Most parents plan the decor of their baby’s room around the baby’s gender. Some, however, choose not to find out the baby’s gender until the birth, and others prefer more neutral solutions so that the room can also serve a second child who may not be the same gender as the first.
The answer for these last two groups is the “neutral” nursery, whose decor can create a dreamy environment for the baby, whether it’s a boy or a girl.
Either way, the nursery will become the focus of the new family member’s life. It’s where the baby will sleep, receive those first stimuli, be changed and, a little later, play.
So let’s look at some useful tips on how to design a “neutral” nursery:
Choose your colour palette
It’s important to start decorating the room from an idea you like and build around it.
One first approach is to decide on the colour palette you want to work with, as this will guide your other choices of fabrics, curtains and decorative elements.
In a “neutral” nursery it’s best to move away from the “stereotypes”, such as pink and blue, and stick to shades of soft yellow, green, white, beige and so on. That said, even light blue or grey, combined with a neutral concept, can meet the needs of designing a “gender-free” room.
Settle on a theme for the room
You can choose a theme from the outset and use stickers and pictures built around it, or find a concept along the way that draws on your baby’s “personality” (for example, the things and colours that excite them) and “build” it with wall art and accessories that support it.
The walls of a child’s room are a large canvas waiting for you to improvise on, and so is the ceiling. Common choices for walls include colour changes from one wall to the next, or even on the same wall (playing with 2 colours), stripes, stencils (which you can make yourself) and polka dots.
Other ideas can come from applying wallpaper to selected areas of the room.
Wall stickers are also an easy and inexpensive way to give the room its own particular “identity” (remember, too, the idea of making wall stickers from leftover wallpaper).
Another fairly flexible way to “express” a theme in a child’s room is to use small shelves, on which you can display accessories and toys related to the concept you have chosen.
Furnish the room with “neutral” pieces
Start furnishing the room by buying the essential accessories in colours and styles that don’t limit you. Better still, given the economic crisis, choose furniture that can still be used in the child’s room as they grow.
Natural wood or darker shades of furniture are a fairly safe choice. The same goes for white furniture, though bear in mind that it may cause you “problems” if it has to be incorporated into your little boy’s room as he grows.
Tip! Don’t forget that you can decorate furniture with playful stickers!
Play with fabrics
Give the room the playful tone you want by creating interesting contrasts with curtains, cushions, sheets and covers, cot bumpers and so on.
Don’t be afraid to combine different fabrics with lively patterns.
Complete the look & feel with the right rug
As your baby grows, both of you will spend a lot of time playing on the nursery rug, so choosing one deserves your attention. After all, a rug with colour and patterns can completely change the look of a space.
Below are a few examples of “neutral” nurseries to inspire you and guide you as you plan the decor for your own baby!
Text – Editing: Natasa Lianopoulou
