The former heavyweight champ of baby decor may be forced into retirement as design-savvy parents-to-be kick cute to the curb and choose contemporary kids' furniture and gear.

    ``Our timing couldn't have been better,'' said Brenda Berg, who founded Scandinavian Child in 2002, when she was expecting her first child.

    ``(Parents) spend a lot of time and money to make their home an extension of themselves,'' Berg continued. ``If you spend thousands of dollars on a dining room set, you don't want a big clunky plastic high chair next to it.''

    Still, when she and her husband brought the ``Svan'' highchair to their first furniture convention, they felt a little out of the loop.

    ``At the Juvenile Products Manufacturers' Association in 2003, we were really the only contemporary designer there except for David Netto (designer of the Netto Collection for kids),'' Berg said. ``We were sitting in a crowd of traditional cribs and people looked at our products like, `What?' Now they're very interested.''

    One reason for the influx of stylish baby furniture: Many young furniture designers, whose aesthetic is anything but traditional, are starting to have children. And let's just say toile and trucks aren't what they're looking for.

    ``People are rebelling against pink and blue,'' said furnishings designer Sophie Demenge, founder of Oeuf of NYC. ``For many years we were designing for adults, until we had children. Our daughter is 4 and when we were looking for furniture, we were frustrated with what was out there. So we created what we wanted, really nice furniture that matches the rest of the house.''

    Of course, some traditionalists who prefer Mickey Mouse to modern might just say ``Hey, it's a crib. It's supposed to be cute.''

    But to homeowners who have spent thousands of dollars matching that Pottery Barn sofa to their Scalamandre drapes, a Graco pack-and-play in an open floor plan is an eyesore they can't justify.

    ``In this day and age, parents really want the nursery to reflect the rest of the home aesthetic,'' said Kaye Popofsky Kramer, cofounder of the L.A.-based Nurseryworks, a baby furniture and bedding design company. ``We're turning the industry on its head. It's about variety and different tastes and design philosophies. It's like the diaper bag. They used to be awful, with patterns and characters. Now I have a diaper bag that's so cool I use it as a regular bag. That's happening with nursery furniture.''

    Yet expectant moms and dads aren't just looking for style.

    ``It has to be really functional and it has to work,'' Demenge said. ``(Oeuf's) changing station can be attached to the crib or the dresser, you can face your baby when you change him or you can do it from the side. We do things with the child in mind but also with the parent in mind. They want practical.''

    ``Consumers love it,'' Demenge said. ``They were starving for something different. There's no going back.''

    Netto collection, available at 9 Months, 286 Newbury St., Boston, 617-236-5523.

    Oeuf collection, available at TK.

    Nursery Works, available at Bambini Designs, 82 Boylston St., Brookline, 617-730-4114; Magic Beans, 312 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-264-2326; Wild Child, 397 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington, 781-483-3566.

    Scandinavian Child, available at Lester Harry's, 115 Newbury St., Boston and 134 Washington St., Marblehead; 781-631-4343