Baby room ideas can be based on a theme, a family tradition, specific furniture, or even a special environment you want to create for your baby. We hope to answer many questions you may have, give you great baby room ideas, and cover a vast array of topics. If you don’t find an answer here, please check the other topics from the navigation bar. There are more details on specific topics within each selection.
Where Will Baby Sleep?
Even before you determine your baby’s room theme, furnishings, and the budget you have to work with, you must decide which baby room plan is right for your baby. Perhaps you don’t have an ‘extra’ room and your baby will share an older sibling’s room. We’ll cover that below. For many new parents, the sleeping place ends up being in or near their own bed…at least for the first few months, when baby wakes several times a night. With the baby close by, Mom and Dad can respond quickly to baby’s cries and the whole feeding process goes more smoothly. If this is your arrangement, a bassinet can be placed in your room at night and moved to the baby’s room during the day.
Baby’s Room
When you plan your baby’s room, there are several factors to consider. You’ll find that it is convenient to be near your bedroom, as well as a bathroom. Another consideration is the level of noise that reaches the baby’s room. Is there a sibling’s room next to the baby’s room? Is there a lot of street noise? Is the room near the family room or kitchen, where noise can be prevalent? Excessive noise can disrupt sleep. Other considerations are lighting and maintaining consistent room temperatures. Having windows offering natural light is good. South facing is ideal. If you believe the room is too bright for daytime sleep, darkening shades work well to block out light for times of needful rest.
As far as temperature control is concerned, if the room is too cold during Winter months or is drafty, storm windows can be installed. Also, there are many ways to heat a cold room. In Summer months, a good way to keep a room cool is with an adjustable ceiling fan. A ceiling fan also circulates the air in the room quite well. It has also been said that babies are transfixed by the moving fan blades and calmed by the sight of slow moving blades. A room that offers ample room storage is also important.
If the room in mind doesn’t have ample closet space, an answer to that is to get closet organizers to maximize the closet’s given space. Other ways to address this, is to get a dresser that offers storage space, as well as perhaps adding a toy box, and bookcase. Additionally, you can add shelving on the walls.
Having enough electrical outlets is another consideration. There are numerous baby accessories and items that need electricity. If there are not enough outlets, ones can be added, but typically should only be done by a licensed electrician.
Above all, your baby room plan must match the size of the room considered. Are you planning on getting a crib, changing table, separate dresser, toy box, armoire, a rocking chair, yet only have enough room for four of those items? Please keep in mind that your baby will soon be mobile and in need of some play space. While other rooms can serve as places to play, your baby will spend much time in their room.
Decor
Do you already have a vision of your baby’s room design? Are there undersea creatures swimming about the walls, a full suite of furniture throughout the room, a grand castle (with a princess in the window) mural spreading across a wall, or is it a simple, soft pastel painted room, with only the essentials in which your baby giggles and coos in her bassinet? When considering your baby’s room décor, it is more than getting a few matching pieces of furniture. Whether you have a specific theme or not, you must also consider color schemes, window treatments, wall treatments and accents.
Accessorizing the baby’s room with ‘room matching’ items, such as stuffed toys, lamp shades, and bedding, can really tie a room together. These suggestions are additionally a great way to decorate and cut cost! Another way to go with the baby’s room décor, would be to visit antique stores, for items such as a vintage rocking chair, a beautiful woven rug, which could compliment a distressed-finished crib. To arrive at the plan that suits you and baby best, consider the three factors that will become the parameters of your baby’s room project: Budget, Space and Time.
Budget
When decorating any room, it is possible to spend lots of money depending on: style chosen, how each treatment is handled, the level of craftsmanship, and the number of items chosen to complete a room. Not everyone has an unlimited budget. It is not unheard of to walk into a retail baby store and spend $6,000 on furniture and bedding alone! This does not take into account the fact that you still need window coverings, wall treatments, and accessories, not to mention other baby necessities beyond their room. Thankfully, it is possible to create and outfit a great baby’s room on a budget.
It is wise to get a notebook and outline what your baby’s room essentials will be, and to take note of the ballpark cost of each item. Essentials are typically: a place to sleep, which could be a bassinet or cradle at first, then later a crib, (at around 3 months) changing table, storage, (a closet may already suffice, or changing table may also serve as a dresser as well) and an electric monitor. As you determine what you believe your baby’s essential room items will be, begin to assess what each item costs. Also determine the cost involved painting or wallpapering a room, taking care of lighting, and doing window treatments.
The more you can do yourself, the more you will save. If you plan on doing a lot of the work yourself, make sure that you have the time to complete the tasks. A word of note to expectant Mothers: Being exposed to harmful fumes in paint and wood finishers is dangerous and should be left to a spouse or friend to do. It is also advisable to complete painting and wood finishing weeks before baby arrives, as fumes take time to dissipate.
Space
After you’ve determined the baby’s nursery, it is time to determine a layout. A great way to do this is to first measure the room’s dimensions, using a tape measurer and plotting the layout on graph paper. Graph paper has ¼” blocks. Use one ¼” block to represent one square foot of room space. Draw the room’s dimensions on the graph paper. Also mark on it where the door(s), window(s), and closets are, as well as which way they open. Also mark where lights, outlets and vents are. Note the dimensions of the door(s) and window(s)
Once you’ve done this, you can play around with furniture placement. You can cut out small pieces of paper that represent furniture pieces and move them about your paper-graph room, to give you an idea of your room layout. The following are standard sizes of furniture pieces:
- Crib: 30” x 54”
- Changing Table: 15” x 34”
- Dresser: 18” deep x 42” – 60” high, x 32” x 36” wide
- Rocking Chair / Glider: 24” X 30”, plus rocking space
- Bookcase: 12” deep x 24” to 60” wide
Baby’s Room Tips
- Place the crib first, as it is likely the largest item.
- Place the deresser/changing table close to a closet so everything you need is nearby.
- The crib and changing table should ideally be away from windows, air ducts and drapery cords.
- Use vertical space for storage, such as a bookcase. This is also a good area to build shelving.
- Move the furniture pieces around, to see how floor space can be maximized. Open space is always valuable, so the room doesn’t appear over-cluttered and will give your baby room to play as well.
- Place electrical devices, such as a monitor and music player near outlets. This will avoid the use of extension cords.
- If you are planning on having a mural, make sure your layout takes this into consideration, as you do not want furniture to block it.
- Determine lighting at this time as well. If you have a ceiling light, it may be sufficient. If you do not have ceiling light, it may be a worthy investment adding ceiling lighting as a ceiling fan with a light unit. Floor and table lamps can be decorative and provide good light, but please note that your baby will soon be mobile and have the ability to knock them over.
Time
The timetable in creating your baby nursery is dependent on a few things. If you plan on doing much or all of the work yourself, completing the room could take longer than it would with professional help. Another factor will be on the treatments you plan. If you are going to paint a mural, for instance, this task alone could take a few weeks of time. If storage space needs to be built, this could take ample time as well. If you plan on making curtains or refinishing furniture, this is also time consuming.
Shopping for all of the room’s needs can be time consuming. You may visit several stores and not find a single item you have in mind. Lastly, the time you begin to work on your baby’s room may be the biggest factor of all. Is your due date four months, or four weeks when you begin the project? Allowing ample time to create your baby’s room is best. Ample time allows for the unforeseen delays that typically arise in remodeling rooms.
The timetable begins with your baby room ideas or baby room theme.
