Whether you a seasoned mother of 2 or a brand new parent decorating your nursery is one of the most enjoyable parts of planning for your child’s arrival. Your baby’s nursery is supposed to be a place where you’ll raise your little one and continue to nurture them as they grow. So much of the space you create depends on your needs and overall space. Nursery Furniture for your baby’s room can make a big difference in making a functional space, not to mention stylish. To find a balance between style and functionality, it is essential to plan out your space before jumping into purchasing a baby furniture set. Keep in mind that you control the style, color, and theme of your nursery room. This post is meant to help you create a space plan that will work for you and your family.

Continue reading to see my top tips on selecting baby nursery furniture and ideas on developing a cohesive nursery theme!

Nursery Furniture Sets Vs. Individual Pieces

In all honesty, I always tend to discourage purchasing “furniture sets.” Buying in bulk can often lead the room you’re decorating to be stale and non-original, or unique to you! Furthermore, nursery furniture often includes more furniture than you need or that your space allows. The most common furniture pieces included in Nursery sets are a crib, dresser/changing table combination, and a hamper. These kinds of furniture sets are referred to as a “room in a box.” 

There are a few steps I suggest you take when deciding what brand of furniture to shop for. If possible, I always recommend going to see the furniture in person. Seeing, touching, and feeling the nursery furniture is a great way to see the overall quality. The second thing I recommend is to read the product reviews online! Fellow parents are an excellent resource for finding out if the pieces are quality or complete garbage. This is a BIG and necessary purchase, so quality and safety should go hand-in-hand. If the reviews continue to mention safety or the product’s general construction issues, it should be a hard-pass. There are bound to comment that complain about a lengthy set-up. I typically disregard these types of reviews when deciding whether or not to purchase something.

Think Practically About Your Needs

When you begin to map your nursery, knowing what to buy can be overwhelming. There are a TON of different brands, styles, and colors to choose from and it’s easy to get lost. The great thing is you have some time. The nursery doesn’t always need to be done entirely when the baby arrives, though it is helpful. I also found that having a designated space helped me organize and prepare mentally. Based on your needs, you’ll be able to sort out what is a necessity and what can wait. The essential items that are a necessity for us were the following:

• Baby Bassinet 

• Changing station (pad, diaper caddy)

• Infant Lounger

• Diaper Pail 

Let your Space Guide Your Plans

There are baby nurseries everywhere, Pinterest, Instagram, magazines, you name it! Most of us are limited to the spaces we have to work with. Whether you have a small room, large room, lots of windows, or even if you’re working with a multi-use space; you’ll need to make your design plans coincide. Start by mapping out your area and finding out your nursery room dimensions. With these measurements, you’ll be able to visualize what furniture your nursery can hold and how it will flow.

In general, I’d suggest a changing station-dresser combination. Having clothing close during changing time helps when things may be chaotic or rushed. Not to mention, having everything you need in arms-reach is always helpful! Many companies sell pieces of furniture that will convert as your child grows. These transitional changing tables will be able to convert to a standard dresser when you no longer need the changing tray.

The same can be said for transitional cribs. There are a variety of styles from modern cribs to classic cribs that include a Toddler Bed Conversion Kit. These are very practical and make perfect sense if you plan to keep your child in their bed for a few years. If you decide to wait to purchase the conversion kit you may find that when you finally need it your style is sold out or no longer sold by a vendor. I strongly recommend purchasing both the conversion bundle at the time of the purchase of your baby’s cribs.

How to Decorate a Nursery

So much of the decorating process depends on your personal style preferences. Decorating a nursery is easily done thanks to paint, wallpaper, furniture, and styling accessories. Not to mention, personal mementos or artwork that you plan to add to your space. Some of the most popular nursery decorating styles are listed below:

• Floral, whimsical Nursery Design

• Modern, mid-century Nursery Design

• Woodland, outdoorsy Nursery Design

• Bohemian, natural Nursery Design

The sky is the limit for what you envision your space to look like. One of the easiest ways to get a feel for what style you are leaning towards is to gather inspiration. Create a mood board and see what colors reoccur across your inspiration photos. Identifying these colors will help guide you when it comes time to purchasing your decorating accessories. Even if you only have a single inspiration image, you can easily pull colors from art, prints, and patterns. Sometimes it is helpful to gather this information before starting your registry that way you can pick items that compliment your color scheme and overall style preferences.

Some accessories that you may want to consider adding to your registry (for your nursery decor) are as follows:

• Mobile

• Lamps or Nightlight

• Baskets and Storage Solutions

• Crib Sheets

• Changing Pad Sheets

• Blankets and Swaddles

• Bookshelf

• Rug

• Stuffed animals

Creating a nursery for your baby is an exciting time and one that will be memorable for all parties involved. Take your time with your decisions and remember that even if things are quite finished when your baby arrives, that there is plenty of time to finalize things.