Photos by Belle Morizio, Styling by Julia Stevens, Words by Laura Fenton
Updated Oct 12, 2026 12:42 AM EDT
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Scroll through Dee Eke’s sunny Instagram feed (@dee.diary) and you’d never guess what her family weathered last year. On top of the COVID crisis, Eke entered the pandemic wrestling with mysterious health issues. She’d felt off for months, but her doctors chalked it up to her pregnancy. Then, after her second son, Zak, arrived in February 2020, the headaches and brain fog lingered. With New York City locked down and a newborn plus a 2-year-old at home, Eke spent months chasing answers.
When she finally learned, in June, that a brain tumor was behind her symptoms, she had just started a new job. As the mother of two young Black boys, she was also processing the death of George Floyd on a deeply personal level. (After surgery and follow-up care, Eke is happily back to good health.) Amid all of it, she turned her attention to the one thing she could shape: her home.
Eke and her husband had moved into their two-bedroom Long Island City apartment before they became parents and decided to stay when their eldest son, Max, arrived because they adored the neighborhood. A pharmaceutical professional who works remotely often, Eke carved a nursery into her home office. But with Zak’s arrival and even longer hours at her desk thanks to COVID, the room needed an upgrade. She wanted it calming and restorative, yet functional enough to serve as a bedroom for two kids and a full-time workspace.
Design has long been a passion for Eke, and being home every day pushed her deeper into decor. “I never had time to finish projects when I was constantly traveling,” she says. Once she began sharing glimpses of her home on Instagram, she was struck by how much her online community responded. It became an outlet, she says: “My job doesn’t have a creative side, so I needed one.”
Here are Eke’s best tips and lessons learned from designing a kid’s room that pulls double duty.
Invest in Your Well-Being
One category where Eke decided to splurge: pieces that would make the office more comfortable. A new sit-stand desk and an ergonomic Herman Miller chair help with posture and back pain. As a bonus, the desk doubles as a signal that work is done. When Eke wraps for the day, she raises it all the way up and tucks the chair underneath. The kids know that means Mommy is all theirs.
Add Meaning Through Wall Art
Eke created the You Matter artwork hanging beside her desk while staring down a brain tumor diagnosis and reeling from Floyd’s death. “Last year was heavy, and this was me getting my emotions out—it was like therapy,” she says. “But it was also a message for my boys to see every day, and I hope they remember that.” To make it, she painted right over a piece of art she already owned (with some remote coaching from artist Alison Ford, whose work she collects).
The Chasing Paper Indigo Mud Cloth wallpaper brings color and texture to the room—it’s also peel-and-stick, which is renter friendly—while reminding Eke and her husband of West Africa (Eke is originally from Ghana, and her husband is from Nigeria).
Embrace Happy Accidents
When Eke first folded Max’s nursery into the office, she used Flor tiles in the crib area to differentiate the two zones. Over time, though, she realized they were making the room feel smaller, so she decided to extend them across the rest of the space. The catch? Flor had discontinued the original tile. So Eke went with contrasting colors and alternated them with the originals. The patchwork-like carpet is now one of her favorite elements.
Seek Out Flexible Furnishings
Eke picked up a secondhand Stokke crib for Max because she loved the narrow footprint (the rounded mattress corners save a surprising amount of space) and how it grows with a child. The crib has since been converted to a toddler bed, and Eke bought another one (also secondhand!) for Zak. Staying at home, she discovered the crib’s castors are unexpectedly handy: “We could roll it around when we had conference calls,” she says with a laugh.
Do Sweat the Details
Eke considers herself someone who genuinely enjoys organizing, so it’s no surprise the insides of her drawers are as stylish and tidy as the rest of the room. Even people who aren’t lit up by tidying, she says, should take time to optimize their drawers. In a small, hardworking space, every corner has to function efficiently, and that satisfying feeling of everything in its place gives her family a foundation of calm and order.
Choose Toys Carefully
There’s no separate playroom or basement to hide the kids’ playthings, so Eke makes a point of choosing toys that are easy on the eyes. She’s also strategic about limiting larger pieces to a few that are simple to move around, like the Hape play kitchen on wheels and the Vilac ride-on toy car.
Use Design to Guide Their Path
Eke chose IKEA’s Flisat book ledges because they’re a smart way to store her children’s books in a tight space (each shelf protrudes just 3 1/2 inches from the wall), but she also had ulterior motives. “I love books, and I want my kids to love books,” she says. With 11 display ledges, Max and Zak are nearly guaranteed to grow up to be bookworms, too.
The Goods:
Lego Storage Box by Room Copenhagen
Flisat Wall Storage
Carpet Floor Tiles
Sleepi Oval Crib
Favorite paint brand: Clare. “I love that you can order peel-and-stick samples to see how a color reads in a space before committing,” says Eke. “And Clare is super kid friendly. Without the harsh chemicals other brands use, it doesn’t even smell.”
Color theory: “Don’t be afraid to bring in color,” says Eke. “A lot of people are wary of trying color at home, but it makes such an impact.”
Secret source: “I got both cribs on Craigslist—each time from people who lived on the Upper East Side.”
Favorite Instagram follow: @carmeonhamilton “I really love Carmeon Hamilton. She has this bohemian look with an African twist. I was drawn to that,” says Eke of finding the designer’s account. “I knew my aesthetic was out there somewhere.”
Most surprising small-space hack: Hanging her baby’s bouncer and play gym on the wall.
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Belle Morizio
Staff Photographer & Assoc. Photo Editor
Belle is Domino’s in-house photographer and associate photo editor, shooting everything from house tours to gift guides and the occasional DIY project. She started with the photo team as an intern in 2018 and joined the staff full time in January 2021.
Julia Stevens
Contributing Editor
Julia Stevens is a contributing editor at Domino—or, essentially, a professional online shopper. She began as an intern and spent seven years in the style department curating products for gift guides, trend roundups, and product reviews, plus styling the beautiful homes we feature. Off the clock, she’s scouting New York’s newest design shops and restyling her own shelves.
Laura Fenton
Contributor
Laura Fenton writes the weekly newsletter Living Small and is the author of The Little Book of Living Small. She lives in New York City and writes about home design, gardens, and sustainable living.
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