One of the most exciting things to do for expecting moms is to design your baby’s nursery. For so many woman (including myself) this is a very special process because we are creating the space where we will share many of our first memories with our children. Although I believe babies bring light and love anywhere, it’s the cherry on top when you get to experience all that love and tenderness in a beautifully designed space. Here are a few design tips to help you design a stylish space for your little angel!
THINK FUNCTION FIRST
The first key to a stylish nursery is to make sure it’s functional. Like any other nursery your essentials are of course a crib, bedding, changing table, nursery/rocking chair, and storage. These are the foundational necessities to a well-designed nursery. Before you go out shopping for these pieces, you will want to create a furniture plan to make sure that all of the pieces you want to incorporate will fit properly, as well as allow you to easily move around the room and have the best flow. So, if you are going to rock the baby to sleep, you won’t want to be walking across the room to put the baby in the crib and vice versa. You will want to be near the crib to make it a smoother transition from rocking the baby to lying the baby down in the crib. Again, if you are going to change the baby’s diaper you don’t want to have to walk across the entire room to grab diapers and wipes then travel back to the changing table. You will want to make sure pieces you pick have proper storage and work well with how you plan on using the space. So first things first, map out how you want your space to work for you.
SELECT A THEME
Next you want to select a theme for the nursery. There are several out there in the “Pintrosphere” to give you a plethora of ideas. Pinterest showcases almost every idea you can think of from a pink princess baby jungle to simple, sophisticated and modern. Start pulling your ideas together and how you want to implement it within the space. Will it be through the decor? Furnishings? Wall art? From here you will want to begin shopping for your furniture.
NURSERY ESSENTIALS
As stated before your essentials are a crib, changing table, nursery/rocking chair, and storage unit. When selecting these items, think about what your theme will be for the room. If you are having a little girl and are going for a pink princess theme, try to balance out the color in the room where your furniture pieces are comprised of more neutral tones which gives way for your decor and design aesthetics to be the areas where you can add color to create warmth and depth. You can also pick pieces with feminine details to create that dainty look and feel. It’s good to make sure you balance color correctly because you don’t want to go too crazy and realize you’ve overly pinked out the space. A great rule of thumb is to think about what your focal point will be in the room. Will it be the crib..wall art…lighting? Select that “wow” factor first and then go a little more simple on the rest of the pieces to create balance in the room.
SHOPPING TIPS
Crib
For the crib make sure to buy a quality bed. This is where your baby will be sleeping, therefore, you want to make sure you have the safest bed possible. There are plenty of options out there that doesn’t sacrifice style for function. Here are a few places to look:
www.buybuybaby.com; www.giggle.com; www.oeufnyc.com
Crib Bedding
Your crib bedding is a great way to showcase the room’s theme. By adding the color in the space through your decor instead of the furnishing it will create a more luxe appeal. Simple but playful is always key.
Changing Table
I love a changing table that provides ample storage. There are also options out there where the changing table is attached to the crib. Think about how you would like to move around the room. If you have twins, it may be a better option to be able to bring the baby straight from the crib to a connected changing table.
Nursery Chair
You will want to make sure you have a very comfortable chair for nursing the baby and rocking the baby to sleep. Sometimes too soft and too hard chairs can hurt your bum while sitting for too long, so opt for something comfortable but with more support.
Storage
As your baby grows, storage is going to one of your favorite purchases. Especially, as the toys begin to pile up, you are going to want to have something to hide this away.
Decor
The icing on the cake is the decor of the nursery. I love cute animal art or cartoon sketches for the walls. Another great idea is to create a book wall with different baby books that can become decor for the space. I love to bring in a couple of stuffed animals and a soft sheepskin rug to bring in the warmth to the overall space. I’m a natural light advocate for nursery’s but if you want to bring in a statement piece, go with something fun and funky! It’s a nursery so have fun with the space!
I hope these tips will have you well on your way to creating a stylish nursery! Have additional tips to share I’d love to hear from you! Share them in the comments!
Photo Source: Nurture by Nature Designed By Contour Interior Design
Photo Credit: Laurie Perez