Nursery Trends

When expectant parents think about preparing for a baby to enter their life, one of the biggest (and most costly) changes is often the nursery. What once was a simple wooden box-on-a-stand (aka cradle) at a mother’s bedside has evolved into larger cribs with room to grow, placed in a room of their very own.

It wasn’t very long ago that I was in the planning stages of my baby’s nursery. After delivering three healthy baby boys and adorning their nurseries with browns, blues and boyish decor, I was pleasantly surprised with my fourth child – our only girl. As much fun as I had getting ready for my little blue bundles to arrive, I was desperately craving the pink. Oh, did she ever get some pink!

Knowing that one color would be the center of her nursery’s design, I added rich, dark wooden furnishings and bright white trim. A touch of hot pink gives it a funky fresh pop. I used my Cricut to cut vinyl designs for a border that runs horizontally, ¾ of the way up the wall and painted two bright pink ovals on either side of her window, lining the outside with white vinyl dots and filling the inside with her initials, also cut from vinyl. It was the highlight of a difficult pregnancy and, thank goodness, the girl loves pink!

The cold winter months seem to be the perfect time of year to take on indoor projects at home, and what could be more fun than planning, designing, furnishing and shopping for a new nursery? Although it’s only been 3 years since I designed my last baby’s room, there are some subtle changes in today’s nurseries that are worth noting. The stages of planning seem to be about the same, but the resources have seriously improved. One word: Pinterest!

With so many decisions to make and so little time, especially if you wait to find out the baby’s gender, what are some ways you can streamline the nursery designing process?

1. List it! Open up the old spreadsheet and get started on a budget! Make three lists: The Wish List (leave nothing to be desired on this list), The Must-Have list (the absolute minimum baby will need) and the Mid-List (compromise – everything from the Must-Have list will be on this one, too, plus your (affordable) favorites from the Wish List)

2. Pencil it in! Take important measurements (window size, room size, wall space, ceiling height) and keep them on your phone or with you at all times! (Think paint, furnishings, curtains, etc)

Draw a floorplan to scale where 1/2 inch = one foot. Cut out the furnishings (to scale) and have some fun! Rearrange like a little doll house. For the wall décor, sketch up each wall with windows, doors, etc and play with cut-out frames, hooks, lettering, etc. Get creative!

3. Cribbage! Take your time when selecting the perfect crib for your little one. Remember crucial safety features and READ THE REVIEWS!

4. Furnish and floor it! Select or refinish the furnishings to complement the crib. Choose a few flooring options based on what you’ve already got and what you want it to look like. Wood floors? Baby will need some cushy softness to play on! Hate your carpet color? Bright or patterned rugs draw the eye AWAY from the ugly and TO the fun!

5. Theme & Scheme! Today’s nurseries are less “themed” than in days of old, but there is typically something to unify them. Decide what you want, find inspiration and make it your own. The color scheme, equally as important, but interconnected with the theme, should set a mood: neutral, calming and serene; bright, fun and fresh; bold and stimulating – think about how you want baby to feel while hanging out in their newly pimped out pad.

6. Light it up! Don’t forget to have sufficient light sources so baby can actually SEE, but also some dimming features or soft light fixtures to create a fear-free and relaxing environment for shut-eye

There are a few safety tips you should always keep in mind: babyproof, babyproof, babyproof!

I wanted some fresh perspective on the process of today’s nursery, so I asked three new mommies about their experiences in the planning and decorating of their baby’s new abodes. It’s interesting – the methods, resources and time they each devoted ranked fairly close to each other, but they each ended up with unique ideas and fresh takes on their very own modern-day nurseries:

Baby Owen

Designed by his Mom Ashley Averell (Photos by Ashley Averell)

Q: Where did you pull your inspiration from? What sources did you use?

A: PINTEREST. I LOVE Pinterest. I wish I had the creativity to come up with things on my own, but I don't. :) I also had some children's books about NYC that I drew the color inspiration from.

Q: Approx. how much time (weeks, months) did you spend in the planning/research stages?

A: I started planning the moment I found out we were moving to a bigger place where we would finally have a nursery (mid-August). I created a board for the nursery in Pinterest and gathered all my ideas and plans there. It didn't take long to plan out what I wanted (a couple of weeks), but implementing and finding the right furnishing is still an on-going process four months later!

Q: Was it easy or difficult for you to decide the direction you wanted to take?

A: I really loved one of the nurseries I saw on Pinterest and knew immediately that was the look I wanted. Also, having lived in NYC for a couple of years, we wanted part of our house to have some NY in it, and with transportation (cars, trains, etc.) being a big part of that city theme I thought it would be fun for a boy nursery.

Q: Did you have outside help?

A: No – we did it all!

Q: What DIY methods did you use and would you recommend other moms do the same? How difficult/time consuming were they?

A: Instead of painting the stripes, I bought a roll of 12 inch wide vinyl for the stripes from an online vinyl store. It ended up costing about $40 for the vinyl, and saved us a whole lot of time trying to get perfect stripes. And the end result was.... perfect stripes.

I created my own artwork. I found some artwork on Pinterest that I really liked and drew inspiration from there. I designed it using Photoshop and printed it at Costco.

I made the crib bumper. I am really quite happy with how it turned out. However, if I were to do it again I probably would buy one off of Etsy. It was very time consuming to make, and I don't think I saved much money making it myself.

Q: What is your final feeling about the finished product? Is it everything you hoped it would be or did it fall short?

A: I love the part that is finished (the one wall with the crib), and if I ever get a rocker, lamp, sheepskin rug, and shelves for the rest of the decorations I think I will like the rest!

Q: Did you have budget constraints? How did you handle them if you did?

A: Of course, we didn't really want to spend hardly any money at all. We bought the Walmart version of the Babyletto crib. I bought the inexpensive plastic frames from IKEA, not only because they were cheap but also because they would do less damage if for some reason they happen to fall. We found the dresser on KSL for $75, and painted the drawers white. Once we saw the dresser in person, we realized that the baskets were there because the top drawer was missing. So it is not my dream dresser, but it was a great price for the value and functions really well as a changing table. And when I want to get rid of it, I'll probably be able to sell it for close to the same price I bought it for.

I would love to get a rocker, but I still haven't figured out how to work that into the budget. I saw a great tutorial for recovering a rocker on Pinterest, and I have searched KSL a few times for a glider but I've kind of run out of energy to pursue that DIY project.

Baby Henry

Designed by Ivani and James Bowman (Mom and Dad)

Q: Where did you pull you inspiration from?

A: I knew I wanted to do a jungle room. I had the blanket, so I used the animals on the blanket to reproduce them onto the wall.

Q: Approximately how much time did it take you?

A: Just to paint the walls, it took about three weeks. I slowly did it throughout my pregnancy

Q: Did you have outside help?

A: My husband and I did it. Well, he had some ideas and I did the work

Q: What DIY methods did you use and would you recommend other moms do the same? How difficult/time consuming were they?

A: I found a way to project the animals onto a wall online. They recommended a projector, but that was too expensive so we drew the animal outlines, cut them out and held a flashlight in front of them to trace the silhouette onto the wall. We also painted the crib. It was white and we painted it brown so it would match.

Q: Are you happy with the final room?

A: Yes! I love it and the baby loves it. I’m very happy with it.

Q: Did you work with a budget?

A: Yes! We already had the crib and we didn’t use very much money.

Baby Kylie

Designed by Mom, Jerrie Haskin

Q: Where did you pull your inspiration from? What sources did you use?

A: I basically wanted a nursery that didn't scream "baby". Also, I wanted something that wasn't common and she could use as she grows up. I did a lot of blog and google searches and used my imagination, too.

Q: Approx. how much time (weeks, months) did you spend in the planning/research stages?

A: I researched, planned and drew out her nursery for about 2 months. Once I found the bedding, the ideas just kept coming to me! That's when the real fun started!

Q: Was it easy or difficult for you to decide the direction you wanted to take?

A: Actually, no! As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I wanted to create the nursery myself. Not just to save money, but to show my future child how anxious I was for her arrival.

Q: Did you have outside help?

A: I did! My sister in law made the bedding for Kylie's nursery! We went to the fabric store together and picked out the fabrics and design! Her shop is http://www.oliveandeverette.com/

Q: What DIY methods did you use and would you recommend other moms do the same? How difficult/time consuming were they?

A: I used a lot of DIY's for the nursery. I would search on Etsy, google, blogs, etc for things (i.e. bow board, poms, paintings) and I recreated them to have more of my personality and made them my own! I definitely recommend it! The feeling of accomplishment when you are done is worth it!

Q: What is your final feeling about the finished product? Is it everything you hoped it would be or did it fall short?

A: I love it! I couldn't be happier with the results! Now that I have discovered Pinterest, I see other ideas that would have looked great in her room....but I wouldn't change a thing.

Q: Did you have budget constraints? How did you handle them if you did?

A: I actually didn't have any budget constraints. Now, if I didn't make everything myself, I would have. But I did a lot of research to make sure I used the cheapest method to make things (using lamp shades I already had, left over fabric, paints, etc). The total cost for the nursery (including bedding, excluding furniture) was about $200!!

Q: What changes have you made since Kylie's birth?

A: The only changes I have made: the cute baby in there! :) She absolutely loves her nursery! I do have a "photo wall" where I keep pictures of her grandparents, cousins, aunts/uncles (since they all live in Texas). I change those pictures out periodically.

While styles, trends and methods are ever-evolving, one thing remains a constant: when creating the place where their new child will sleep, play and grow, parents are dedicated to making it a warm, welcoming environment where baby will know how loved they truly are. Isn’t that what the nursery is really all about? By the time baby arrives, whether or not it is lavishly furnished or simply not quite done yet, it is a place where incredible memories are made.

Jerrie Haskin