I get asked a lot about how to create a nursery. I think there a couple of key elements to keep in mind while you're figuring out the room. Color, texture & balance, the art, and a great focal point all work together to create a great space.
Color
Colors communicate emotions and responses from us. Color plays such an important role in our world, especially when we are little and developing. Bright colors tend to energize and inspire us, muted tones tend to balance and calm us.
Soothing, calming tones are key in a nursery. You want your nursery space to be a relaxed space, as this will help calm and not overstimulate your baby when they're trying to go to sleep.
Try to avoid red and oranges as these are vibrant hues. Studies have shown that red actually raises your heart rate- which is great when you need to be pumped up and get attention, not so great when you're trying to get your little one to nap.
Muted, softer colors like blues, grays, light pinks, soft yellows are all perfect for a nursery. They are happy colors, and invoke a sense of calmness and balance. Yellow can actually release serotonin, a contributor to feelings of well-being and happiness.
Texture & Balance
Texture is the surface of things. The feel and appearance of an item.
Softness, hardness, patterns, solids.
Switching up texture is a great way to have the eye wander and soak in a room. Babies love texture and patterns and this is an easy way for them to experience different surfaces.
Balancing out the room is also important. Having a number of items up against one wall or corner of room and nothing on the other can lead to the room feeling unbalanced and uneven. Make sure the corners of the room compliment each other. This doesn't mean you need to fill every inch with something, just that the walls and corners of the room anchor and compliment one another.
Art
What's a room without pretty things hanging on the wall? There are many options- canvas, framed prints, wall decals, letters... The key is to find something that speaks to you. It's easy to go to a store and pick out of few things that look nice, but it's even nicer to have something that speaks to you and invokes a feeling. I included a few picture's of baby's first weeks. She is a 15 months big girl now and I still get all the happy feels looking at our little baby. Not sure where to start?
E-mail me and I can help you come up with something completely unique and original!
Your "It" Piece
This is your focal point. The one item that captures your attention and draws your eyes in. The great thing about this is that it can be anything. A piece of art on the wall, your glider, your crib... for me it was a rug. I found this gorgeous rug on Wayfair. White shag with a fun colorful pattern that I knew would grow with my little girl as she got older. I obsessed over it. I had to have it.
When I got it the rest of the room fell into place. I pulled the the colors of the rug into other components in the room- the purple walls played off the purple color in the rug, the grey glider complimented the grey scattered throughout the rug.
Since the rug was so white, the contrast of darker furniture meant I was looking for a mahogany crib. Slowly the room came together, all from that one item. Once you find the one piece that speaks to you, you can start to pull together the rest of the nursery.
Things to think about when you're creating your space-
Do you want to redo the room in a few years when your baby outgrows the theme? Or are you looking for items that will grow with your child?
Is your room also going to double as a play area? If so, try to have a dedicated area for playing, an area for quiet time, and an area for sleeping.
Most of all- have fun and keep it unique to you! There are no right or wrongs in a nursery, and it will constantly evolve as the seasons of your child's life change.
Until next time,
Helena