Mariah Carey shows off lavish baby nursery for twins

Life & Style

Mariah Carey said her favorite part of the twins' L.A. nursery was the cloudscaped ceiling.

With only a few weeks left before giving birth, Mariah Carey has added the final touches to two lavish nurseries her twins will call home.

Carey, 42, and husband Nick Cannon opened up their doors to Life & Style for a sneak peek at their babies' breathtaking rooms ? one in their Bel-Air, Calif., estate and the other at their N.Y.C. apartment. A photo of the West Coast abode shows an array of plush chairs, elegant ivory furniture, and a pink and green motif.

The singer also incorporated her favorite winged insects, butterflies, into the nursery and stuffed-animal lambs, a term she endearingly calls her fans.

"I wanted to create a beautiful, tranquil, cozy environment for the babies," said Carey, who is expecting a boy and a girl. "Everything matches, but pieces are individualized to celebrate the twins as separate entities."

The items may be separate, but they are all equally exquisite.

The singer enlisted Gail Sedigh of AFK Furniture to help transform the L.A. nursey and decorator Mario Buatta to help with the New York location.

"[Decorating] was so challenging because I had such specific ideas I wanted implemented," she said. "I feel like I'm bringing two individuals into the world, so I wanted to do more than cookie-cutter styles in blue and pink."

Carey also tapped into her own music for decorating inspiration.

"The ceiling has orangey-pink clouds in a blue sky with golden stars twinkling. It's based on two songs I wrote that are fan favorites: ?Underneath the Stars' and ?Close My Eyes,' " she revealed.

"Sometimes I just sit in the nursery and stare at the ceiling because I love it so much. To me, it symbolizes wanting my children to dream as big as possible and to let their imaginations be unbridled."

And while the couple also has an apartment in Manhattan, Carey said she and Cannon are still deciding where to raise their brood.

"I prefer the East Coast schooling over the West Coast," Cannon, 30, told Life & Style. "But there are other things that come into play, like work."

While pregnancy has been an enjoyable experience for the first-time mom, Carey said she is anxiously awaiting the twins' arrival.

"Being a mother is probably the hardest job in the world. I feel like, in a lot of ways, children come into the world to teach us," she said. "It's going to be a delicate balance between raising them around glitz and glamour and keeping them grounded. One thing I'm sure of is that I'll be grateful for the twins every day, no matter what."

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