3 Nursery Design and Safety Tips

Styling and furnishing your nursery is a fun process – parents love being their baby’s nursery designer and take pride in the final product. A winning baby nursery is the one where beauty is paired with safety. To achieve both consider the following suggestions.

1.Baby Furniture

The practice of using hand-me-down infant furniture pieces is very popular and understandably so - the new one might be quite pricey and also, the newborn outgrows it rather fast. However, don't assume all already used infant furniture is safe and sound. The production safety requirements nowadays are much stricter than the ones from ten years ago. Some might argue that a lot of kids were raised by using the old fixtures and pretty much nothing ever went wrong – not quite true. Accidents did happen; however, the general public’s access to information was far more limited and the knowledge and research of causes were simply not there. If you have to buy just one new piece of nursery furniture, I think, it should be the baby crib. In his first year, your little one gets to spend a large amount of time in the crib, and, therefore it should be not only comfortable but safe.

2. Crib Bedding

The easy way to design a nursery is to begin with the crib bedding. Nowadays, the market offers a wide variety of baby bedding. There is gender specific and neutral baby crib bedding; there are classic, vintage, modern, basic, rustic, sophisticated, extravagant and so much more styles and designs to choose from. The themes, the color combinations, the appliques and adornments, the various textiles and textures expand the already large enough assortment. However, selecting the crib bedding should not be only a matter of personal taste and trend. Safety and ease of use are of highest importance and should be priority number one. Stay away from bedding with ties that are too short to be tied up correctly, stitching that doesn't hold, appliques that detach, edges that fray or seams that come apart.

3. Attention to Walls and Floors

Paint, stencils, murals - the wall is usually the biggest canvas to display your creativity and imagination. If not sure about the color choice, use the crib bedding for guidance. Add a personal touch with family photographs displayed in whimsical do-it-yourself picture frames. Nursery-themed clocks and designer toy bags can also be hung on the wall and add to the nursery decor; they aren't just lovely design accents but also quite useful accessories. And once more, don't undermine safety – almost nothing should be hung above the baby's crib or within infant's reach. Falling wall decorations are far from baby friendly. Use non-toxic, organic solvent- and VOC-free baby safe paint.

Floor covering adds color and style to the nursery room. Choose nursery rugs, throws and play mats that are sturdy and of good quality. Small, area pieces are much easier to keep clean and cheaper to replace if a major mess occurs.

In general, before you bring anything into the nursery, get acquainted with the latest safety standards, read the small print and ask questions; the rest is up to your taste!