When I learned that I was having a baby girl, I was so excited because I knew that I would have the privilege to experience with her what I had experienced with my own mother. On a less serious note, how fun is it to have an adorable little princess around the house? So in preparation for baby Ayla’s arrival, my husband and I decided to create a magical world in which to welcome her.

Before even starting to search for a room, I decided that I wanted something Zen – something serene and peaceful to the eye and to the soul. I am against strong and vivid colors, so I had my mind set on white, the purest color of all.

After weeks of research, I fell in love with Belgian brand Theophile & Patachou. Their themes and designs are simple, yet elegant. My personal favorite was Thème Antique. All of the main pieces in this room are made of white wood: the crib, the closet, the changing table and the adult bed. A hint of soft pink pastel was added to the paint, the bed sheets and some of the accessories, just to warm the room up a bit.

Room completed! Now it was time to start preparing the chocolates, sweets and souvenirs! I wanted to remain within the same peaceful theme, but at the same time wanted to go a little crazy with the decoration. My aim was to design a dreamy and utopic environment for Ayla, far from the one in which adults live. I decided to create a candy town: a gigantic marshmallow house, surrounded with sweets, lollipops, cupcakes and chocolates. This would be her world: magical, fairy-like and mythical.

With the help of the amazing Rana Ashkar, who owns the shop Verre D’o, we were able to recreate my vision, in a fantasy setup that invites every visitor to escape and dream. The color palette we chose was a mixture of pastels, including pink, blue and green as well as white. Then we made sure to add all sorts of candy-like items and sweets that you expect to find in a candy town.

As for the souvenirs, we opted for small, porcelain white houses – miniature replicas of Ayla’s huge candy house!

The whole experience was truly memorable, most importantly because it makes a woman bond with her unborn child, before even getting to meet the baby. And what counts the most is that all the preparations were made with the deepest love.

N.