At Blue Almonds we know that designing your dream nursery is an exciting and wonderful journey for new parents. If your goal is to welcome your precious new baby with a thoughtfully designed nursery, that has all the practical elements you need, then we are here to help.
We know it is easy to get overwhelmed with advice from all directions and all the marvellous inspiration from the internet, so here is our essential step-by step guide to get you focused and on the right track for designing your nursery:
1. Evaluate your nursery space
Assessing your nursery space is a great place to start.- What features does the room already have? Does it have a built-in wardrobe? Or do you need to purchase storage solutions?
- What lighting exists in the room? Is your main light dimmable? Or do you need lamps to enable you to create soft light?
- At what time of day does the sun shine into the room? Do you need thicker curtains or even a blackout blind for bedtime?
- What items would fit into the room? Would it take a cotbed, chest of drawers and wardrobe?
2. Start with the furniture
Next, get the largest items in first. There will always be time to add decor later. Decorative furniture can form part of the personality of the nursery, whereas plain furniture can be a perfect backdrop to your overall theme. These are the most important nursery items we think you should consider:
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The Moses Basket: This is an essential item for the first few months. A moses basket allows baby to sleep safely next to your bed, and you can move it around the house during the day as needed.
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The Cotbed: When a baby has outgrown the moses basket, they will need to move to a cotbed, which will most likely be in the nursery. A cotbed has many great features. The height of the sleeping platform is adjustable. Parents normally have it at the highest setting to begin with (it enables you to tend to baby easily). Then, when the baby starts to sit up, you can lower it to the middle position. Finally when the baby can stand up, it is best to have the sleeping platform in the lowest position. But that is not the end of your cotbed journey! As the name suggests, a cotbed can transform from a cot to a bed at the moment that the child is ready to sleep in a small bed. We recommend adding ‘side protection’ to begin with, as many children roll out of bed easily to begin with. All this makes the cotbed an absolutely indispensable item that is used for the first few years of your child’s life, and is therefore a worthwhile investment.
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The Changing Table: You won’t believe how much easier a dedicated changing space will make your life in those early years! We recommend a changing table with storage incorporated so that you have everything you need to-hand.
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The Chest of Drawers: You need all the storage you can get and a generous chest of drawers allows you to store all the essentials within easy reach. If you can not fit a chest of drawers AND a changing table, we recommend getting a chest of drawers with a changing attachment. That way, you can use the top of the chest of drawers as a handy nappy-changing space.
- The Wardrobe: If you can fit one in, and you don’t have built-in storage, we recommend a wardrobe to hang all babies' smart outfits and store larger items when not in use. That way you can easily keep the nursery tidy and free of trip-hazards.
- The Nursing Chair: You will spend longer than you think in the nursery. You will be feeding, soothing, reading stories or singing nursery rhymes for long periods of time. Make sure you have somewhere comfortable to sit.
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Lamps: If you can’t dim your main light, we highly recommend adding a lamp. The soft lighting will enable you to see what you are doing during night time feeding and changes, without making everyone wide awake! We recommend Little Lights as they come in great designs and they double up as a lamp and night-light.
3. Think about your nursery layout
Have a think about where your baby will be sleeping, and where you will be doing the feeding and changing. Use masking tape to mark out on the floor where the furniture will go, and ensure you have enough space to move around while holding the baby, and that you can access everything easily - with one hand if necessary!
4. Decide on a theme
A theme is a nice way to define the personality of the nursery. Some great ideas include bunnies or teddies, or something personal to you as a family - such as;- Transport eg; Cars, planes, trains, hot air balloons
- Travel eg - maps, globes, forms of transport or specific places such as London.
- Safari Animals
- The Ocean
- Wildlife
- Flowers
- Fairy Tales
- Sports
- The Solar System - Sun, Moon, Planets, Stars
- Dinosaurs
