6 Tips For Planning A Nursery—From a Mom Who Knows Her Stuff
Brooke, from Nesting With Grace, shares her best tips for decorating a nursery.
Photo: Nesting With Grace
It is so exciting getting to decorate a baby's nursery again. The last time I designed a nursery was for our first daughter eight years ago. Then our second daughter basically inherited everything from her. I thought back to what I would do differently with their bedroom, and here are some things I learned through the process:
#
1) Take Your Time
Photo: Nesting With Grace
I started looking for nursery inspiration early in the process. It took me some time to decide on the look I wanted. I created two design boards for his nursery. If you can’t decide between a look, having design boards is a great way to compare them to each other. Ask others what their favourite is if you cant decide or narrow it down by price point. Some products do take a while to order—another good reason to start early.
#
2) Go Neutral, but Add a Pop
Design: Chris Loves Julia
http://www.wayfair.com/ideas-and-advice/a-sweet-and-sophisticated-nursery-S5533.html
When selecting large pieces of furniture, go neutral. Ask yourself, “Would I put this somewhere else in my home right now?”
With my daughters, I had a dresser in their room that we are currently using in our master bedroom. It has been painted, but the structure is streamlined and timeless. I also have their glider chair in our bedroom now. I ordered it with a pink stripe slipcover when it was in their nursery and have since ordered a white one. It would have been better to go with a white one in the first place!
In our son's nursery, I got the rocker in ivory so it could easily be used in any room. Although we kept the main pieces in the room neutral, I do think it is important to make the space unique and special. I added wallpaper to the ceiling for a pop and to really pull the room together.
Editor's Tip! Area rugs can be easy, inexpensive way to infuse any room with colour.
#
3) Create Extra Seating
Photo: Rebecca Minkoff Nursery
Photo: Nesting With Grace
Everyone wants to be near the baby. When company visited, they would follow us around even when changing a diaper! I really like the idea of extra seating in a nursery.
I added a daybed that we can have our girls sleep on and put guests in the girls' rooms. The daybed also doubles as a sofa and that extra seating I was looking for. With two older kids and a husband, I know we will all be spending a lot of time in the nursery.
#
4) Use What You Have
Design: Fresh House
http://www.wayfair.com/Shop-The-Look/Photo/vintage-touches-P78797
Throughout our home, I decorate with a lot of the things we use everyday. In a small house it's about a need for space.
I have the dishes we use daily out on shelves, and our bookcases are filled with books we read regularly. We have our baby's shoes in nursery—they are too cute to not display and can easily be pulled down to wear. All the darling swaddle blankets we got as gifts are folded and stacked on a shelf to be seen and easily used.
#
5) Plan Ahead
Photo: Nesting With Grace
I am known to get excited and jump the gun as soon as I get something—I want to hang it or put it out immediately. The best thing to do is wait until you have everything you want for the space before you start to put it together.
I like to get the rug down first. Then put the large pieces of furniture in the room. Next, lay your artwork on the floor in the orientation you envision on the wall. Really see if it looks best in that spot, then you can start to hang each piece.
#
6) DIY What You Can
Photo: Nesting With Grace
I really wanted to use the same crib for all of my babies—it was sentimental to me. We used the same Jenny Lind crib for our two other girls, and I hope that one of my kids can use it for their babies someday. The crib really is timeless, and I would order the same style again today, but the pink would not work for my baby boy.
So I chose to paint it Tricorn Black from Sherwin Williams in a high-gloss finish. My sweet husband was on painting duty. When he asked why we couldn’t spray paint the bed, I educated him about the reasons I picked the paint—because it meets the most stringent VOC regulations.
In the end it was worth the labour of love—it looks fantastic and will be very safe for our little guy.
