Decorate a Nursery

Learning that you are bringing a new bundle of joy into your life and into the world is a great time of happiness for all expectant parents. It also brings a great time of anxiety and preparation as you prepare to welcome a new member or members into your family.

One of the aspects you have to consider for your new child or children is the nursery he/she/they will live in for the first several months of his/her/their life/lives.

For the baby, you need to have a crib that meets modern safety standards, since this is the place the baby will spend most of his/her time during his/her first few months of life.

You also need to decide on a good changing table; arguably, the best type to go for is a built-in low rail around the perimeter of the changing pad, to help ensure that your baby does not roll off of it onto the floor. For convenience, it would also be good if there are one to two lower shelves that can hold your diapering supplies so you can grab them quickly when it's time to change your baby.

You should also consider your "needs" in regards to what to put in the nursery, as both you and your partner will spend a considerable amount of time in that room during your baby's first few months of life.

Some ideas you should consider include putting a comfortable easy chair or cushioned rocking chair for yourself and your partner, as this would be an ideal place to hold your baby, change your baby's
diaper, and sing or read to your baby.

In addition, on those long nights when your baby (and you) don't get much sleep, it would be a wise idea to put a twin bed or daybed in the nursery. Besides aiding you in getting a few winks of sleep, your child can eventually use that bed later on in his/her life.

After taking care of these essentials, you have a great deal of flexibility in deciding what else to include in the nursery, both in terms of furniture and in terms of wall colors.

The furniture you decide to furnish the nursery with will depend greatly on whether there are other children in your family that will use the nursery; if your newborn is the only one who will use the nursery, then you may consider going more for decorative items.  You should make sure that whatever furniture, toys, and accessories you get for the nursery have no small parts or cords that your baby could choke on.

In addition, keep in mind that babies can't really decipher details or determine the nuances of color until they're around six months old, so you don't have to spend lavishly on elaborate colors. In fact, many
believe that bold patterns in black and white seem to stimulate a newborn's eyes and brains much more than colors do.

If you prefer a lively and modern setting, you could decorate the room in black and white with red accents, but you can stimulate your baby's mind just as much with baby toys and board books, so if this setting doesn't match up well with your preferred style, it's not necessary to go with black and white as your nursery's primary colors.

If you are planning on putting nursery rhyme or fairy-tale images on your nursery's walls, make sure they aren't scary-looking, as newborns and even young children have a difficult time distinguishing what is real from what is imaginary, and you certainly don't want to give your young child nightmares!

Virtually, any color scheme will work, but keeping colors on the clear, light side will make a small nursery seem larger. Plus, most babies are not fond of darker colors, especially grays.

Decorating and furnishing a nursery is a very important time in a couple's lives, as they are preparing the very first room for their newborn(s). It's important for them to consider safety, as well as pleasing aesthetics. 

Beyond safety and providing some furnishings for the two of you to deal with baby's long nights and diaper-changing, you have the flexibility to decorate in the way you think is most pleasing for your newborn and for yourselves. It is usually advisable to provide pleasing colors, friendly-looking fairy-tale and nursery rhyme wall characters, and develop their senses with black and white objects.

By providing a pleasing nursery for your newborn, you will help to establish a solid foundation for your child's development.