One of the most exciting parts of being a parent is designing the nursery for your little one. Besides the nursery being practical, it also should look good.
Thankfully, there are plenty of tips you can follow to achieve this. Read on to know the dos and don’ts when designing the nursery:
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Start the preparations early enough
The last thing you should do is start designing your nursery a week or less before the baby comes. This is because you end up making costly mistakes, not to mention failing to give the nursery the look it deserves.
To be safe, begin designing the nursery as soon as you find out you are expecting.
Work with experts and ensure that you have the nursery ready at least a month before the baby is born.
Doing this ensures that there is no toxic residue lingering around from the paint or wallpaper that you might have installed.
Invest in pieces that grow with the child
Nursery furniture and other pieces don’t come cheap, and it can be frustrating splurging huge amounts of cash on the pieces, then the baby outgrows them after a few short months.
To avoid this, and save as much money as possible, invest in pieces that can grow with the child. For example, don’t buy the standard crib when buying a crib. Instead, go for one that can transition into a toddler bed or even a full-size bed.
When it comes to the chair and wardrobe, choose one you can use even when your child is a teenager. Of course, this calls for you to go for wardrobes with plenty of storage room.
Stick to a theme or style
You should always have a theme or style for your kid’s nursery, which will determine how the nursery looks and the items you should get. This means that the pillows, curtains, beddings, and other items should match the theme.
There are plenty of nursery themes you can go for. From unicorn, to galaxy, to wildfire, you are only limited by your imagination.
As you choose a theme, pay attention to the colors you choose, and as a rule of thumb, don’t go for more colors than necessary, as you will give the room a confused look.
Choose two to three colors, preferably complementary ones. For a softer tone, go with a pastel color. To create a stimulating atmosphere, opt for bright and vibrant colors.
Click here if you would love to learn other expert tips on nursery themes and styling.
When buying furniture and other nursery items, buy them in sets. This way, you save up to 40% of your money and easily stick to a theme, giving your nursery a more uniform look. This, in turn, makes the nursery appear bigger and more organized.
Pay attention to safety.
As much as you want to have a beautiful nursery, you want to ensure that the nursery is safe for your loved one. As a rule of thumb, don’t invest in items with sharp edges that might hurt the baby.
You need to ensure they don’t have a toxic finish that your kid can inhale and get harmed.
It’s also wise to baby-proof the nursery. When designing the nursery, you might find it weird that you are baby proofing the unit for a little person who can’t even move their head, but you should note that these little people grow pretty fast.
One minute they can’t turn their heads, then they are all over crawling the next minute.
To avoid doing the task later, baby-proof the nursery during the design stage.
Part of baby proofing includes hiding the electrical outlets, covering the furniture corners, adding floor rugs, and ensuring that there are no loose items above the crib.
Don’t buy too many things than necessary.
As much as you want to make your nursery the most functional unit possible, you shouldn’t stock too many things than you need to. As a rule of thumb, avoid buying clothes of all sizes, as the kids grow too fast and often skip a size, leading to wastage.
To save money, wait and see whether you will need the outfit before buying it. By waiting and buying only what you need, you save money and have enough floor space for the little human to explore.
While you shouldn’t stock more items than you need, ensure that you have enough of the necessary items. These include: diapers, lotion, pacifier, Onesies, and diaper rash cream.
Don’t use harsh lighting.
You need to ensure your nursery is properly lit up like the other rooms. In some cases, parents use strong lights that sometimes end up being too harsh for the baby. That’s not right.
You also shouldn’t install lights above the crib as they end up being too harmful to the baby.
Use concealed LED strips or soft LED bulbs to create the best ambiance.
Don’t install warm lights, as daylight bulbs and LED strips are enough to give you the ambience you want.
It’s also wise to go for dimmer lights and keep them away from the baby.
It’s not only bulb lights that can harm the baby—natural lights from the windows can also be harmful. If you are using big windows, add a blind on the windows to soften the light to protect your baby.
Don’t use cot bumpers
While cot bumpers give the cot, a beautiful look and seem to protect the baby, they don’t. In fact, they often lead to infant deaths.
Instead of using a cot bumper, use a nice, firm mattress and get rid of all beddings such as blankets from the cot. Always remember that a clear cot is always safe.
Conclusion
Designing and decorating a baby’s room is fun, but it can end up being overwhelming and expensive if you do the wrong things. Observe the above dos and don’ts and you will create a nursery that you love and is comfortable for your little one.
Read also: How To Feel Like A Brand New Woman After Having A Baby