empathy and femininity and creates a calming atmosphere. 

Yellow 

– Bright and cheery, yellow is associated with happiness and motivation. Soft, subtle yellows promote concentration while brighter shades can stimulate memory and increases metabolism. However, too much yellow can evoke feelings of anger and frustration, resulting in fussy, over-stimulated babies.

Orange

– Friendly and welcoming, orange borrows many of its parents’ positive attributes. Orange has a distinctly social nature, inspiring interpersonal communication and putting people at ease.

3 to 4 years

By approximately three to four years of age, a child will begin to recognize  identify and name basic colors.  

At this point, I believe & research shows that every color is beneficial in one way or another. Colors are also pretty personal. Pick what colors appeal to you and see what excites your little one! 

The simple placement of different colored items such as beanbags, toys or bedding in your child’s room enables you to help strengthen and reinforce basic color recognition skills.

Thanks so much for reading! 

Comment down below your favorite color.

With love,

Kate Emoji

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Transitioning From a Crib to Toddler Bed

It seems like just yesterday you were cradling your tiny newborn in your arms, rocking them to sleep, and wondering when (if ever!) he/she would sleep through the entire night. Now that your little baby has grown into a full-fledged toddler, you may be thinking about the NEXT exciting sleep phase in their young life: transitioning from the crib to a toddler bed.

The graduation from crib to a toddler bed is exciting and scary all at once. After all, will your kid ever sleep again once she discovers the newfound freedom of a bed without rails? You may have visions of her roaming about the house at night. Eating unlimited amounts of candy from the cabinet. 

Don’t worry — everything you’re feeling is TOTALLY normal and we are right there with you. More importantly, we want you to know that transitioning to a toddler bed is a milestone that’s full of positives. Not only will your child gain new coping skills, she will develop a greater sense of independence.

Crib to Toddler Bed: Timing

Some parents make the switch out of necessity to make space for a baby on the way, while others do it as a safety measure. Once your child learns to climb out of the crib… AHH!

Outside of crib jumping, when should you consider moving your child from her crib to a toddler bed?

Is your kiddo mature enough to handle the responsibility of such freedom? Kids feel safe in their cribs — it’s familiar, cozy and snug. When they move to a toddler bed, they no longer feel “protected” by the space and safe confines of their crib slats. What’s more, they have a better view of their big room and all the fun stuff that’s now within arm’s reach. Resisting the temptation to play with all the toys – or worse, leaving the bedroom – is overwhelming.

An article was recently published in the journal of Sleep Medicine, which states that when parents wait to move their kids into a big kid bed until they’re 3 years old, everyone — parents and toddlers alike — get better sleep.

All in all, it seems that 3-year-old kiddos tend to be less resistant at bedtime, have fewer night awakenings and sleep for longer periods of time. Not to mention, a 3-year-old is more likely to be able to understand the “staying in bed at night” rules. That’s why most sleep experts agree: don’t rush it. Some kids seem ready at 18 months while others not until age 4. But if your child doesn’t show any interest in getting out of the crib, it’s okay to keep him/her there until they are ready to make the transition. Bottom line: there is no hurry.

What to Transition to? 

My child is not yet big enough to transition to a toddler bed, but I am so glad that I decided to go with the Milk Street crib that can transition into a toddler bed. 

The great thing about this is that I can keep the same crib sized mattress. Not switching mattresses can also help with the toddler bed transition process! There is no worry about a child falling out of the bed, and no large room configurations need to be done to fit new furniture. The child will also have the same smells, tactile experience. 

In addition, toddler beds are designed with the needs of toddlers in mind.  The rails help them feel safe. Toddler-size beds are lower to the floor than single beds, so if your child rolls out of bed, they are less likely to be hurt.

I went with Milk Street because their style can work with any décor. Unlike many cribs on the market Milk Street designs all of their furniture to be gender neutral, and transitional. It works with any color palette, it has a design that is amazing in a newborn space , but also a “big kid” room. Does not look “Babyish.” Sophisticated baby is what they definitely bring to the market! 

Their furniture also continues to add value to my initial investment. A piece of furniture that is built and finished to get better with age.

Hope you enjoyed this post! 

Be sure to check out our other blog posts. Ranging from all things mental health, to colors in the nursery. 

With love,

Kate Emoji

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MILK STREET BABY! Finishes that beg to be touched.

Distressed Finish

Our finishes have that well worn, gorgeous patina that make Milk Street Baby furniture like no other. Each finish is distressed by hand to accentuate the individual grain found in each wood species we use in our construction. These unique surfaces are then enhanced with multiple coats of our beautiful rich pigments. All finish layers have been tested individually to assure you that nothing gets into your nursery that you don’t want there! Beautiful white tones, warm grays, and rich browns will make your nursery all you’ve dreamed about!.

We use Grade-A solid hardwoods for all furniture construction. Wood is then distressed by hand, with sandblasting techniques, and with wire brushes to give depth and texture before any finishing is applied.

Our finishing is a 20 step process! You can see and feel the difference. All of our products are hand sanded, hand finished, and hand distressed by a team of fantastic, skilled artisans with a great eye for color and distress level. Due to this every piece will be slightly  different in its finish. 

We believe if you like our look, this uniqueness will be an attribute that you value. Our paint is all from the best…AKZO NOBEL. We spend more to give you a finish with depth and tone worth its cost. You can see even in photos that our finish is special. It differentiates us from other crib companies. Not only do we use paints and stains that are all GG certified. We go a step further and test each level of finish for heavy metals and phthalates to be sure that your baby is breathing nothing but healthy air.

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Above and Beyond Safety Standards and low-VOCs

A crib is one of the most important purchases you will make in your lifetime. Why? It’s the only place where you will leave your baby unattended for up to 8 hours at a time. You want that place to be a haven; safe, comfortable, and beautiful. That is why it is our mission to create beautiful nursery furniture that doesn’t sacrifice safety for design.

Safety features

All of our cribs and case goods are tested above and beyond the most rigorous standards. We meet/exceed all of the most current safety standards set by cpsc/astm. We add voluntary measures to exceed U.S. requirements with regard to phythalates and heavy metals.

Our production methods and the materials we use are continually being reviewed and retested in accordance with the ever changing standards for construction and coatings.

We pride ourselves on finishing.

We believe in open communication and transparency with regards to our materials and finishes. We strive to educate new parents about specific details of finishing, test results, and the chemical contents of our coatings, metal parts, and even our packaging. Our pigments and top coats have been developed exclusively for Milk Street by the incredible team of artists and color specialists at AkzoNobel.

All our finishes have minimum phthalates and a low VOC.

Each finish we use is Greenguard Gold Certified. Products that are certified by Greenguard have to meet stringent standard and emission limits for indoor use. You can rest assured that any product with the Greenguard Gold certification will not emit significant chemical compounds into the air. These products are the perfect choice for a nursery!

Does Greenguard test for phthalates?

It does not measure phthalates except in the Children and Schools certification; phthalates are semi volatile, and don’t begin to evaporate until approximately 7 days after exposure to the air. It does not evaluate the manufacture of a product, nor any byproducts created during production or disposal.

We go above and beyond

Milk Street Baby independently tests all layers for the phthalates and heavy metals…we go above and beyond what Greenguard does….honestly. All our products meet the EPA guidelines for emissions.