Designing A Nursery That Will Grow With Your Baby

While waiting for your baby’s due date to arrive, use that time wisely to design a nursery that will grow with your child.  A little planning now can save you time and money down the road as your baby becomes older.

Painting: When painting the walls of the room, most people tend to go with an off-white.  But if you want to be more creative, a popular idea is to paint below the chair rail green for grass and above it blue for the sky.  From there, you can simply change the decorations to fit the interests of the child. 

Decorations: Posters and other artwork are an easy and inexpensive way of decorating a room quickly.  This allows you to keep up with the child’s interests and letting them select the posters gives them input for their room.  

Fabric Designs: There are many wonderful novelty prints available in the fabric store.  They are a great way to decorate and make a coordinated room.  Purchase a yard or two of the print, cut out the designs, and use a fabric starch to stick the designs to the wall (use a liquid spray starch, soaking the pieces, apply them to the walls, they will stick after they dry).  This works wonderfully, especially in apartment where you may not be able to use nails.  If you sew, you can also create matching curtains and possibly bedding as well.

Magnetic Paint: A recent addition to the decorating tools available is magnetic paint.  While a bit more expensive than regular paint, it’s great to use in a child’s room.  Paint a coat, or two (following the directions) over the primer, then paint over the magnetic paint with the main color used in the room.  Alphabet and number magnets then become not only a decoration, but educational. 

Chalkboard Paint: Another fun paint to use in a child’s room is chalkboard paint.  Using it either below the chair rail, or just in one area, makes a great place for a child to be creative, without damaging the rest of the walls.

Probably the most important aspect to keep in mind while decorating a room to grow with your child is the furniture.  There are many “convertible” beds, that can be used as a crib, then a day bed, and eventually a twin bed, with the simple addition of support braces and a mattress.