Darryl Dyck/The Globe and Mail
Vancouverite Anna Dhillon was an investment banker before becoming an interior designer. She studied at Parsons The New School for Design and changed careers in time to create a nursery for her first child. Although Ava was born a year ago, Dhillon began accumulating multifunctional pieces for a baby's room well before then. Housed in the 4,000-square-foot downtown condo Dhillon shares with her husband, financier Salil Munjal, Ava's room is chic and contemporary. Dhillon, who owns Anna Dhillon Designs, was careful to choose furniture and decor that would evolve with her daughter. "I wanted a child's room that would still mesh with the rest of our home," she says. "The pieces are transitional and could go in other rooms when Ava grows older."
The wallpaper
"I hadn't set out to do a theme, but I came across this elephant wallpaper by the designer Jill Malek and fell in love. You will see other elephants throughout the room."
The mirror
"It's used as an objet d'art. It is a baroque style with modern clear resin and was made by an artist in Italy."
The crib
"The crib is probably the very first piece I knew I wanted to have. I love it because it has an oval shape, which is very traditional, but it's designed in a modern way. The brand is Stokke."
The rug
"It's sheepskin. I chose black because I was trying to balance the modern with the traditional. This was a great find because you don't usually get sheepskins this big."
The chair
"I was hesitant to get a glider. But a girlfriend who already had a baby told me this was an important purchase. It's by Monte Design, and I have used it many times."
The pouf
"This is a Moroccan pouf that my husband and I purchased in Morocco. Since I didn't have children when we bought it, it sat in storage until we had Ava. I've got two of them in different colours – we didn't know if we'd have a girl or a boy. My baby uses it to prop herself up."
The change pad
"It's the shape of a peanut. I was lucky that it came in grey, which was a hard colour to find for nurseries. It is by Keekaroo and I bought it at Giggle in New York's Soho neighbourhood."
The mobile
"This is by designer Christian Flensted, who started designing mobiles for his own daughter in 1953. The pieces all have a mid-century modern feel but are classic and current at the same time."