During the pandemic, in the summer of 2020, I found out I was expecting my rainbow baby! Several months later we found out the gender. A boy! Our son was going to have a little brother and we were over the moon! I absolutely love decorating nurseries and rooms for little kids! It is so fun! Here was my chance to do another nursery!
This time we knew the gender. With our first son we did not know the gender when decorating his nursery. I remembering people saying, “how can you decorate the nursery if you don’t know the gender?”, “don’t you just want to find out so you can go nuts on the nursery?” or “I guess once the baby comes home you can totally redo it”. I found it strange because I truly felt the gender really had no bearing on the style I had in mind. I was planning for a timeless, and elegant nursery, something with longevity. The gender specific details or accessories could be added later if I wanted or felt were needed to enhance the space.
We’ve all seen the overly pink and frilly nursery for a baby girl, the sports galore nursery for a baby boy, the jungle safari theme complete with an enormous wall mural, the lamb wallpaper border to coordinate with the lamb wallpaper and the lamb bedding, etc. All of it is so whimsical and adorable but unfortunately all the effort put in will be short-lived and most of the items will end up in a neighborhood garage sale, estate sale or on Facebook Marketplace. Based on that notion below are some tips to decorating a truly timeless nursery for any baby.
First: Use furniture that can stand the test of time and at the same time grow with the baby. Your wallet will thank me later!
Crib:
Choose furniture that is not overly trendy, for example gray cribs were all the rage when I was having my first son, but I opted for a traditional cherry wood crib. I knew the gray was something that would one day look dated. The cherry wood crib was also transitional, as it could be converted from a crib, to a toddler bed to a full-size bed. Not only was he able to use it for several years, it also became the main piece of furniture for our second baby over five years later. The style of it is traditional, therefore it is a tried-and-true look that evolves with other pieces wonderfully. The gray crib, if I were to purchase five years earlier wouldn’t have had the same effect.
Changing Table/Dresser:
In lieu of a changing table, opt for a dresser or an armoire instead. This is because once the baby is potty trained or extremely mobile ha ha, the changing table is no longer a functional item. For both babies I bought second-hand, high quality dressers and used the dresser top for the changing station. My first baby had a Drexel Heritage dresser from a consignment shop for his nursery and he still uses it today as an eight-year-old boy. This is because when I purchased it, I had longevity in mind. Sturdy, high-quality wood, deep drawers, traditional style, etc. For my second baby, we bought a gorgeous Kindel dresser from Craigslist and used that as a changing station. The couple who sold it to us had the dresser since the 80s. It was in excellent condition and was a perfect complement to the crib. Again, this dresser will be used for as long as we need it. It is made of high-quality wood and has numerous deep drawers for my growing boy. I have also seen people use armoires as a changing station, that way, once the baby is potty trained, they are left with a beautiful dresser to store clothes in.
Rocking Chair:
A rocking chair is a critical piece of furniture in the nursery as it is used for nursing, rocking the baby to sleep, and well, rocking the baby to sleep. I do not know how many times I’ve seen rocking chairs with pastel colored upholstery, mainly pink, at garage sales and estate sales… complete with spit up stains. And even if it’s in good condition, a rocking chair like that cannot really be used anywhere else but a nursery. With my first baby I chose a rocking chair that would stand the test of time, one that would be able to be used in another room one day. A chair that could fit in the nursery, but at the same time fit in a study or even a living room! We bought a beautiful vintage Hancock and Moore rocking chair. It was ox blood leather, tufted, and trimmed with nail heads. A truly classic piece that would never go out of style! It was sophisticated and timeless and could be used for a baby, a boy, teenager, an adult etc. Because it was leather, it was easy to clean, making the spitting up thing a non-issue. We still have this rocking chair today, and you guessed it! It’s in my younger son’s nursery. A perfect combination with the traditional style crib and Kindel dresser! We use the chair every day for winding down before a nap or reading at bedtime. It is the book reading chair! And probably for many years to come!
Bookcase:
Under the same guidelines as the dresser/diaper station choose a sturdy, well-made bookcase, in a style that can stand the test of time is what you should look for. Book shelves on the wall are pretty, but the storage factor is pretty minimal. If you want to showcase all your beautiful baby books you got at your baby shower and at the same time have adequate storage look for a nice bookcase. We found a beautiful bookcase at a consignment shop for my older son. In his nursery we showcased baby books, memorabilia and other vintage baby items. As he grew, we changed the décor and books to synch up with his age. For my second son, we did the same thing. We purchase a beautiful corner bookcase from Craigslist. We currently have it displayed with baby books and other vintage baby décor, but he too will have the bookcase grow with him.
Second: Choose a Paint Color or Wallpaper Pattern Carefully:
With the paint color or the wallpaper, it is essentially the same concept as the furniture. Choose a color or pattern that will withstand the test of time and one your child will most likely not outgrow. For example, the jungle wall mural I mentioned above looks adorable with the safari themed nursery, but it will not be so cool for a school aged or middle school aged child. The adorable lamb wallpaper is over the top charming for an infant’s room, but it will quickly be short-lived. Your future self will spend hours scraping wallpaper off the wall only to repaint. Or you will spend hours painting, needing various coats to cover the adorable jungle scene. Be sure to stay away from loud paint colors as well, like bright pinks or blues. To keep the room transitional, it is essential to choose a paint color that is neutral or harmonious with the rest of your home’s paint colors. Go for light earth tones, beiges, creams, or even light grays. When choosing a wallpaper pattern, it is the same recommendation, choose a pattern that is timeless, a pattern that never goes out of style. One that would look adorable in a baby girl’s nursery but at the same time look chic in a teenage girl’s room.
For my second baby, I wanted to wallpaper the room in blue French Toile because I am in love with that pattern. French Toile is a timeless pattern, but I looked at the longevity of it for a boy. The wallpaper would have looked amazing for a long time, but it probably wouldn’t translate well to a boy in middle school. For a girl, I believe the pattern could have looked great and lasted through the high school years. Based on that I knew the wallpaper wouldn’t be a good idea. Instead, I incorporated my love for blue French Toile with custom made drapery panels and a corresponding pillow! It looks amazing and is lower risk with regard to longevity! Once I feel he has outgrown the pattern I can simply remove the drapes and replace with something neutral. Since French Toile is traditional, timeless and always chic, I could put the drapes in my spare bedroom, another room in my house, or even sell them.
Third: Have Fun with Accessories:
You may be thinking, all this timeless, neutral, and transitional talk is taking the fun out the nursery! No wall murals! No cute animal wallpaper or the blush pink rocking chair I wanted! I am telling you that you can still have fun and stay within the overall timeless theme. Your future self will love you for it and it will end up saving you money in the end.
The accessories can be trendy or showcase the baby’s gender because with accessories they can be changed more easily when the time comes and they are will cost you much less than the big-ticket items in the nursery like the crib, dresser, rocking chair, etc.
Decorate with stuffed animals and toys – They are cute and can add in a playful look. Less risk as they can be switched out when your baby grows. With a gender-neutral nursery, you can still use stuffed animals to decorate with. Once the gender is known you can add colored ribbon to the stuffed animal to make it look more masculine or feminine. Or use more masculine stuffed animals for a boy, like a lion or kittens as they are more feminine for a girl.
You can use stuffed animals to create a theme, for example, you can have various jungle animals to showcase a safari theme, or even Noah’s Ark. Ballerina dolls, and ballet slippers for a girly style. Vintage sports equipment or toy airplanes for a boy! Have fun with it! Doing this is lower risk and better for your wallet because you can always change accessories as your child grows to synch up with their interests.
Decorate with books – Books are one of the best accessories to decorate with! They work in pretty much all spaces too. With a nursery, you can use books you received as shower gifts, hospital gifts, hand-me-down books, etc. You can have fun with the books and display the ones you want to invoke a certain mood or theme to the room. Example, if you are going for Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit theme, you can display the books in the series and also use corresponding stuffed animals. Vintage baby books for a fun, sophisticated look, airplane books for an aviator style, etc. Decorating this way will make the nursery fun and create a low risk, low-cost theme. Something that can be easily changed when the baby grows up.
Art work – Try to choose higher quality pieces that can easily transition to an older child or possibly fit in another room in your home one day. For my first son’s nursery I picked up a high-quality oil painting of a bunny from an antique shop. We hung it above his crib and because it was a bunny it looked darling in the nursery. That inspired me to add some other baby animal oil paintings in the nursery to create an overall cute babyish theme. But sophisticated at the same time! The bunny painting is currently in our foyer and because it wasn’t exactly a piece one would typically use in a nursery; it translates well to a foyer. I used the same concept for my second son’s nursery. I purchased a high-quality oil painting of a greyhound dog from eBay and have it hanging above his crib. It will stay in his room for a while since it is fitting for a nursery and transitional for an older child, but it may end up somewhere else in the house one day and look completely appropriate. I also used the other baby animal oil paintings I already had from my first nursery for my second nursery.
Bedding – Choose something neutral, one that can mix with any other color, pattern or style. If you do choose a pattern, keep in mind what I said about choosing wallpaper above and choose a pattern that is timeless. I chose a cream-colored bedding from Restoration Hardware. The bedding is now being used by my second child in his nursery. Because I went with a neutral color and a higher quality bedding, I was able to reuse it without issue and saved myself some money in the process.
Blankets/Pillows– Decorate with blankets too. For example, you can drape a beautiful feminine blanket in the color of your choice over the crib rail for display or drape it on the rocking chair to soften things up. Use a blanket or pillows with theme you like. Example, pillows or blankets with jungle animals, sail boats, hearts, a special pattern you like, etc. This way, in the future, you can remove these items when your baby outgrows the pattern, style or color.
Now you have the have it, my tips to creating an adorable nursery that is also timeless! Saving you time, money and creating memories for years to come! Have fun with it!!!
