What themes, Furniture, storage space, etc ideas do you have for a nursery or a bedroom for when they grow up. I remember another thread about specially made built in beds for 4 daughters and I thought it was wonderful.
[name]Do[/name] you think nurseries are silly and should just be another bedroom with a crib?
Give me some insight on what your ideas are or what you did.
Decorating and planning Bugsy’s nursery was honestly one of the most enjoyable parts of my first pregnancy!
In answer to your first question, I believe a nursery is important. [name]Both[/name] for a mother and a baby, it’s a calm place to bond and enjoy time together. In saying that however, I don’t think it needs to be over the top, ridiculous amounts of money do not need to be spent and your baby doesn’t need every whiz bang gadget on the market. I’ll admit I got a little carried away with Bugsy’s nursery but this time around I’ve been a lot calmer.
My main criteria for our first nursery was that it had to be gender neutral, grow with the baby, have heaps of storage and be a calming space not filled with crazy colours and patterns. So Bugsy’s room has wooden floorboards, nature inspired wallpaper, wardrobes covering an entire wall, a colourful rug, a really cool light fitting, lamps, rustic wooden furniture and soft furnishings. The room has grown with him perfectly, his cot is now gone and everything still works well…we’ve just added more “boy” things along the way!
I know a lot of people move an older child and reuse their nursery but I just couldn’t, it is Bugsy’s room and he should be able to stay in it. So, I have done a new one for baby number 2! This time I injected a little more colour and the furnishings are quite modern and sleek.
This blog post has some amazing nurseries that I took a lot of inspiration from this time round, it’s worth a look! creative juice: Rock-A-Bye Baby....
[name]Hope[/name] that was a little helpful!
[name]Lila[/name]
We’re on Team [name]Green[/name] and plan to use the same nursery for all our children, so it needs to be rather gender-neutral. We’ve decided to do a celestial theme. [name]Haven[/name]'t done much with it so far, but DH did just finish painting the walls last weekend this beautiful dark blue color. I’m debating whether or not to stencil on stars over it and currently leaning toward “no”. Once the last child is finished with it, I imagine it becoming either a study or an extra bedroom, so it would probably be better just to use artwork to decorate the walls instead. Other than that, I’ve only picked up a few odds and ends so far, but we’re planning on going crib shopping either next weekend or the next. So excited!
Personally, with my son, I did do a nursery - two, in fact, one at my moms house and one at the house I moved into right after he was born. It was fun and they were done in colors / themes that could easily transition for an older child.
That being said, I won’t have another one. I have kind of come around to the fact that I like sleeping in the same room with my baby and we don’t have the room anymore. We have a big enough bedroom to put up a crib, though, and I would decorate their “corner” that had their bed and dresser and everything in it - but I’m very crafty and having another baby would mean craft-overdrive for me, I would need somewhere to display it lol.
But I am also firmly in the “kids don’t need their own room” camp, so that could be part of why I wouldn’t bother again.
I vastly prefer living in smaller spaces. I grew up in a ridiculous barn of a house and now my parents knock around in it as empty nesters not using >95% of it.
So, when [name]Antoine[/name] was born I had a 1BR ultramodern highrise condo-- all exterior walls were 100% glass. I love interior decorating-- the other secret girly passion of mine, besides baby names-- but I truly loathe and despise all things infantile. I converted the formal dining room into a sort of nursery, where the changing table, dresser and nursing chair were housed, but he slept in a small brass cradle in my room. No theme except things that were an extension of my taste. I bought him items that I hope he treasures and will keep into adulthood (this beautiful Herati carpet in blue, rust, turquoise & gold; the brass cradle as mentioned; a glam 70s deconstructionist brass & mirrors dresser; a turquoise damask-print chair with a kilim ottoman). I see no need for licensed cartoon characters, pepto-bismol pink, or the other theme-y attempts at nurseries. [name]Nor[/name] do I appreciate the “modern nursery” aesthetic with everything in pale gray, a few artful but boring wooden toys, and framed pictures of vintage cartoon trucks or something.
In LA now we have a condo, but a 2BR (1400 ft^2, almost as large a space as I would ever want to live in). [name]Antoine[/name] has a separate room but it doubles as a guest room. Most of the previously mentioned things are there now, as well as an eco-crib, a queen bed, etc. I bought his crib bedding from [name]Serena[/name] & [name]Lily[/name] whose quality and style I admire, and it’s actually technically part of their girl line, but I liked it. I bought multiple patterns and mixed & matched to avoid things looking over-matchy. I know I’m probably in the minority but most nurseries are far too saccharine for me.
Here you go-- in case it helps everyone who doesn’t have a 4BR house with loads of extra rooms. My condo was about 800ft^2, and this is directly contiguous with the kitchen. My sister made his blanket and I decided I wanted a full plastic mobile that spun and played music and projected light, rather than an artful wooden one that would never hold a baby’s interest. 
The cradle is from Corsican and and the dresser is vintage.
Since space was tight, we stored some baby items in the living room/salon:
This is my sentiment exactly. DH and I walked into a Babies’R’Us, and we lasted a good 15 minutes before we swiftly exited. It was like a cotton candy sadist’s nightmare to us.
My favorite style of “nursery” is one that looks like any other guest bedroom plus crib. Right now the second bedroom is dark forest green (previous owners’ selection) with brown wood blinds and brown closet which works fine for a study. The previous homeowners left us so assaulted with wall colors it’s all I can manage but pick neutrals (we have salmon AND pumpkin living room walls {tore down wood paneling already}, pepto pink bdrm, yellow spongy kitchen, dark maroon bath, etc). We’ll use some shade of greige and add shutters like we did in our own bedroom. The nursery will pretty much be designed for my tastes, I already know I cannot deal with a screaming baby and walls screaming pastel butterflies/baseball at me. I need peace and calm.
Oh, my, I love your style [name]Blade[/name]! That cradle is fantastico!
My style is very much mix and match. I love vintage and antique furniture, but no specific era. I love decorating, so much fun!
So we live in a rather big old house (one of those annoying ones with a billion half floors), and [name]Rosalind[/name] has her very own nursery. It’s wall in wall with our room, so when we move her in there at some point she’ll be feet away from us and there’s even a door linking it to ours. This will always be the nursery, she’ll get a different room when she grows older, and there’s another baby who needs it. Anyway, for now has a vintage moses basket (bassinett) in our bedroom.
The nursery…
I’m not into the whole Disney theme things either, I painted all the walls in a delicate ivory shade. On one of the walls I’ve painted a fairytale mural, and in the ceiling I painted kind of a cloudy sky (I love clouds), but we’re going to stick those see in the dark stars on there at some point as well. I put in a comfortable, velvet armchair for nursing and reading stories, a pale green/blue antique Italian dresser and table. Under the table there’s room for baskets where I can put her toys away. On top there’s room for a lamp, and all her books. The bed is a Danish classic, the [name]Juno[/name] bed which will grow with her even when she leaves the nursery. It’s a brilliant bed, and very very cute. The lamp in the ceiling is from Tord Boontje, Midsummer [name]Light[/name], as are the curtains Until [name]Dawn[/name]. I am a huge fan of The [name]Little[/name] White Company here in [name]England[/name], they make solid, pretty classic bedlinens (and clothes and all kinds of things, including some drop dead gorgeous bunnies [name]Rosalind[/name] already has a dozen of…). I made the bedding myself though, and this is especially for Roo, I’ll do the same for my other children. What else… a music box, some sweet hooks shaped as squirrels and birds, and a huge french mirror (over the table) in gilded wood.
I do need some more storage for her clothes, but I am keeping them with my things for now. And I’ll see if I can take some decent photos to show you.
I like this (even though it doesn’t match anything I own) but always wondered if it gives off more than 10 watts’ worth of light?
That’s the wonderful thing, [name]Blade[/name], it’s just two pieces of paper you drape over a light bulb! You can choose any light bulb you want! And it has a “cone” that protects the paper from the light bulb.
OMG Blad and Otter I love both of your styles.
I think my style would probably be closest to [name]Blade[/name] but on an [name]Ikea[/name]-Grad school budget. lol. Very jealous.
Otter the curtains and lamp are so you. I can just see the flower/forest like shadows they cast.
I have similar feelings about small spaces and baby themes and such - I do not want a large house, I find far greater pleasure in small nooks and sharing spaces - tiny house movement FTW! Also, baby themes irk me, especially zoo animals - I would rather see a nicely put together room in non-pastel colors with lot’s of creative / handmade touches.
I’m not sure if this is something you would know, but it has always struck me as odd that baby items are generally done in pastels and light colors…babies can’t really differentiate between light colors like that, can they? Wouldn’t it make more sense that baby items be done in brighter hues?
Oh and that cradle is really wonderful! I love it!
@[name]Ottilie[/name]- [name]Rosalind[/name]'s room sounds so nice!
@[name]Blade[/name]- Great style! I’ve just fallen madly in love with that piano painting! My brother is a music teacher, so it makes me think of him.
Right now, both girls have their own rooms. [name]Veda[/name]'s is quite a bit smaller, and neutral, but [name]Willow[/name] was close to a year old when we painted her room, so it’s got some girly colours. If we do end up having another, we’ll probably look at the girls sharing a room ([name]Willow[/name]'s), and reusing [name]Veda[/name]'s room for a nursery. The fourth bedroom is really big, so we use it as an office & guest room. I do wish that we’d been a little more reserved with the paint in [name]Willow[/name]'s room, but it was the first time I got to choose paint in any colour I wanted! I’m not really into themes, or licensed characters either. [name]Willow[/name] has owls, because my brother started calling her his owl. [name]Veda[/name] has some animal prints on the wall. I love the owls, but overall, I like [name]Veda[/name]'s room a lot more. (I found all the pictures in the website Imagekind)
Edit: Thanks for the heads up Blade, I think the pics should be visible now.
With my first I didn’t do a nursery because of lack of space. Though I had plenty of ideas!
Now with a new place, we finally have a chance to decorate a room especially for the girls.
I dont want it to be too baby-ish. Something they can grow with.
So it’s a Through the Looking Glass motif of sorts, but with mixed things that relate to our family.
Images of [name]Rowan[/name] trees. Vintage tea pots and tea cups. Lots of framed photos of San [name]Francisco[/name] (SO) and Los [name]Angeles[/name] (Me) as well as [name]Ireland[/name], Mexico, Poland and Ukraine where our families originated. And the girls names on the wall of course ;).
@labmama your pictures aren’t visible
@flick-- thank you! And a newborn’s color vision or gray scale discrimination isn’t significantly different from an adult’s, but their visual acuity is dramatically poorer. At birth they’re about 20/400, and they improve to 20/20 over the first few years of life. Funnily enough, their perfect focal distance is actually about a foot or so, which is often how far the face of an adult who’s holding them is away from their face. When you see them sort of lock on your face and really perk up, not only are they interested in you, it’s exciting because you’re often the only thing they can really see! They track objects once they’re a few months old (VA is 20/200 at that point).
The pastel colors are thought to be soothing. It’s funny that infant rooms are painted in mild pastels, while young children’s rooms can be fuschia or bright red-- very stimulating colors. It’s young children who need help falling asleep and being soothed, not infants (who can of course sleep through hurricanes); infants enjoy bold contrasting patterns. All that to say, the color schemes are all cultural. Believe it or not I kept that in mind when picking things out for my faux nursery-- that chair, for example, has a simple highly contrasting pattern that the baby loved to stare at.
That is so interesting! I’ll definitely be keeping this in mind next time around.
Pinterest is my go to nursery planning site. I really dislike little-kid themed nurseries. What we are working on for my adopted son Kainon (he’s one week old and three days old and moves in next week) is a travel nursery like this one:
Pinterest is my go to nursery planning site. I really dislike little-kid themed nurseries. What we are working on for my adopted son Kainon (he’s one week old and three days old and moves in next week) is a travel nursery like this one:
Andrew has already started working on triple bunk beds for when we have the twins and Kainon and they’re old enough to sleep on them.(won’t be for a while, but Nora can use them for sleepovers until then) The structure will look like this:
My four year old adopted daughter, Nora, (moves here next week as well) is going to have a really cute room. Her wall looks like this as of last friday:
and her bed will look like: (with different bedding)
I’m lucky I married a handyman!
We’re still only in the planning stages of decorating baby #2’s room, but I’m certain we’ll take a similar approach to how we decorated [name]Amelie[/name]'s room.
I too wasn’t fond of anything overly theme-ish, I wanted it to grow with her and not have to redecorate every time she decided she preferred The [name]Little[/name] Mermaid to My [name]Little[/name] Ponies or whatever.
The walls are a clotted cream colour, with the accent wall being a mocha coloured vintage wallpaper with a soft peach/pale pink coloured flower detail. The floors are maple wood, with a gorgeous cream and pale gold woollen rug in the middle. The cot was also made of maple oak, as was the furniture. She slept in a moses basket for the first 12 weeks, but we kept that in our room. She didn’t move into her own room until she was 3 months old. The cot had removable sides and now at 4 years old, it has been converted into a toddler bed for her.
She has a large cream wooden chest in which she keeps her toys (when her room is tidy!) and a wooden book shelf too. The room has soft lighting - Lots of lamps. We avoid turning on the main light if possible because I like how the room looks with just lamps better.