Creative Ways and Ideas to Decorate Your Baby's Nursery Room

Creating a space for baby can be a daunting task. There's many things to consider like the theme, what colors to use, the décor and where to place the furniture. It can be easier to just stick with the traditional blue or pink designs but that may not be for everyone. Or maybe you do want to stick to pink and blue but are looking for other ways to make the room a little different from the norm.

If you want to explore more creative ways to add to the nursery so that it can have a fresher, more unique look and feel to it then you may enjoy some of these nursery tips and ideas I used to design my daughter's nursery.

Choosing a color scheme is a big part in how to decorate a room and is a complicated task alone so straying from the traditional pink and blue can make that task even more complicated. When in doubt (like we were), use an object that you know will be placed in the room as a starting point. I chose a frame that was given to the baby as a gift from her grandfather. It was a sentimental piece that had her name on it and it would be used to hold some of her photos. Therefore, I knew it was going to be a focal point in her room.

Luckily, the color of the picture frame was a pretty purple and white so I matched the paint to the frame. I didn't want the usual pink color to dominate the color scheme of the room but I still appreciated the girly effect that the colors purple and white achieved.

Another great tip if you want a more creative spin on the nursery are to use different patterns aside from just solid colored walls. I chose to design the lower half of the walls with stripes using softer, paler colors.

I chose a blush pink and light gray for the stripes but to make it more whimsical and unique, I needed something special to add to make the room twinkle...glitter! I used silver glitter wall tape to add to the stripes.

If there's one room in the house you can be bold and have fun with, it's the nursery. That special little something (silver glitter) gave her room that child-like feeling and helped set the fun, whimsical mood in her room.

Does the room have any disadvantages the way it was built? Is the room constructed with varying levels or uneven structures? Turn negatives into positives and take advantage of any arches or varying leveled structures the space provides. My daughter's room offered an arched part of the ceiling since her room is on the second floor. I first thought that may be a problem with decorating the room because I wanted a nice even space for decorating and designing.

Then, I saw its potential. That area was the perfect place to create another design or pattern to give the room a fun and unique look. I decided to use that space to paint a sky. It added an innocent, angelic setting which emphasized the room was a baby's nursery. I used a light blue color and the same pink blush paint from the stripes and border for the clouds so that the colors would tie in together. It may be blue and pink but here they are combined to work together for a creative design instead of being isolated from one another.

Take a chance and challenge yourself to some 'do-it-yourselves' projects for the room.

A nursery room is a great place to be bold with your creative ideas. For example, I knew it was the one place in our house where I could have a large whimsical tree painted on the wall. Trees have gained much popularity now for baby nurseries and there's several tree wall decals available if you don't want it painted onto your wall.

I still wanted some kind of originality to the tree, however, so I painted it myself onto one of the walls. I'm not an artist and rarely even doodle but I thought I would challenge myself and at least attempt to paint it with whatever skills I had. I figured if it turned out completely awful then I could paint over it.

I used the same paint colors as the stripes for the tree so it would flow with the colors and not be the typical nature colors like green and brown. I was happy with the results. Although the tree idea has become common for nurseries, by taking a brave chance and painting it myself, it came out whimsical and unique, the way I wanted it!

Think outside of the box when it comes to finding ways to decorate the room in a unique way. I wanted my daughter's nursery to incorporate the Alice in Wonderland theme but for it to still mix well with the overall design.

One of my favorite scenes from Alice in Wonderland is the tea party scene so I used that tea party concept to bring out the Alice theme around the room. Here's where I used the traditional things found at a tea party but put a creative spin on it for the purposes of decorating. I took the traditional paper doilies used on the tables and instead they served as photo mats to hang her photos throughout the room. I also found some wooden tea items that I painted to match the walls.

Also, find things you may already have in your house that you can use to enhance the nursery's décor. I reused glass bottles in different shapes and sizes to help decorate the room and develop the theme. It worked out well since it allowed me to make use of empty bottles I had saved. Doing this saved me from spending more money on decorations and it added more unique creativity to the room.

The paper doilies were items I already had in the house that I wasn't using, either. Most parents know that baby's room can get expensive rather quickly with the costs of buying baby's furniture, bedding, paints, painting tools and decorations so reuse and recycle items that you can turn into décor, especially if you are on a budget.

Try shopping at thrift stores and antique stores for items that fit the nursery's theme. You never know what treasures you may find and often times, there are things there that you can not find in other retail stores. I found the tea sets and various tea pots for great prices and they worked well for the tea party décor.

You aren't ready to put away baby's outgrown clothes and shoes quite yet? How about using them as part of the room décor, as well? Babies outgrow clothes quicker than you want, sometimes only wearing an outfit once or twice. If you have some favorite clothes you adored your baby wearing, then try to find ways to display them in the nursery. Maybe you can frame the outfit baby came home in from the hospital or that personalized knitted cap.

I had several clothes and shoes that I wasn't ready to put in the box yet so I made a clothesline where I could hang up the outgrown clothes and accessories. I also hung up some of her first shoes that she wore along with a picture of her tiny feet. Using baby's own things to decorate is a great way to give the room that unique and personalized touch.

If you want to add more sentimental value, think about putting up some baby items you may have used from your baby days, too.

Designing baby's room can be a bit stressful especially on top of everything else you need to worry about with the baby but it should be something you have fun doing and a place where you can let your creativity take control. Many parents today do stray from the typical solid pinks and blues and find fresh different ways to design baby's room.

When I found out I was having my baby girl I wanted to keep it feminine but with a different twist. I hope some of these ideas I shared inspire you to try something new and different. There's plenty of ideas out there, pick and choose what you like and throw in a little bit of your imagination to create a room you and baby will be happy with. After all, that may be the place you will be spending more time in once baby arrives. Enjoy the new arrival and happy decorating!

©BNadyn 2013