Choosing a Baby Nursery Theme For Decorating Baby's Room
Roy Thomsitt
September 30, 2006
For those people who decide on a new nursery for a newborn baby, there are early decisions to be made on decorating and fitting out the baby's room. Most of us want the nursery ready for the baby the day she is born, so that there are no last minute panics after the birth and when it is time to take the new arrival home. So we need to get to work some months before the due date, bearing in mind she may well arrive one or two months early. One of the major decisions is "do we decorate the nursery in a particular theme" or not? And if so, what theme should we choose?
Ideas For Baby Nursery Themes
The choice of theme for decorating a baby's room will be influenced by a number of things. Firstly, striking a balance between visual aesthetics for the parents and the initial needs of a baby to be stimulated. Secondly, after the parents agree on a subject for the basis of the room design, is there sufficient decor available, in the way of bedding, rugs, wall hangings and so on, to carry that theme through successfully? Thirdly, the ever present budgetary factors.
Unless one of the parents has an arts and crafts talent, in most cases the nursery theme chosen will be one of the more common ones. Here are some of the more widely used topics around which a nursery design may be developed, and because they are quite common, they are the easy ones to fulfil, as various products will be readily available to fit the overall design:
Using a Color Theme
However you choose to decorate the nursery, it will have a color scheme of some sort, good, bad or indifferent. But those who take their interior design seriously often want to use color coordination as a main feature of their room decor. Walls, whether painted or covered with wallpaper, carpets and rugs, baby bedding, and even picture frames, all smoothly blending into one.
Such a design will no doubt look aesthetically pleasing if well done. But in the case of a baby room, is that really the best approach? For example, you may see many pictures of nurseries with pastel color themes, and these can look absolutely gorgeous, especially when the room's centerpiece, the crib, is elegant and of vintage design.
With baby room decor, there is a need to consider the stimulation of the baby as she grows. She will probably spend a lot of time in the crib, and later on the floor, of her room. Her eyes will roam to those objects near her, and attracted to those that most stand out, the brighter colors and most distinct shapes.
During this phase, bolder colors may be beneficial, rather than 100% pastel shades, however nice they may look. You will probably have seen some pictures of an infant's room that is all bright and bold colors, and using just about every color under the sun. That is certainly an option, though many of us would baulk at the idea of a clash of all primary and secondary colors fighting for space and attention in any room.
In the end, it is likely that compromise of some sort will be the best answer. The parents have to live with the color theme, and the baby will not care one little bit. What is important is that you integrate some ways of providing future stimulation for the baby, through such items as mobiles, pictures and crib toys.
Disney Character Nursery Theme
With the effective merchandising of most of the famous Disney characters, you should never have any trouble with finding Disney related decor. Walt Disney had a genius for creating distinctive characters that children soon learn to love, so the old originals, such as Dumbo, Cinderella, Jungle Book, Lady and the Tramp, and many others, are rich in potential as a basis for a nursery decor theme. An advantage of choosing a Disney theme is that it can evolve over the years as the baby grows. Our daughter, now nearly 3 as I write this, is an avid Disney movie fan, watching Jungle Book, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella frequently. The more modern Disney movies provide a rich vein of possibilities too, and are sure to attract the baby's interest as she grows.
Animal Baby Room Theme
It is very easy to get babies looking at animal pictures as the months pass, and they grow from the newborn to infant stage. Using an animal theme as the basis for a nursery's decor is probably one of the best, and most popular choices. With such a variety of interesting shapes and colors, and with all their very different faces, animals can be a great stimulant to an infant, and great fun for the parents to show, and use as a teaching aid. The stores have a good supply of animal bedding, pictures and other wall hangings, and even rugs and cribs with animal pictures.
There are, of course, many other possible themes you can choose for decorating baby rooms. Even a popular adult style such as Western can be used effectively. After all, a few cows and horses around the room will be well received by the baby later on. It is all a matter of what you as parents are happy with, balanced with the needs of the baby. Anyway, there is no need to have a theme at all; I am sure the baby will never complain. You may get everything looking perfect, and visitors gasping when they see the finely decorated nursery. But one thing is certain, the baby's first sentence will not be: "Oh, Mom and Dad thanks so much for the wonderful bedroom decor you did for me before I was born." However, you will get lots of fun in the baby's nursery later, out of showing her the pictures on the wall and elsewhere, and in return she will give you lots of smiles and giggles. That is what the nursery is really all about.
Ideas For Baby Nursery Themes
The choice of theme for decorating a baby's room will be influenced by a number of things. Firstly, striking a balance between visual aesthetics for the parents and the initial needs of a baby to be stimulated. Secondly, after the parents agree on a subject for the basis of the room design, is there sufficient decor available, in the way of bedding, rugs, wall hangings and so on, to carry that theme through successfully? Thirdly, the ever present budgetary factors.
Unless one of the parents has an arts and crafts talent, in most cases the nursery theme chosen will be one of the more common ones. Here are some of the more widely used topics around which a nursery design may be developed, and because they are quite common, they are the easy ones to fulfil, as various products will be readily available to fit the overall design:
Using a Color Theme
However you choose to decorate the nursery, it will have a color scheme of some sort, good, bad or indifferent. But those who take their interior design seriously often want to use color coordination as a main feature of their room decor. Walls, whether painted or covered with wallpaper, carpets and rugs, baby bedding, and even picture frames, all smoothly blending into one.
Such a design will no doubt look aesthetically pleasing if well done. But in the case of a baby room, is that really the best approach? For example, you may see many pictures of nurseries with pastel color themes, and these can look absolutely gorgeous, especially when the room's centerpiece, the crib, is elegant and of vintage design.
With baby room decor, there is a need to consider the stimulation of the baby as she grows. She will probably spend a lot of time in the crib, and later on the floor, of her room. Her eyes will roam to those objects near her, and attracted to those that most stand out, the brighter colors and most distinct shapes.
During this phase, bolder colors may be beneficial, rather than 100% pastel shades, however nice they may look. You will probably have seen some pictures of an infant's room that is all bright and bold colors, and using just about every color under the sun. That is certainly an option, though many of us would baulk at the idea of a clash of all primary and secondary colors fighting for space and attention in any room.
In the end, it is likely that compromise of some sort will be the best answer. The parents have to live with the color theme, and the baby will not care one little bit. What is important is that you integrate some ways of providing future stimulation for the baby, through such items as mobiles, pictures and crib toys.
Disney Character Nursery Theme
With the effective merchandising of most of the famous Disney characters, you should never have any trouble with finding Disney related decor. Walt Disney had a genius for creating distinctive characters that children soon learn to love, so the old originals, such as Dumbo, Cinderella, Jungle Book, Lady and the Tramp, and many others, are rich in potential as a basis for a nursery decor theme. An advantage of choosing a Disney theme is that it can evolve over the years as the baby grows. Our daughter, now nearly 3 as I write this, is an avid Disney movie fan, watching Jungle Book, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella frequently. The more modern Disney movies provide a rich vein of possibilities too, and are sure to attract the baby's interest as she grows.
Animal Baby Room Theme
It is very easy to get babies looking at animal pictures as the months pass, and they grow from the newborn to infant stage. Using an animal theme as the basis for a nursery's decor is probably one of the best, and most popular choices. With such a variety of interesting shapes and colors, and with all their very different faces, animals can be a great stimulant to an infant, and great fun for the parents to show, and use as a teaching aid. The stores have a good supply of animal bedding, pictures and other wall hangings, and even rugs and cribs with animal pictures.
There are, of course, many other possible themes you can choose for decorating baby rooms. Even a popular adult style such as Western can be used effectively. After all, a few cows and horses around the room will be well received by the baby later on. It is all a matter of what you as parents are happy with, balanced with the needs of the baby. Anyway, there is no need to have a theme at all; I am sure the baby will never complain. You may get everything looking perfect, and visitors gasping when they see the finely decorated nursery. But one thing is certain, the baby's first sentence will not be: "Oh, Mom and Dad thanks so much for the wonderful bedroom decor you did for me before I was born." However, you will get lots of fun in the baby's nursery later, out of showing her the pictures on the wall and elsewhere, and in return she will give you lots of smiles and giggles. That is what the nursery is really all about.
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