When you’re expecting, you have an overwhelming urge to “nest” and prepare for your baby’s arrival. One of the best outlets for your energy is preparing a nursery that is functional and pleasing to look at.
Whether you are aiming for gender neutral, princess in pink or a sports theme fit for a little superstar, here are some great tips to get help get you started.
1. Choose Your Color Scheme
It’s suggested you select wall colors that create a calm and peaceful atmosphere to help your child sleep and allow both you and the baby to enjoy the tranquil effects of soft pastels, neutrals and pale earth tones. You can spruce up the room and add accents of color with art work, bedding, curtains, throw pillows and even toys.
If your nursery is set to be the child’s room going forward, select wall colors that will have some staying power as the child ages. It’s easy to give a room a total makeover without painting once you change up linens and accent pieces!
Remember, painted walls are easily adaptable while wallpaper and sticker applications can be more difficult to remove and can be easily outgrown, so consider sticking to paint for a better transition down the road.
2. Know Where to Invest and Where to Bargain Hunt!
Like any room in your home, the décor in your nursery will be an broad collection of furniture, finishings and special touches from a number of places including retail outlets, hand me downs from friends and family members, and may even include some family heirlooms. When decorating it’s not necessary to go to one shop and buy the entire line of one theme from crib, to linens, to wall art.
Choose individual pieces that come together and reflect your personality and your budget! While it is important to invest in some larger items such as a crib (your baby will spend a lot of time in it so if you are choosing an item to splurge on, this is it!) and a comfortable place to feed (rocking chair, overstuffed love seat, etc.) you can spend less on great items such as rugs, curtains, picture frames, shelving, and more that make your room look designer, on a dime!
Check out stores like Pottery Barn Kids for high end lines, and target must have items that don’t break the bank! Some moms and dads love the thrill of the chase, and choose garage sails for unique items!
3. Put the Fun in Functional!
When decorating, remember to focus on both aesthetic and purpose. While it may be fun to simply decorate a room so it looks great, don’t forget it also has to serve the purpose sleeping, changing and breastfeeding your baby all under one roof—so don’t forget about storage and space.
You may find some smaller rooms lack enough closet space (and some older homes lack a closet all together) so look for storage options that add a fun dimension to the room. Look for quirky wall dividers, beautiful hope chests that also store extra linen and off season clothing, as well as change tables and/cribs (now baby crib rentals are also available in the market)with additional drawers for diapers and wipes!
Make your room work for you!
4. Get Creative and Put Your DIY Touch on Your Space!
From painting a whimsical mural to creating your own mobile, wall art, or even bedding—there is a DIY project and how to instructions out there for you! With websites like Pinterest available for brainstorming and step-by-step instructions, home projects are easier than ever to find and ace!
Check out this thread for some creative ideas Nursery DIY Decorating Ideas.
5. Have Fun!
Whether it’s picking a theme, or adding your own special touches, decorating your baby’s nursery is the first project you get to complete for your child so do it with love, creativity and flare!
Do you have any decorating tips to share? Please write them in the Comments. Thank you.
