Styling Your Nursery

If you're a new homebuyer who has begun the process of decorating your new home, you know it can be overwhelming. You have to decide on countertops, flooring, paint colors and of course furniture. For the expanding family; however, styling a nursery can be one of the more rewarding rooms you get to decorate.

Nurseries become your baby's first sanctuary so the room should be well thought out. Check out the tips below for styling ideas for your new nursery.

Step Away From the Blue and Pink

There is nothing more predictable than a pink or blue nursery. Although these two colors have become symbolic for a baby's gender, they have been overdone in nurseries across the country. You can still make a nursery gender specific without baby blue and pastel pink all over the walls. A good way to get away from the predictable hues is to first choose a neutral color other than white. A light beige or tan could go great with lavender for a girl's room or you can mix it with a darker blue to play up baby boy's room. Pottery Barn has a great "How To" guide to choose a great neutral color for your new nursery.

Choose Your Theme Wisely

Take a good amount of time to decide upon a theme you like for your nursery. Babies grow very fast and before you know it they will be out of the baby phase and into the toddler phase. It's important you decide on a theme that can be transitional. Stay away from animal themes or themes that are too baby specific.  It will save you a lot of money and  time redecorating.

Focus on the color and utilizing it as a theme with patterns. You can paint large but subtle stripes on the wall to contrast a plain white wall and tie in the room with its décor. You could also paint a large graphic that is cohesive with the color scheme. A graphic or pattern is a more transitional way to make a theme in the room because as they grow up the room will still be suitable. Some popular patterns and graphics for girl's rooms include: chevron stripes, vertical stripes and paisley patterns. For boy's rooms you can color block the wall by painting the bottom half a different color than the top half. Sport themes can also be utilized but remember it is a theme that they potentially could grow out of quickly.

Personalize the Space

New parents spend a lot of time thinking about the perfect name for their child. What better way to personalize the room than by adding personalized décor either with their name or initials. You can implement name or initial personalization by painting it on a wall, or even using a wood cut out of it and placing it on a shelf or tacking it to the wall. Another cute idea is to customize a hanging mobile over the baby's crib. Instead of just a mobile of animals or other themes add their name and maybe a few types of aspirations for them such as future sports they may play or hobbies you might want them to be interested in the future.

Utilize Storage

A nursery can easily get cluttered with the large amount of baby clothes, toys and diapers. The solution to keeping the room looking clean and organized is to utilize storage space within the room. Usually a nursery tends to be one of the smallest rooms in the house so you want to make sure you have it set up in a way that clutter doesn't make it look smaller than it already is. If the closet and dresser aren't enough storage space consider storage-friendly furniture such as cribs with bottom cabinets underneath or changing tables with multiple compartments. Check out Ikea for storage furniture that can help contain all your baby's essentials without having to spend a pretty penny!

If you're unable to add furniture and you still need the extra storage space think outside container walls! Utilize the back of the door to hang and compartmentalize shoes, small toys or even store diapers. Walls are also a space that can be great storage areas because you can hang shelves that can house décor that would otherwise take up space on dressers and changing tables.

If you want to some more inspiration check out TheBump.com inspiration page of nursery ideas and feel free to share my blog with any new parents to be!