Date:  August 1, 2025  |   Story: Tiffany Adams  |   Photography: Rett Peek  |  

Studio MH creates a pair of equally dreamy spaces for a young sister and brother

With three children ranging in age from 8 to 4 years old, having a place for everyone and everything was key to Lauren and Alex Blass. Initially, Melissa Hall Simmons of Studio MH created a nursery and big boy bedroom for their oldest, Bennett, but as the younger siblings, Bowen and Leighton, came into the picture, the team began to convert the guest rooms of the Blasses’ Rogers home into children’s bedrooms. “I wanted each space to feel distinct to each child,” Lauren says. “They are a young, active, lively family, and we wanted to give them a design that reflects that,” Melissa adds.

As the youngest of the three children, Leighton, began to outgrow her nursery, Studio MH designer Sara Steen took the lead to create a room that can evolve as she grows. A chinoiserie wallpaper with a soft blue, pink, and peach palette was the genesis of the design. “This wallpaper is completely classic and can stay in place as Leighton grows into an adolescent. There are so many different colors we could pull from it to change up the look,” Sara says. Having made the brushed herringbone draperies for the little girl’s nursery, they were eager to keep them in place, repeating their pink hue on the new upholstered bed, bedding, and accessories. Similarly, the former changing table is now used as a dresser and framed with a quartet of Tommy Mitchell wildflowers. “Leighton is the epitome of a girl. She loves pink and purple and makeup,” Lauren says. To this point, Sara sourced a pint-sized rattan vanity where Lauren says she brushes her daughter’s hair each morning. In the adjoining bath, the palette continues with a watercolor-look wallpaper from Schumacher. “I love this wallpaper because it feels like it was painted in place,” Melissa says. It coordinates with the feminine, ruffled-edge mirror that was also formerly in the nursery.

With older brother Bennett’s room having been designed around a fort-style bed, the couple wanted to echo the setup in his brother Bowen’s space. “Lauren wanted it to feel like a whimsical adventure,” Melissa says. She found a tent-inspired child’s bed at RH Baby & Child and shared the piece with Melissa to get the ball rolling. Building off the bed for a safari-inspired theme, Melissa selected Sanderson’s “Galapago” wallpaper, which depicts the archipelago in drawings that also feature native wildlife, marine life, and plants. Other elements like the rattan coffee table, which opens to reveal storage, play into the look, while a practical, natural fiber rug can stand up to everyday car races and Lego-building sessions. The safari inspiration carries into the en-suite bath where Schumacher’s “Leaping Leopards” wallpaper enlivens the walls of the freshly finished, classic room.

“In family homes, you have to expect that anything can happen—you need to be able to launder pieces, stain treat them, and for everything to have the ability to transition and adapt with the child,” Melissa says. “We want families to be able to enjoy their home and for kids to be able to be rambunctious and have fun,” Sara adds.

“I want our house to feel pretty and elevated but also be homey and kid-friendly.”
—Lauren Blass, homeowner

Design Resources
Interior design Melissa Hall Simmons and Sara Steen, Studio MH Accessories, bedding, fabrics, furniture, lighting, mirrors, and wallpaper Studio MH Framing Scott Frame & Art Rugs Studio MH and Wentz Custom Rug Co. Wallpaper (Installation) Bill Story, Perpetual Vision Window coverings Callista’s Creations and Mountjoy’s Custom Draperies