When *NSYNC alum Lance Bass and his husband, actor Michael Turchin, were gearing up to welcome their new twins, Violet and Alexander, they turned to Decorist designer Max Humphrey to create the nursery of their dreams. "We wanted the space to be really functional,” Turchin says. “It isn’t big, so we needed the room and design to flow.”
To kick off the design process, “they showed me a few inspirational images of rooms they liked that were all super eclectic,” recalls Humphrey, who ultimately combined an assortment of hues and textures to create a stylish, gender-neutral space. “We were inspired by this one particular wallpaper and built the room around it,” Bass reveals, referring to a jean-jacket print that Humphrey—a self-proclaimed denim enthusiast—designed himself. “It was one of the first items we picked out.” The wallpaper is available in multiple colorways, but “Lance and Michael liked this one because it’s funky and has both pink and blue in it,” the designer explains.
Humphrey painted the remaining walls in Farrow & Ball’s Parma Gray, purposely chosen to complement the playful print. “It’s a color that can grow with the twins and doesn’t look too babyish,” he asserts. “Plus, I like that it changes with the light depending on the time of day.”
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A Hatch changing table, VTech cameras, and the Nursery Works rocking chair were all non-negotiables. Also high on the couple’s wish list: “cribs that were different in shape than the normal ones you’d see at the store,” Bass notes. “So when we saw Buybuy Baby had oval ones, we were sold!”
The designer collaborated with the San Francisco-based retailer to fill the room, handpicking a slew of Buybuy Baby products including a Safavieh sheepskin rug, an Ubbi diaper pail, a Taylor Madison Designs elephant hamper, and Stokke fitted sheets. “I just selected pieces that the guys loved,” Humphrey explains. “I kept a few pieces neutral, like the rocking chair—just so it wouldn’t be too cuckoo in there!”
All the products that he ordered arrived surprisingly quickly, in spite of the pandemic—though there were a few construction delays. “Our nursery wasn’t even finished until after the twins were born,” Turchin reveals. “But once it was done, everything was furnished and decorated immediately. It all fell into place!”
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