When you are awaiting the birth of a new child, one of the best things is to start and think about what their nursery will look like. Then, once you know what you are having – or if you know for sure that you don’t want to know what you are having – you will be ready to actually start decorating. This is a fantastic experience, because it is in essence the first step towards welcoming a new child into what will be their home for the foreseeable future. In doing so, you are trying to make a room in which they feel loved, nurtured and safe. Defining this is different for everybody, but there are a number of things that everybody will need regardless of their tastes and preferences.
English: A sleeping male baby with his arm extended (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Bare Necessities in Terms of Decorating
The color that you decide to go for in your child’s nursery is entirely up to you. However, you will need a room that is clean and fresh. This means that you will have to either paint or wallpaper your walls. It is often best to pick a single, neutral color for the walls, perhaps with some wall art here and there. However, going for a patterned wall paper all across the room is usually not recommended, as it is too busy for a young mind.
You also need to think about the floor. You could opt for laminate or parquet. Parquet is incredibly expensive, but it will last you a lifetime. Laminate is far more affordable and it is easy to clean. However, both parquet and laminate can be quite cold, which is why many people opt for carpet. Carpet is great, because it works as an insulator for both heat and sound. It is also softer to the touch and is available in a range of different designs. However, and this is a big one, carpets are very hard to clean and babies can be incredibly dirty little creatures. You can expect spilt milk, baby sick and exploding nappies and getting these sorts of stains out of a carpet is a nightmare. Many people, unsurprisingly, opt for laminate and place one or two rugs across the room.
The Bare Necessities in Terms of Furnishings
Any nursery also needs furnishings of course. Many people think that having a crib is an absolute must have and that a baby simply cannot survive without one. This is untrue. In fact, many people who struggle financially opt to convert a bottom drawer into a baby bed. Naturally, if you do have the financial capabilities, it is much better to opt for an actual bed. When you are purchasing a bed for a child, there are a number of things to watch out for. Although a second hand bed is fine, you should always purchase a new mattress, as this reduces the chance of sudden infant death syndrome.
You will also need somewhere to keep the baby’s clothes. You can opt for a cupboard, perhaps one that doubles as a dresser to change their nappies, but many people opt to tie a long piece of string across the wall and hang the clothes up there. Although this is a great solution, it won’t be long before your baby becomes a toddler and then a child, and the older they get, the more clothes, toys and books they end up with, so a piece of string will not last you very long.
A nursery is what you make of it yourself, because decoration is something highly personal. However, nursery and wall stickers will not go amiss in any baby’s bedroom.
