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  3. A Complete Guide to Designing a Baby Nursery

A Complete Guide to Designing a Baby Nursery

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A Complete Guide to Designing a Baby Nursery
January 1, 2025

The basics of baby room layouts

While it’s tempting to spend a lot of time on fun stuff like wall colours and decor first, designing the baby nursery of your dreams starts with careful planning. It’s best to nail the basics and build your design ideas from there. So, begin with your floor plan.

Where will your cot go? In the centre of the nursery with room to walk around it? Against the wall in the middle of the room? In the corner? Would you like the cot away from the window and any potential hazards like blinds chords?

Next are the other essential pieces of furniture - your changing table, dresser/chest of drawers and an armchair or rocking chair. Consider where you’d like these pieces in relation to the cot. Some new parents prefer their changing table next to the cot, making transferring their baby at bedtime a little easier. Keep in mind when choosing a location for your chest of drawers that you may like your baby’s clothes within arm’s reach of your changing table. An armchair could go anywhere you choose - opposite, or next to the cot or in the corner of your nursery.

The best baby room layout will be whatever works for your needs within the space available.

How much space should you prepare for babies?

In the early days when your new baby comes home, all they need is warmth, love, milk, and sleep. So, having a well-equipped nursery for you to change nappies and outfits, swaddle your baby ready for sleep, sit and feed them and put them down for a sleep, is a little sanctuary for you and bub. While some other baby equipment like highchairs can wait, a dedicated and organised space to care for your baby is very important.

What's the best colour to paint your nursery for boys or girls?

What are you having? Whether you know it’s a beautiful boy, a gorgeous girl, or you’re waiting to find out what you’ll be blessed with, many parents look forward to planning the finer details like paint colours for their baby’s nursery.

Here are a few considerations to keep in mind:

  • What mood would you like to create with your colour palette?
  • Do you want your colour scheme to be gender specific?
  • Are you planning for a sibling to arrive in the not-too-distant future?
  • Will your baby’s nursery remain their own so they can grow into it, or will the next baby inherit the room?

Our best advice is, whatever paint colour you choose, go for something calm. Earthy colours and neutrals have a grounding effect, while quiet greens are associated with well-being, and soft blues invoke calm with shades of sea and sky. Pastel pinks communicate warmth and yellow is the colour of happiness.

We recommend creating a mood board for your colour planning, remembering that you can always bring colour into the space in removable or easy-to-update ways with floor rugs, curtains, textiles and wall decor.

How to choose the best furniture for your baby’s nursery

Your nursery furniture choices should be made based on what will maximise your space, keep you organised, and work within your budget.

Some key considerations for you include:

  • How much space do you have? If space is at a premium, consider a dresser with a changing table top to condense two pieces of furniture into one.
  • Are there existing storage options such as a wardrobe? Utilising what you have will help you save.
  • What interior design style do you have in the rest of your home? Choosing furniture that suits the rest of your home will not only give you a cohesive look but also means you can interchange pieces such as bookshelves and dressers.
  • Will your nursery become your kid’s room? If so, consider furniture choices that will carry through the years. A convertible baby’s crib that becomes a toddler bed will give you an extra couple of years before buying their first big boy or girl bed.

Costs involved in decorating and designing a nursery

The nursery of your dreams doesn’t need to cost the earth. Amart understands that Australian families need high-quality furniture that’s not only stylish but affordable. That’s why our well-priced nursery furniture also comes in packages so you can save even more.

All it takes to decorate your nursery are a few staple decor pieces. So if you’re on a budget, you could ask your baby shower guests for an Amart gift card to help you buy a rug, some cushions, wall art, a lamp, and bed linen in colours and styles you love for the finishing touches.

Top tips for styling your baby’s room using nursery decor

If you’re looking for nursery inspiration but you aren’t able to change fixed aspects of your room such as wall colour and floors, you can get creative with curating a nursery theme using home decor pieces. Rugs, cushions and wall decor like canvas prints and decals are your best friends in nursery design.

Build a jungle theme with a Hincs Cheetah Canvas, a Lara Leaf Print Cushion for your armchair and a Miri the Rhino Statue on the dresser. Then bring in some earthy textures with Averie Woven Storage Baskets for nursery organisation.

March in the dinosaurs with a Greer Dinosaur Framed Canvas] and pick up tones of green and grey in textiles like your curtains, floor rug, and throw, with a Deano Kids Cushion] as a cuddly companion from the Perago Kids range.

Bring your nursery ideas to fruition with a few clever decor selections, from bright boho, to calm botanical shades.

Safety features to consider in your new baby nursery

Your little one’s safety is paramount. Here are a few of our top safety tips for creating a safe nursery:

  • Ensure your cot’s location is away from sharp objects and potential strangulation hazards such as lamp chords or blind chords.
  • Secure heavy objects such as dressers, bookcases, and side tables so that your baby can’t pull them onto him/herself once they’ve started crawling and walking.
  • Ensure your cot is compliant with Australian safety standard AS/NZS 2172.
  • Make sure your cot mattress is safe. A brand-new mattress for your bassinet and/or cot is essential because second-hand baby mattresses can harbour bacteria and other allergens. The mattress must also be firm and well-fitting to your cot with a gap no greater than 2 cm from the cot side. For more tips on finding a suitable, safe cot, check out our blog article on How to buy the best cot for your baby.

Types of baby changing tables

Change tables are available in the following styles:

  • Open shelves - this style allows for easy access to essentials like diapers and wipes and can be paired with additional storage options such as baskets.
  • Shelves and drawers - offer versatility to keep some items tucked away and others in an easy-to-grab location on open shelves.
  • Chest of drawers with a change table top - perfect for saving space by combining two pieces of furniture into one.

When looking for the right changing table, keep in mind that this is a piece you’re likely to use for more than changing nappies, such as drying your baby after a bath or swaddling your baby before a nap.

Choosing nursery blinds/curtains for the perfect lighting

Turning day into night is a wonderful tool to have at your disposal when caring for a baby. Day sleeps are something your baby will have for a minimum of two years and a maximum of up to five years.

Blockout blinds or curtains will get your room as dark as possible, making the idea of a morning sleep-in a (vague) possibility and creating a dark space conducive to sleep during the day. A nightlight or other light source on a dimmer will also be handy for finding your way to your baby in the night and creating a calm space as you settle them down to sleep.

Essential nursery furniture items you need to buy

The bare minimum of essential nursery furniture items include:

  • A cot with a mattress (and a bassinet for the first few months, if desired)
  • A changing table
  • Storage furniture such as a dresser or wardrobe
  • A light-controlling blind or curtain

Optional nursery furniture that will vastly improve your enjoyment of caring for your baby includes:

  • An armchair or rocking chair with an ottoman
  • A side table next to your armchair

These are the pared-back basics needed for your nursery. It’s your choice of soft furnishings and decorative pieces such as floor rugs, lamps, throws, cushions, and wall decor that will bring style, warmth, colour, and personality to your baby’s new nursery.

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