Plan your nursery in 4 steps

One of your first and most rewarding jobs as a new mother is to create a nursery room for your soon to be born child. Ideally you want to create a fun, practical and relaxing environment in your nursery, and although some might have smaller spaces to work with than you would like, you will still be able to create a lovely space that your baby will be able to thoroughly enjoy during their first years in the world. Here are a few steps to help you create an incredible and individual nursery.



1) Create a warm canvas
One of the first things you need to do is clear your nursery room out. No more second office or golf club storage, this space is now for the baby. Once you have cleared the room you have a blank canvas in which to start planning colours, themes and how much space you have to fit everything in. More on that later.


If you are renting, there is not much you can do except clean the room and organise steam cleaning for the carpet. However if you own your house or apartment, then you will be able to do a little more with your nursery. One of the key things you need to consider is to create a warm feeling in the room that your baby will be comfortable in. This might involve repainting or applying wall paper. You might even be considering a theme for your nursery such beach, forest, or jungle so you can let your imagination run wild a bit, but don’t get too carried away just yet with really bold colours.

It is much better that you choose nice gentle and soothing colours that your baby can grow into as you can always accessorise later on to change the style. Otherwise you’ll be repainting that room again in a few years once your baby moves into a kid’s bed. There is nothing wrong with a warm white paint, otherwise very light yellows and blues work well too.

Window furnishings should preferably have two layers: A shear that will filter the harsh light in the middle of a sunny day, as well a full block out to ensure your baby can sleep in darkness during daylight hours.


2) Choose your furniture
This is probably the most exciting and daunting step at the same time. As a new mother, you may be confused by the number of different baby furniture products available, but there are only a few essential items you need to worry about initially.

- Somewhere to sleep. This may come in the form of a bassinette initially but after 3 months of age your baby will need a cot.
- Somewhere to eat. Your baby won’t need a high chair until about 6 months of age, so initially whether breastfeeding or bottle feeding, you will need a nice comfy chair to hold your baby and feed.
- Somewhere to change. Many different change tables are available now that either latch onto the cot or sit on top of a dresser in order to have floor space. Or if you have the room, then opt for a stand-alone change table with some storage shelves underneath.
- Somewhere to play. This might be a play mat or play station. Otherwise a baby rocker is a great idea to keep your baby entertained and secured while you work around the house.
- Somewhere for storage. If you have a built in robe in your nursery, then you might not need much storage at all. Otherwise you will need a chest of drawers or dresser hold your baby clothes. You will not need much space as baby clothes don’t take up as much space as adult clothes. Also consider storage space for your pram or stroller as well as nappies, wipes and a bin.

You can either start your research online or by visiting stores in person to get a good idea of the look and feel of the baby furniture. Otherwise a baby show is another good place to start your journey. It is good if you can match your furniture for a more harmonious feeling throughout your nursery. Try to find furniture from the same supplier, or if not at least in the same colour. Many online shops also specialise in selling baby furniture packages that have already been selected and coordinated to complement each other and make your life a little easier.



3) Match décor to the furniture and room colours

Once the furniture and large ticket items have been purchased and set up in your nursery, now it’s time to accessorise and add some décor. It is always advisable to do it in this order as it is much easier to match the soft furnishings to the furniture and larger centre pieces like your baby cot than the other way around. Your ultimate goal is to make the nursery room fun and comfortable for both you and your baby. Consider the following additions to your nursery;

- Play mat or rug
- A beautiful timber or colourful mobile
- A cute lamp that you’ve seen online or at the local store
- Stick on wall art is also very popular now as well. You can create a whole theme with wall art stickers that can easily be removed at a later date without repainting.
- Buy or make some framed art work or posters to create some colours to stimulate your babies senses

4) Positioning
The last step you need to reflect on is the positioning of everything in your room. With so much going on in your nursery, it’s important to have a comfortable layout that is functional as well. You may want your cot near the window for some natural light, or you may want to have a feeding chair next to the window so that you can look out the window while feeding. Perhaps positioning the cot away from noise, depending on whether it’s you or your neighbour making the noise. Position your nappy storage near your change table, and perhaps have this near the door so you don’t have too far to run in the event of an unfortunate spillage! Every room and house will be different but you do need to consider your furniture in relation to the door, window and lighting for a truly beautiful nursery.

For more great tips on nursery styling ideas and baby furniture products, click here


Categories
#Kids
#Kids_Bedroom
#Furniture
#Baby
#Design


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