Whether you are a first-time parent-to-be or having another one, part of the joy and excitement of having a baby is decorating the baby’s nursery. The theme, style, and myriad of other options aside, the nursery should be a place that is cozy, inviting, and peaceful; not only for the baby but also for the tired parents who are barely able to function at 4 in the morning while changing a dirty diaper!
With that in mind, let CanvasPrints.com take the stress out of shopping and decorating the baby’s room with some valuable and practical ways to decorate the baby’s room that are both aesthetically pleasing, and parent-oriented too!
General (but Lifesaving) Parental Hacks
Before we dig into the meat and potatoes of what to keep in mind when decorating the nursery, we figured that it may be important to detail a few things that new parents may initially overlook when decorating their nursery room.
Make Sure Everything is in Reach
Whether it's 4 am or a reasonable time of day, you want everything within reach when dealing with a fussy baby. We are talking diapers, wipes, the hamper, the dirty diaper bin, pacifiers, burp clothes, and the whole nine yards. Everything should have its proper place so when you only have 2 hours of sleep and the baby is fussing, muscle memory will kick in!
Avoid Clutter
Piggybacking off our first point, ensuring everything is within reach ensures that there isn’t any needless clutter. Knowing where stuff is while also making the most out of the nursery room’s space is essential, so don’t turn your nose up at multi-functional nursery room pieces.
Washable Wallpaper
Without being graphic, we hope you catch our drift here. You’ll thank us later.
Mimic the Nighttime
As with washable wallpaper, investing in some heavy blackout curtains can help make your baby’s nap or bedtime that much easier (and longer). Just like adults, sunlight directly affects a baby’s circadian rhythm and ensures that it’s as dark as possible at bedtime.
Any Lamp Can Become a Nightlight
Simply buying nightlight bulbs will save you so much more money in the long run than buying a specifically marketed “nightlight lamp”. Plus buying the nightlight bulbs will allow you to have a greater amount of freedom when it comes to designing your nursery room’s theme and style.
Future Proof the Room
This means that from the outset of designing your nursery you should have a long-term vision of what the room will look like in the future. When deciding what theme or motif to design around, be sure to future-proof with a timeless and smartly crafted design that ages alongside your baby as they grow up.
Ideally, the nursery room should eventually turn from the baby’s room into their room as they group and develop.
Though we cannot future-proof a crib or a changing station, the general idea of where and what kind of furniture works best in the space should help further guide you as you develop and design the layout of the nursery room.
Color
While the choice of wall color is yours and yours alone, there have been some recent trends that have established themselves as staples when it comes to designing a nursery.
The first is the rise of using gender-neutral colors such as white, taupe, or beige as opposed to using blue or pink. The use of these more neutral colors is often augmented with a more vibrant, deeper color crimson or navy blue to create a sense of visual dynamism.
Another recent trend is that of the black and white nursery room. This monochrome palette is even more stripped back and minimalist than the use of neutral colors. Therefore, wall decoration and small accents are used to elevate the space beyond its minimalist trappings.
The third big trend sweeping nursery room design and decor is the complete opposite of both the minimalist black and white and the use of neutral colors. Parents-to-be have opted for bold, bright colors to embrace the joy of having a new baby in reaction to the rather staid and calm color trends of the previously mentioned.
Styles of Nursery Wall Art
After deciding upon the nursery room’s color scheme and palette and gathering the much-needed furniture, the next big piece of the puzzle is deciding what style of wall art or decorations you want. Again, just as the room’s color scheme has various trends so do the styles of wall art. Luckily, CanvasPrints.com can make this portion of the process a breeze with our collection of custom posters, wall displays, custom collages, and other wall art options.
Minimalism
Like the minimalist interior design aesthetic, minimalism can extend even to the style of art that can hang in a baby’s room. Pair this style of art with its simple shapes and colors with our floating frames and you have a simple, yet eye-catching piece of decor to create a calming, soothing presence in the room. And take it from us, sometimes that's the most needed thing when you have a fussy newborn.
Cursive Name Signs
Another trend in nursery wall art decor that has skyrocketed in popularity has been what we call the “Cursive Name” sign. If you’ve been shopping around, you’ve likely noticed or come across these signs. Predominantly centered around the baby’s name with the option of their middle name in a differing, usually sans serif style, font.
These types of signs tend to use that ever-familiar cursive, brush-like font that has graced wedding invitations, new businesses, farmhouse interior decor, and “Live, Laugh, Love” signs since the early 2010s.
Newborn Photos
Given that the room after all is a nursery, it makes sense that you would want to fill the walls with scenes from your newborn’s earliest moments. Often these are professionally photographed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take the pictures yourself and get just as good shots as the pros. If you follow our guide, you’ll be able to get professional photographer-quality photos of your child with just your smartphone!
Modern Wall Art
While not exactly minimalist art, the choice for going with an art style allows for not only great flexibility when it comes to design choices, but also allows the room to grow beyond its initial function as the baby’s room and into a room that they’ll grow up into. Whether your choice of art is an idyllic, impressionist landscape, an abstract expressionist piece that vibrates with movement, a funky, pink piece of geometric art, a Renaissance classic, or some other style entirely.
Placement
After deciding upon the room’s color palette and wall decor the absolute last thing (after painting the walls) is hanging the wall decor. up, Even if you lack a level it's quite easy.
If using a collage, or multiple pieces of varying size, choosing a similar frame or another unifying element will bring together the pieces into a consistent whole.
If you have multiple pieces that are the same size and shape, aim for symmetry
Don’t Overthink It
The last piece of advice is to not overthink it. With a baby on the way, there are a ton of options and opinions about what's right and wrong. At the end of the day, all of the above pieces of advice don’t need to be followed to the T or occur all at once. As the old adage goes, “a garden doesn’t grow in a day”.
With a new baby on the way, there are lots of changes swirling in your life and home and the last thing you want to do is stress about the nursery room. Even if you have just a small kernel of an idea, you can slowly build your vision over time rather than rushing to get it one in a day. After all, the baby won’t be any the wiser!
Conclusion
Opting to use CanvasPrints.com to help design your dream nursery wall art is a breeze and takes only a few seconds from design to checkout. Using our services will take the stress out of hunting for that perfect print for your nursery room. All you have to do is find an image you like, upload it, and order!