Store

Gen X parents and grandparents tired of all the cutesy baby accoutrements out there should take a trip to tottini, a shop that carries "furnishings for offspring." This is not to say that you won't use the word cute when in this shop. I did about 52 times. It simply has a lively and colorful aesthetic with modern design in mind, where pink and baby blue take a backseat to fashionable colors.

Owners Melissa Maffei and Melissa Van Flandern have similar tastes and sought to bring modern, sleek and modular furniture into nurseries and children's rooms. Both are inspired by mid-century modern design and seek out products that are organic, recycled or sustainable. The result is a bright, playful mix of furniture, furnishings, toys and clothing in their light-filled store in Alley 24, a mixed-use space in the Cascade neighborhood.

Most of the furniture multi-tasks. A Magis Trioli chair ($224) can be turned topsy turvy so the seat is low at one end and higher at another. A Duck Duck armoire stores clothes and toys but has a chalkboard on the front ($1,450). You won't find polyester bedding with dancing teddy bears -- Gus & Max or Pixel cotton bedding has bold colors in contemporary prints. Little Merry Fellows makes organic blankets ($46-$56), towel sets ($32) and plush stuffed animals ($16-$28). For guys who eschew flowery diaper bags, there are Diaper Dude bags in camouflage and gray ($52-$60).

Everything has a function or requires interaction. Hide a child's tooth under their pillow? Au contraire! There are precious little Petunia Petunia tooth pillows ($20) so the Tooth Fairy won't make a mistake and put their prize in the wrong place.

-- Kathy Schultz