On June 10, Candace Parker surprised fans by announcing that she and her wife, Anya Petrakova, welcomed their second child together a month prior on May 21. Named Hartt Summitt Petrakov Parker, the littlest member of their brood makes them a family of five now.
It’s been beautiful chaos, having a teenager in 15-year-old Lailaa, a 2-year-old in Airr, and now, an infant all under one roof, but Parker, who recently retired from the WNBA, is loving every minute with her favorite teammates — her family. She’s also had the chance to partner up with another special team in Crate & Kids. The kids’ furniture sector of Crate & Barrel partnered with Parker ahead of Hartt’s arrival to create the ultimate safari-themed nursery. The end result is a warm, inviting space coated in rich browns, and soft greens, and featuring some truly cozy furniture, including a luxurious glider that makes Hartt’s room the place to be at casa Petrakov Parker.
We talked to the new president of Adidas Women’s Basketball, three-time WNBA champion, and seven-time All-Star about reimagining her home for her newest addition, being a mom of three children at wildly different stages of their young lives, and why her favorite form of self-care still revolves around her littles.
ESSENCE: For baby Hartt’s nursery, what was the inspiration? I see a lot of lion imagery and browns!
Candace Parker: We envisioned a bright, safari-themed colorful room with lots of style and cute details. The most difficult part of designing and decorating a new space is taking the ideas in your head and making them a reality, but the Crate & Kids Design Desk team made this such an easy process. We would have never thought to make the walls a warm terracotta color, but the Crate & Kids team included it in the design renderings, and we are so happy with the final look – it pairs so nicely with the safari-themed pieces like the jungle-inspired crib quilt.
You briefly began to discuss this, but how did Crate & Kids come in and bring your ideas for the space to life?
The Crate & Kids team was incredible to work with. We loved collaborating with the designers to bring our vision to life. There were a lot of components that went into this nursery, and we loved building out our vision from scratch with the Crate & Kids registry. Anya was in awe when she saw the finished room and kept saying that it looks so stylish and cozy! The full nursery is available to shop on Crate & Kids now!
What is your favorite thing in the room? That bed looks mighty cozy. I also love the green furniture!
I also love the green furniture—it’s such an extraordinary and elegant color. The sage dresser and crib are two of my favorite pieces in the room. A good rocking chair was also a must-have for the nursery, and I am in love with the glider. It pairs so nicely with the sage green furniture, terracotta walls, and wood accents throughout the room.
How are you adjusting to being a mother of three, with a teenager and two kiddos under two?
Just like in basketball, we’re adjusting our defense from man to man to zone. It’s been especially exciting having two new courts to play on, between the nursery and new room, but we are loving it and are so excited to continue to play our starting lineup!
You are on serious diaper duty. When you have the chance, how do you practice self-care?
It’s definitely been difficult finding time, but I honestly think that the best self-care is spending time with family. Whether it’s watching Lai’s volleyball games or chasing Goose around the house, it’s my favorite way to spend my downtime.
You can shop items from Parker’s full nursery for Hartt over at Crate & Kids.