Making Small Nurseries Work

Thursday, July 13th, 2017

The nursery is your baby’s first room so you have to make it look and feel special. Adding something personal such as colorful framed photographs and artworks will also make the room more unique. Babies need something to stimulate their learning minds, hence, put something that they can look at and appreciate.

Decorating the nursery can be tricky but it becomes more so when you need to make do with a tiny space. When you’re faced with such a project, then have a little faith. With a little creativity and some interior design know-how, you should do fine.

Begin Light

The first commandment in designing a small nursery is to pick a light color palette. Dark colors tend to absorb light and could overwhelm a tiny space. Lighter colors, on the other hand, can make a room feel brighter and bigger.

Choosing a monochromatic color scheme would also help. This will also work even with darker colors. The continuation of colors is what diminishes the visual breaks in the nursery, thus, making the space still appear larger than it seems.

Paint the Ceiling

Whether you end up painting the ceiling with a dark or light color, just make sure that the ceiling is always lighter than the paint on your walls. This is what’s known in the design world as the vaulted effect where the room feels more spacious because of the darker hue up top.

Create Visual Interest

Thinking that you’re just designing a nursery and pink or blue are the only colors available to you is wrong. Do paint the moldings and trim with lighter colors, again, compared to the walls. The light-colored trim can make the walls recede which would appear to be seemingly farther than they seem.

Do you notice how smaller rooms tend to have less interesting architectural features? You will have to be the one to create visual interest through an accent wall, focal point or adding some flair. Windows and shelves can also be painted just to add a dash of color where everything else is monochrome.

Use Patterns

Who says baby rooms cannot have interesting patterns? On the contrary, you can actually make a room appear bigger by adding the right patterns (e.g. vertical stripes, horizontal stripes for a room-widening illusion).

The good ol’ cartoon characters are reliable patterns that you can use throughout the nursery. Plus these can also be the same patterns that your little baby would soon grow into so they had better be interesting.

Never allow patterns to overwhelm the space, though. Use large scale patterns at a bare minimum. Smaller scale patterns are the perfect options. Pick a repetitive pattern in just one or two colors.

Let In Some Light – Or a Lot of It

Natural light must be in abundance in your baby’s nursery. This can do a lot of wonders for the small space. Sunlight can make a space appear airier, lighter and a lot brighter. Consider investing in some sheer drapes so that you can still keep a certain level of privacy inside this room.

Yes to Flashy Designs

Shiny accessories such mirrors can reflect light so, yes, these are very much welcome inside the nursery. Again, the more light that you let into the room, the bigger the space would appear.

Never Overdo Furnishings

While there are necessities such as the crib, drawers, changing table, rocking chair and such, you must never go to the point where you overdo your furnishings. Your goal is always to create space no matter how minute this can be.

This doesn’t mean that you should rule out big furnishings, though. The key is to choose one focal piece then to decorate around that necessary piece which is often the crib.

Tags: decorating the nursery, designing the nursery, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings, nursery, small nurseries, tiny nurseries
Posted in Interior Design 101, Interior Design Elements, Special Rooms In Your Home | Comments Off on Making Small Nurseries Work