Piecing together the perfect nursery for your child can be an amazing experience filled with joy and excitement. But this doesn't necessarily mean that you will want to repeat it over and over again as the child grows up and their tastes (and yours) change. Good news in this case. You can save yourself the trouble if you follow these simple tips. They will show you how to create a nursery you can enjoy for longer, and make it easier and cheaper to change when the time comes.
Yvonne Tsakiris, creator and owner of Framey Namey: "In a nutshell, keep the big expensive things white and use the small inexpensive items to create the colour scheme and personalise."
Dressing the walls
Forget about painting or wallpapering the walls blue or pink. These colours might look great in the short-term, but they will have to be updated after a couple of years. If you want a long-lasting look, you will have to go for a more intricate palette or for a neutral spectrum of colours that subtly combines a spark of colour. For instance, select a wall with pink accents that has matching accessories which can be modified in time.
Also think about temporal designs. Everyone knows that children change their minds very often. As he grows, your child might want to change the farm animal theme that you chose for his room with a superhero one.
Lucky for you, this is not difficult to achieve. There are lots of temporary décor options that will help you get what you want: stickers, wall decals, various textures, patterns, etc. Photo frames in particular, are a great accessory as the photo insert can be changed so easily.
Yvonne Tsakiris adds: "The walls form the biggest surface area of any room, but are often overlooked. Avoid wallpapering or painting different colours. Instead consider buying wall hanging décor which can be easily changed. A great alternative to wallpapering a whole wall is framing wallpaper cut-outs. Dress a wall with 8-15 such frames to create an incredible 3 dimensional feature wall.
No changing table
It is true that you need a place to change your child, but you shouldn't opt for a changing table because they become useless in a very short period of time. You can replace this with a dresser that can be turned into a changing area. For this, just get a changing mat that has raised sides and allows you to secure it to the top. Then add some baskets or bins to store diapers and you will have everything you need in one single space.
Storage room
You will be surprised of how much storage space a little baby might need. They need lots of things, and with every year, their needs grow bigger and bigger. This is the reason why you must have sufficient storage room.
Don't be afraid to improvise and select storage bins that can be kept under the bed or crib, and always pay attention to the latest ideas in terms of saving room for a baby. In addition to this, you can use hooks or shelves in order to show off your baby's outfits or accessories, but at the same time, keep books or toys as the child grows older.
Preparing for the birth of a child is an exciting and stressful time. There is so much to plan and prepare, as well as lots of new things to buy.
And all this needs to be done at a time when you may be feeling sick, bloated and low on energy.
This article aims to make one of the most important parts of preparing for a baby - designing the nursery - that little bit easier.
Heating options
Conventional central heating may not be the best option for a newborn baby's bedroom. That is because the ideal temperature for a newborn is 18oC.
If you have conventional central heating it is unlikely you will be able to achieve this temperature in the nursery, unless you have separate heating controls in each room.
Also, radiators and other heaters can be potentially dangerous as your child gets older, starts to walk and is naturally inquisitive.
An alternative option is electric underfloor heating.
Installing this in the nursery would give you complete control of the temperature, with the temperature variation caused by central heating.
Underfloor heating is also invisible, freeing up the space taken by the radiator for storage.
The colour scheme
Painting the room pink for a girl and blue for a boy is quite a cliché and, as scans to find out the sex are not 100% accurate, this could result in a hasty repainting project.
Instead, you should consider a neutral colour scheme. A light yellow is relaxing and cheerful and can suit either gender.
Furniture
Your baby may sleep in a moses basket for the first few weeks, but they will quickly out-grow this.
It makes sense to invest in a cot bed. The mattress can be lowered as the baby gets older, and better at climbing. You can also remove the cot sides, converting the cot into baby's first bed. Indeed a cot bed should last your child until they are around 4 years old.
Look out for a cot bed that comes with additional features such as a changing table or teething balls.
Curtains
Whether your child sleeps easily or not is basically down to the child. Some children will like a night light, and some will like almost total darkness.
Either way, you should get black out blinds or curtains for the nursery. These will cut down on external light and noise, which means your child is more likely to sleep through the night.
Having a child will change your life in many ways. These tips have hopefully made that change a little bit easier.
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