Nursery Design Ideas

As a first time mum-to-be, I have had so much fun decorating my nursery, I thought I would share a few insights with you about my process.

A quick search on Pinterest and you are bombarded with nursery inspiration galore - it can feel overwhelming choosing what sort of design you want for your little one’s room. My first suggestion would be to think about how the space will be used after your new “bundle of joy” goes from a cot to a bed - will it be easy to transition to an age-appropriate kid’s bedroom? Will that themed wallpaper have longevity or is it a trend that will come and go? I knew that I wanted the babies room to feel consistent with the rest of our home, so I opted for a gender-neutral colour palette with soft hues and light timbers. This is reflective of the rest of our house and carries through the relaxed, welcoming vibe we were aiming to create. As we will be spending a lot of time in the nursery once our gorgeous baby is here, I wanted it to be a calming space that wasn’t defined by a particular theme. I’ve chosen to keep the walls white, for the time being, with an aim to paint the panelling a feature colour once we have a curious toddler.

If you’re keen to inject more colour or personality into your nursery, avoid red as it can feel jarring and distracting, especially for a tiny baby. A ratio of 60-30-10 is always a winning formula, for example, 60% white, 30% soft grey and 10% of your chosen accent colour.

When sourcing furniture for the nursery, I went for affordable pieces that would easily transition from baby to toddler. I splurged on a rocking chair as it is a piece that I’m going to clock up countless hours sitting in and wanted something that was both super comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. I love the idea of having multi-purpose furniture that has longevity, so instead of buying a changing table, I opted for a big chest of drawers with a change mat on top. I have one drawer full of nappies and toiletries and the rest will be used for clothes storage. The other furniture in the room consists of a cot that can transition to a toddler bed, a freestanding wardrobe and a ladder shelf used for displaying decorative pieces, or possibly an emergency bib!

I’ve come to terms with the fact that once you have a baby, your home becomes cluttered with so much more ‘stuff’. In a bid to stay organised as well as stylish, I’ve bought several storage baskets to store toys, swaddles and god knows what else in. We also have a large basket with a lid in our living room for toys that I can easily throw-in at the end of the day and keep our house looking as neat as possible. Baskets are an inexpensive and easy multi-purpose storage solution and will transition with a growing family.