A Room for the Ages

April 2, 2025

Words by Kimberly Winter Stern | Photos by Nate Sheets

An elevated nursery in a grown-up shade of pink sets the stage for a couple’s daughter to grow.

hen Brooke and Mitchell Schwartz shared their stunning Leawood home with designKC last winter, we marveled at how the chic lifestyle influencer and the former gridiron star effortlessly took a dated Tuscan-style residence, brushed away its heavy, dark patina and emerged with a crisply reimagined motif—an ode to luxe modern living.

So, it’s not surprising that when the couple prepared to welcome their first child last summer, Brooke envisioned a nursery that sidestepped being a mishmash of a nursery-playroom cluttered with toy storage and sporting color combinations that traditionally signal “baby on board.”

“I approached the design project very intentionally, ensuring I wouldn’t want to change everything in five to 10 years,” Brooke says.

During the home renovation, Mitchell, an avid cook and barbecue aficionado, had definite ideas about the kitchen’s functionality for everyday cooking and frequent entertaining.

“That is his domain,” notes Brooke, a self-described “devoted non-cook.” “But he deferred to me regarding the baby’s room. When we found out we were expecting a girl, he knew how much that meant to me and encouraged me to tap into my design instincts. His only requirement was a comfortable place to spend time with our daughter.”

That was a tall order to fill since the standout NFL offensive right tackle has a physique unfriendly to most swivel rockers on the market. The couple visited stores around the city, where Mitchell took chairs for a test drive. The first requirement was that the chair be wide enough to accommodate his girth. They finally found the perfect chair that suited the new dad at Crate&Barrel, a modern design allowing him to rock, cuddle, snooze and coo comfortably.

When the couple’s baby arrived in June, the nursery was buttoned up to welcome Scottie, a name Brooke adopted from a female attorney on the hit TV show, Suits.

“It was the character’s nickname, but I became obsessed with the idea of a masculine name for a girl,” she says.

The second-floor room designated as the nursery is spacious—19’ x 15’—with soaring ceilings. Brooke and Kristen Ridler, ASID, her bestie and longtime interior designer, paid close attention to the scale challenge as they planned the nondescript room’s personality transformation, choosing each piece of furniture, light fixture and design element to create a big impact while still grounding the space.

The duo started with the custom trim work, what Brooke calls the nursery’s centerpiece.

“The rest of our house is pretty modern, so we went in a little different direction,” Brooke explains.

“She instantly loved the notion of adding molding to the walls and painting everything pink,” Kristen adds. “We had so much fun designing this space together. Brooke drives the vision.”

They chose Benjamin Moore’s Venetian Portico for its lush qualities. Floor-to-ceiling draperies in the same color from The Shade Store were a happy coincidence.

“We had two pinks to choose from, and one exactly matched the wall color,” Brooke says.

Playful accents throughout the room include the Julie Neill Talia flush-mount ceiling fixture from Visual Comfort, which reminds Brooke of a kids’ soft ball pit. The clear, swirled glass of each light bubble makes a statement over the RH convertible crib, and the plush Nordic Knots rug imbues a pop of color against the room’s demure pink palette.

“I love the orangey, amber rug—it centers the room,” Brooke says.

Brooke, whose robust social media following swooned over her Chanel-inspired closet, hasn’t landed on a definition for her penchant for interior flair.

“How can we coin ‘sophistication with comfortability?’” she asks with a laugh. The first-time mother admits her design style is evolving with Scottie’s arrival. “We are adding white oak paneling to the main staircase and other textural elements and swapping out cream-colored rugs for caramel-hued floor coverings, injecting more warmth into our surroundings. It feels right.”

However one might define Brooke Schwartz’s confident design sensibility, she has created a nursery where anyone would enjoy spending time beyond changing, nursing, resting, reading and rocking, whether you’re the couple’s Pomeranians—Pumpkin and Cupcake—a besotted dad, an enchanted mom, a newborn, a toddler, or a future teen and her friends.

“Kristen and I did the work upfront,” Brooke emphasizes, “and all Scottie has to do is enjoy it in her different growing-up phases.”

But first, the cozy family cherishes each moment spent in this sweet room with their bundle of joy.

Interior Designer: Kristen Ridler Interior Design, @kristenridlerdesign