July 27th, 2010
There are so many things to do when preparing to welcome a baby into your family, and creating a healthy, happy nursery is one of the most important ones. Your nursery should be a balance of style, functionality, and most importantly, safety. Here, we’ll show you 100 tips for creating a healthy, happy nursery for your baby.
General
Keep these tips in mind when putting your nursery together.
- Match your decor: Think about the colors and decor of pieces so that they will fit into your decor for many years to come.
- Be as simple as possible: Start with a pared-down look.
- Mix and match retro pieces: Make your nursery timeless by mixing and matching retro pieces.
- Choose adjustable lighting: A soft, adjustable light will be easy on your baby’s eyes.
- Create a calming atmosphere: Use soothing colors and soft tones to create a sanctuary.
- Make items mobile: Look for furniture on casters and interactive art that can be changed and moved.
- Choose a unisex color scheme: Be prepared for multiple children with a unisex color scheme.
- Focus on the child: Hang pictures at your child’s level and use decor that encourages exploration.
- Don’t try to do it all: Little details like photographs and lamps can be added after the baby is born.
- Create zones: Make a sleep area, nursing area, and changing area.
- Value functionality over style: You’ll be glad that your nursery works better than it looks.
- Be personal: Add a personal touch with old items from your childhood and photos of you as a baby.
- Add personality with soft furniture: Blankets, pillows, and lamp shades are inexpensive to replace and can add color.
Furniture
These tips will guide you for nursery furniture choices.
- Arrange the larger furniture first: Before adding small furniture like tables and rocking chairs, arrange your large furniture like the crib and dresser.
- Reupholster nursery rockers: See how you can create a newly reupholstered nursery rocker with this tutorial.
- Don’t be afraid of big furniture: Some nice large pieces of furniture can make a small room feel larger.
- Buy full size furniture: Avoid baby-sized furniture that will be outgrown quickly.
- Get a comfy nursery chair: Invest in a comfortable nursery chair.
- Use a love seat: If a love seat works for you, it can take the place of a comfy chair and even give you a place to nap.
Art & Decorations
Create fun, functional art and decor for your nursery.
- Birch tree mural: Get inspired with this birch tree mural.
- Create a border with your child’s feet: Stamp a border around the room of your child’s footprints as they grow.
- Action figures as hooks: Use old action figures as hooks in your baby’s nursery.
- Leave room for imagination: Use items that can be many different things in child’s play.
- Hang plenty of mirrors: Mirrors can help spread light throughout the room and create the illusion of spaciousness.
- Frame pages from books: Look through children’s books for photos that you can frame.
- Decorate the ceiling: Give baby something to look at while they lay in the crib.
- Frame a family tree: Use a family tree as an opportunity to talk about your family’s history.
- Make a mobile with photos: Create a photomobile to familiarize your baby with loved ones.
- Use wall decals: With wall decals, you can be ready to change your wall designs in a flash.
Storage
These tips will help you maximize your nursery’s storage.
- Get a crib drawer: Keep linens handy with an under the crib drawer.
- Use a laundry basket: Many laundry baskets on the market can double as toy storage.
- Get a large bookshelf: With a big bookshelf, you’ll be able to store books, toys, and more.
- Pick up lots of baskets: Baskets make great catch-alls and are useful for organization.
- Use shrinking bags: Shrink bags like Space Bags can help you store all of the too small or too large clothing items you’ll have.
- Add an extra level to your closet: Put in another rod in your closet to store more items at once.
- Use a shoe organizer for stuffed animals: Keep stuffed animals in a shoe organizer.
- Get a dust ruffle: With a dust ruffle on the crib, you can put extra storage underneath.
- Get a closet organizer: Hide your storage behind closed doors with the help of a closet organizer.
- Use boxes beneath the bed: Store clothing and toys in under the bed boxes.
- Hang a wall hammock: Store plush animals in a wall hammock.
- Get portable storage: Get storage systems that can move around on wheels.
- Look for double duty furniture: Benches or tables can double as storage chests.
- Make room for keepsake boxes: Put together keepsake boxes for all of the little things you just can’t get rid of.
Comfort
These tips will make your nursery as comfortable as possible.
- Put the crib away from light: Keep the crib where it won’t receive direct sunlight.
- Use a cool air humidifier: Instead of a vaporizer, use a cool air humidifier to avoid burns.
- Leave space on the floor: Keep a space on your floor where you and the baby can play.
Bedding
These tips will make your bedding functional and stylish.
- Quick zip crib sheets: Use quick zip sheets to make fast bedding changes.
- Embrace patterns: Use a few coordinating prints and patterns to make a space feel larger.
Saving Money
Use these tips to save money on your nursery.
- Decorate with paint: Paint is one of the cheapest ways to add interest to a room.
- Repaint items: Don’t be afraid to repaint items.
- Hit yard sales: So many people have nursery items to offload for cheap at yard sales-just make sure they’re up to current safety standards.
- Ask for hand me downs: Tell people you’re on the hunt for a dresser or bookshelves and you just might get hand me downs for free.
- Make things yourself: Create your own glider covers, curtains, blankets, or art.
- Pick what you can stick with: Look for items that can last past infancy and into childhood.
- Shop the outlet stores: Find big deals on items with minor flaws.
- Look on Craigslist: Find slightly used items at a great price on Craigslist.
Green
Check out these tips to build a green nursery.
- Consider hard floors: Hardwoods from sustainably managed forests can help you avoid the mold, dust mites, and allergens of carpet.
- Finish painting early and air out fumes: Avoid potentially harmful fumes by finishing painting 8 weeks before the baby comes and open windows to release the fumes.
- Pick up used furniture: Used furniture is more likely to have released all of its harmful chemical fumes by the time it reaches your baby.
- Use green products: Non-toxic cleaning products and toiletries can go a long way to going green in the nursery.
- Refurbish furniture: Reclaim old furniture as your own.
- Consider organic mattresses: Organic mattresses with organic wool are safe and flame retardant.
- Install energy saving lights and bulbs: Light fixtures and light bulbs should be energy saving.
- Use low-VOC paint: Paint your nursery green with low-VOC paint.
- Update your old furniture: Give old furniture new life with new handles and knobs or a fresh coat of paint.
- Look for eco-friendly furniture materials: Materials like bamboo are safest for baby furniture.
- Buy domestic: Buy a crib that’s close to home to preserve energy.
- Stick to organic cotton or bamboo: Look for organic bedding when choosing sheets for your baby.
- Display mementos in a shadow box: Create a shadow box with your baby’s favorite clothing, toys, and more.
Cleaning
Follow these tips for a clean and healthy nursery.
- Contain messes: Dispose of diapers and other waste in a special place to avoid spreading germs all over the nursery.
- Use disinfectants: Disinfectants can kill germs when used correctly.
- Change the mattress sheet regularly: Leaky diapers and other accidents can dirty a mattress sheet fast, so wash yours daily or every few days.
- Create a dedicated changing area: Minimize the spread of diaper germs with a dedicated area.
- Clean the diaper pail: Don’t let bacteria build up in the diaper pail-change it out and wipe it down almost every day.
- Keep bottles away from germ spots: Baby bottles should be kept away from places like the changing table.
- Air out the room: Leave your nursery’s windows open for about 15 minutes each day.
- Reduce pet access: Keep pets out of the nursery to cut down on germs and pet hair.
- Sanitize toys: Throw plush toys in the washer, and bleach, boil, or use disinfectant on hard toys.
Safety
Follow these tips to keep your nursery safe.
- Check your crib mattress for gaps: Be sure that baby can’t slip in between the mattress and crib.
- Replace door stops with removable caps: Children can choke on door stop caps, so be sure to remove or replace them.
- Check for decorative crib hazards: Elevated corner posts and decorative cutouts can be hazardous to a baby.
- Install window guards: Window guards can help protect your baby from falling out of a window.
- Double check hardware: Test hardware on your crib and other furniture to make sure that it’s secure.
- Keep plastic bags out of the baby’s room: Reduce the risk of suffocation by keeping all plastic bags out of your baby’s room.
- Use a firm, flat mattress: Put your baby to sleep on its back on a firm, flat mattress.
- Avoid loose floor rugs: Loose floor rugs can be a tripping hazard, especially if you have to get up often in the night.
- Store hygiene items on a high shelf: Keep baby powders, medicines, and more up where children can’t touch them.
- Cover electrical outlets: Use child safety covers for electrical outlets.
- Check crib safety standards: Ensure that crib bars aren’t wider than 2 3/8 inches apart.
- Keep cords a safe distance from the crib: Be sure that baby monitors and other cords are away from the crib.
- Secure rugs: Secure rugs to the floor with tape to avoid slipping.
- Keep items out of your baby’s crib: Don’t put anything in the crib with the baby, including pillows, blankets, bumpers and toys.
- Secure art out of reach: Avoid hanging pictures or other items over the crib.
- Use a safety belt or guardrail on the changing table: Prevent your baby from falling off by using safety items on the changing table.
- Use a safety strap for furniture: Anchor tall pieces of furniture with safety straps.
- Keep changing supplies out of reach: Baby powders and diaper creams should not be within baby’s reach.
- Keep furniture away from windows: Avoid strangulation from blinds and the risk of falling out of windows by keeping furniture against walls.
- Place carpet or a rug under key furniture: The crib and changing table should have carpet or a nonskid rug underneath.
- Get a toy chest with a safety lid: Keep lids from falling onto your child’s fingers or neck by choosing one with no lid or lid supports.
- Never leave your child unattended on the changing table: Babies can move faster than you think-always have a hand and eye on your baby when changing.
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