5 Safe & Stylish Tips for Feathering Your Nest

Because creating a safe and healthy environment for our children is what inspired the start of The Honest Company, we naturally wanted our office to reflect this ideal. So when we moved to our new headquarters, we made it our decorating mission to create a space that is inspiring, inviting, and family friendly.

To make our guests and employees who have babies and toddlers feel at home, we created a soothing nursery. Co-Founder Jessica Alba and The Land of Nod teamed up to design a comfortable space where moms can find a calm refuge within the active workplace, babies can be fed and changed, and infants can safely play and rest alongside their parents. They struck a balance by using different textures, patterns, and surfaces in a complementary color scheme of metallics and Honest teal to create a space that feels airy, relaxing, yet still cozy.

Of course, our little sanctuary also needed to be safe and healthy without compromising on design. Here are five tips we followed when creating a nursery that is both eco-friendly and stylish:

1. Sick of that new paint smell? It’s actually harmful chemicals off-gassing, so use no-VOC paint to avoid inhaling any nasty stuff after a fresh coat goes up. We used Mythic Paint, which is a zero-VOC line and comes in a many fresh colors.

2. Consider skipping wall-to-wall carpet because it usually off-gasses chemicals from glue and synthetic fibers. Instead, look for natural fiber area rugs or try FLOR modular carpet tiles made from renewable and recyclable materials. We created a customized checkerboard pattern using various shades of grey and teal tiles.

3. We know changing diapers can be a messy business, so one way to reduce the yuck factor and your baby’s exposure to toxins is to use a changing pad made with polyester, down, wool, or cotton — all which are less likely to contain harmful flame retardants that have been linked to endocrine disruption and certain cancers (avoid any that are made with polyurethane foam). We love the organic options from Naturepedic.

4. Mix old furniture with new when furnishing your space. Jessica loves to unearth unique pieces on Craigslist and at flea markets, which she can makeover using eco-friendly materials.  It’s an affordable and environmentally sound choice that gives a room a lot of personality.

5. Because babies and toddlers are a significantly more vulnerable to chemical exposure — not to mention they put everything in their mouths — outfit the nursery with the safest and healthiest essentials, including natural and non-toxic diapers, wipes, body care products, and teethers.

How would you create a safe and stylish kid’s space? Let us know by entering our Feather Your Nest Sweepstakes now through November 1, 2013. Together with The Land of Nod and a collective of design-savvy, inspirational bloggers, we’re inviting readers to share their entries via this Facebook app. One random winner will be chosen to receive one year of all Honest Bundles + a $1500 gift certificate for The Land of Nod (over $3300 in goodies) to create or makeover your child's nursery, kids' rooms, or play rooms. Happy pinning!