NURSERY DECOR:

TIPS FOR DESIGNING THE ULTIMATE BABY’S ROOM

Words By Enrica deGabriele, Interior Designer Photography: James Bianchi

Baby nurseries have quickly become one of my favourite rooms to design, they hold a particular youthfulness and joy with a vision of hope for children’s futures. Designing my daughter’s nursery was always a dream of mine, so understandably, it was a highlight of my pregnancy journey to sit in the empty room and envision a space that would inspire her and give her a sense of comfort.

The wallpaper is probably what inspired the theme and style of the entire room. It’s a William Morris print called The Strawberry Thief, which I thought would contribute to creating a joyful and exciting theme to the room. I loved the colour combination which served as a foundation for the rest of the space but especially loved the naive image of the birds holding strawberries in their mouths.

The following are a few tips to keep in mind, that I also used when designing my own daughter’s nursery.

Choose a protagonist

Choose a protagonist that will serve as a foundation for the room, one that will inspire and create a sense of youthfulness in a way that will age with the child. The wallpaper was mine in this case. Rather than using the wallpaper from floor to ceiling, I opted for a block colour on the bottom half and dividing the two treatments with mouldings. This brings me to my next point.

Accessibility and safety

I believe that accessibility and safety is priority in a nursery and it’s one of the reasons why I chose to have the bottom half of the walls in a block colour; To be able to hang low lying book shelves for my child to pick her own books and allow her to display her future artwork. We want children to feel safe and comfortable in their rooms with minimal possibility of getting injured - this is why I decided to leave the centre of the room quite spacious and lay a rug to give my daughter the freedom to crawl around and play with her toys with no furniture blocking the way.

Storage

Storage is another critical feature to have in a nursery. No-one prepares you for the amount of toys a child will have, even if you try to keep it minimal. Storage in the sense of pretty baskets for the smaller toys or stuffed animals that marry well with the aesthetic, the bottom part of the wardrobe to be used to store away larger toys that may not fit anywhere else in the room but still remain accessible to the child. Some toys do fit in really nicely and I love decorating the room with items that make it more youthful and fun.

Ultimate goal

The ultimate goal to designing a nursery or child’s room is to curate a space that ages well throughout childhood, one that the child enjoys spending time in and aids their development. Remember to choose an element that paves the way to designing the rest of the space; this not only makes the process easier but gives the room something unique and personal too.