Tips for Designing a Nursery
How to design a nursery: 10 Tips to create a nursery that is both pretty and practical!
Living and using our nursery in various iterations over the past 8 months, I’ve learned a few keys to creating a functional baby’s room that still feels whimsical and attractive. A nursery doesn’t need to be sterile and sparse to function; it doesn’t need to be all primary colors and cartoon characters; and it doesn’t need to be boring!
You can create a magical room for your baby that combines the practical and the pretty just like I did for our baby boy! See his full nursery renovation here.
It is important to keep a few concepts or goals at the forefront:
- Safety – check your materials, safety regulations, etc. for the furnishings and decor you bring into the room
- Functionality – consider just how each piece will be used from infant to toddler and if it is multi-purpose and long-lasting
- Durability – choose materials that will wear well, are easy to clean, and will withstand stains
With these in mind let’s dig into how to design a nursery with my 10 tips for a baby’s room!
10 Tips for Designing a Nursery
No. 1 Soothing Colors
While it can be tempting to go all in on the high contrast bold primary colors for a child’s room, I recommend keeping your color scheme more soothing. Think cheery but soft pastels or earth tones. No, you don’t need to go all white. The goal is to create a serene space where baby and parents feel calmed, and believe me during those crazy hours long colicky sessions you’re going to need every bit of calm you can get! For most of us bright primary colors and all white are rarely soothing.
Our baby’s room is painted High Park from Benjamin Moore.
No. 2 Multi-Functional Furniture
Whether your nursery is big or small, you want to choose furniture that is multi-purpose. There is so much baby paraphernalia that having furniture pull double duty can be a real space saver. For instance, our dresser is also our diaper changing station and the twin bed is a trundle, so the bottom pulls out for a second mattress or useful storage. As James gets older, I plan to put long thin totes underneath for toy storage.
Be sure to consider a multi-use crib that transitions through the toddler years as well.
No. 3 A Good Layout
As you arrange your furniture in the space try to maximize the arrangement for open floor space. Baby will need lots of tummy time early on and then later you’ve got a great area for playing.
Also try to place your nursery chair beside or near the crib. This will make it easier getting baby from rocker to crib at bedtime and allow you to sit nearby if they have trouble falling to sleep.
No. 4 Patterns with Contrast
While I don’t recommend loud colors for your nursery design, a few patterns with some high contrast can be really beneficial for baby’s developing eye sight and brain. Early on our baby loved gazing at the green and white woodland wallpaper we installed in his nursery. It has just enough variation in shades and tints to be visible to him and attract his attention. Later I can see us naming the deer and making up stories about the country scene.
No. 5 Practical Lighting
One of the best renovations we made to this bedroom was adding wall sconces beside the closets. I chose these handsome white and brass lights that have mid-mod vibes. The smartest attribute is the dimmer switch, so we can set the level of lighting. This is all important for our bedtime routine and those late night wakings when the nightlight is not enough but full overhead light would be too much.
No. 6 Maximize Storage
Along with multi-functional furniture you really want to maximize your storage spaces. Our baby’s room has 2 closets, so in one I’ve added a basic Ikea shelf with bins. Right now these hold his future clothing in bigger sizes, but eventually these can transition to toy storage. Choose bins pretty enough to be seen and even set out when needed. I picked a sage green woven plastic that is easily cleaned but still attractive.
Early on I found a simple tiered rolling car extremely useful beside the nursery chair. It held burp cloths, breast pumping equipment, and various other baby stuff you need right at hand.
No. 7 Comfy Rocker
This is an absolutely pivotal piece for the nursery design! I sit in ours multiple times a day breastfeeding and rocking baby to sleep. Be sure your arms can rest comfortably about level with your waist and that the rocking motion feels good to you. I ended up with a glider because the rocker chairs felt jerky to me. Now with experience caring for a newborn under my belt, I wish I had considered a gliding recliner a bit more because contact naps would be a tad bit easier. Definitely, give this part of designing your nursery lots of thought and test out lots of chairs.
No. 8 Doses of Whimsy
I think a nursery should be sophisticated and able to grow with the little one that doesn’t mean a baby’s room should be without playful whimsy! Of course the toys and colorful picture books will provide much of the fun, but also consider ways to incorporate more subtle doses of whimsy. One such little dose in our nursery are the two bed pillows embroidered with the phrases “goodnight sleep tight” and “rise and shine sleepyhead.” It’s cute now for mom and dad, but later will be a sweet touch he can enjoy.
Our origami animal mobile is another place I brought in some whimsy. Instead of hanging it over his crib where it can be a distraction while falling asleep, I hung it underneath the semi-flush mount light. It looks like part of the light and makes the shade much more interesting. This light is a vintage piece I found thrifting and revamped. Here is a similar look.
No. 9 Functional Window Treatments
One words…BLACKOUT! Whether you choose shades or curtains be sure they are lined with blackout fabric. In the newborn stage it is not entirely necessary as infants can sleep almost anywhere, but as babies become more and more curious and ready to engage with the world around them, you will desperately need to block the light to lower the sensory input for sleep.
No. 10 Family Heirlooms
Finally, my tenth tip for designing a nursery that is both practical and pretty is to incorporate family heirlooms like handmade baby blankets, art, rattles, toys, and books. Ask your family for treasured keepsakes from when you and your husband were babies and then find special places for them in the nursery. These treasures will bring warmth and shared history to the room making your new little one part of shared memories and connecting them to past loved ones.
I’m working on a whole post about this, so stay tuned!
Woodland Nursery Sources
Please feel free to contact me if there is a source I missed. I shop a lot of second hand sources like thrifts and estate sales, so some items are not readily available. I’ve tried to link to similar versions on eBay or Etsy when they could be found. *Includes affiliate links*
Fixtures
Green & White Wallpaper // White Brass Sconce // Scalloped Shelves
Furnishings & Fabrics
Craftmaster Handsome Fabric // Thibaut Milanese Plaid Fabric // Acorn Fabric // Craftmaster Glider // Crib // Floral Duvet // Blue & White Shams // Carpet from Shaw, Faint Intent, Color Champagne Toast // James Pillow // Twin Bed
Decor
Woodland Animal Plates, Vintage Moonlight Interiors Decoupage // Rabbit Lamp // Sheep Footstool // Origami Mobile // Blue Bunny // Small Framed Art under Light