Tips on Decorating a Baby's Room
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Where Do You Start? It is more important and practical to choose your furniture first. Don't know what you like? Don't worry. As you begin shopping, you will more than likely be drawn to a particular style and color. Baby furniture is very versatile. If you see a style you like, it will probably come in different colors or finishes, so ask. Most furniture is available in at least four different finishes.
You can choose a crib that will last two years or you can choose one that lasts a lifetime for about the same price. Convertible furniture is now the rage, and many times you can purchase a roomful of furniture for a substantial savings. This investment could take you from "crib to college", as the cribs convert to full or twin beds, and the chests double as changing tables and dressers.
Most couples are now choosing to go with a combo dresser instead of a three tiered open changing table. It offers a place to change the baby, as well as many drawers in which to store clothing and blankets. And by adding a hutch, it is a great investment for that transition from baby to older child.
Another must for your nursery is the glider rocker. You can choose to put the glider in the baby's room, your room, or even the family room where everyone can enjoy. You can select fabric or leather, those that glide and even recline. To coordinate, you can even customize your glider with fabric to match your surroundings. Growing in popularity is the all fabric glider that can be tailored to your specifications with contrast fabric panels, piping, and a ruffled or tailored skirt. Add the matching ottoman, and you can drift off to dreamland with your little one.
You are now ready for your next decision, and perhaps the most fun one of all — choosing the bedding. The finish of the wood you've chosen for your furniture will set the stage for your bedding choices. Your darker cherry and cognac colors look stunning with your deeper richer fabric colors, while your white and lighter woods are great matches for bright, pastel, or medium tone fabrics. You can choose either themed or non-themed bedding. For longer use, a good choice is non-themed bedding. You might choose a plaid, toille, or mixture of prints that would coordinate nicely with many different themes. Use your wall hangings and accessories, such as lamps, clocks, rugs, and pictures, to convey a theme. For example, a bandana, denim, and plaid coordinate could be combined with a cowboy lamp, horseshoe bookends, a covered wagon toy box, and western prints to create the perfect western inspired room. Or mix solid colors with a blinking traffic light and wall hangings of cars and dump trucks, railroad and stop signs. Complete the look with a retro pedal fire truck. If, at age 2, you want to transform the toddler's room to dinosaurs, a few throw pillows, lamp, and wall hangings will do the trick.
Most bedding companies offer the light blanket which is a great alternative to a heavy comforter, as it can actually be used to cover the baby. It also looks great thrown over your glider rocker, along with a matching pillow to tie the pieces together. Get at least one decorative sheet, then supplement with the vast array of solid sheets which will complement your bedding. Bumper pads are a must, and some of the newer features on bumpers are duvet-covered pads in which the fabric can be removed and washed separately, as well as bumpers which are connected to the coordinated dust ruffle, thus making it impossible for the baby to slip between the bumper and mattress. You should also consider adding a valance to complete the look. It looks great over blinds, and there are so many fashionable ways to design valances.
If you can't find your desired look in bedding, consider custom bedding. You can often purchase this for about the same price as some of your nicer ready-made bedding sets, and you are assured of getting just the look you want.
There are some great wall options; you are now ready to decide on color, wallpaper, or decorative painting. You know the color of your furniture and the colors and style of your bedding. You can choose to paint the walls a coordinating color and add a crisp white or fun color to your trim and baseboards. Remember, dark colors on walls tend to make a small room look even smaller. If you want to use a wallpaper border at mid level framed by molding or place the border around the top of your room, you can provide a nice complement to your décor.
Don't rule out having an artist paint a fun, whimsical scene on one wall. It can add so much "personality" to the room. Oftentimes, the investment is not much more than the cost of papering a room. And it's a lot easier to paint over a scene than to tear down wallpaper.
White and natural wicker baskets with fabric liners are a great way to store lots of baby's things and give that organized yet cute look to a room.
Your dream nursery can be yours, whether your budget is $500 or $5000. Most specialty stores have trained personnel to help with all your selections. You'll be spending a lot of time in your nursery, so make sure it's a room you'll love to be in.