Your nursery or toddler’s bedroom should be a fun, functional and – above all – SAFE place for your child to rest and play. Keep the following tips in mind when planning this room and you and your little one will enjoy those special early years in a safe and happy environment.
1. Selecting Furniture: Try to select pieces that serve more than one purpose and pieces that can adapt to changing needs as your child gets older. Look for a changing table with a removable top that can be converted to a dresser later on. Many cribs available today can be adapted to become a twin size bed so you won’t have to worry about what to do with the crib when your child outgrows it. Buying less furniture means saving money … definitely a plus.
Other multi-functional pieces can also save space. Consider a comfortable bench to sit on which can open for storage of extra blankets or toys. Tall chests of drawers will provide just as much storage space as wide dressers having the same number of drawers, and use less floor space in the room. Also consider making the most of any closet space for additional storage. Built-in closet organizing systems are a great way to keep things tidy and eliminate the need for extra dressers and chests of drawers.
SAFETY FIRST. When choosing furniture, make sure pieces are sturdy and secure. There should be no sharp edges (consider dressers with rounded corners) and no “moving parts” where children could pinch their fingers. Crib rails should be spaced closely together so your child cannot fit his or her head between the rails and get stuck. Toy chests and storage benches should be equipped with a “slow-close” feature to prevent the top from slamming closed too quickly. Any furniture with drawers should have locking clips on the drawers so the child cannot pull them out completely. Tall dressers and bookcases should have an anti-tip feature or wall anchors to prevent the piece from tipping forward. Changing tables, with or without removable tops, should have straps and/or raised sides to secure your child while in use. It only takes a moment if you look away for a baby to wiggle off.
Finally, if your child’s closet has bi-fold doors – use caution. Many people, not just children, have painfully pinched their fingers when pushing bi-fold doors closed. One way to prevent this is to place small, thin felt or rubber pads (about 1/8” thick) on the surface where the two doors touch when they close. This will prevent the doors from closing completely but will leave a gap too small to be noticeable.
2. Accessories: Choosing a “Theme”: It’s always fun when designing a child’s room to choose a special theme as a basis for the décor, such as butterflies or flowers for a girl, maybe sports or planes, trains and automobiles for a boy, or a favorite character theme like Winnie the Pooh or Mickey Mouse. But keep in mind, you child’s interests are likely to change as he or she gets older.
To truly transform your room into a fairytale castle or similar fantasy, themed wallpaper or custom painted murals may be just the ticket to get you started. These can be pricey, however. If you’re more budget-minded – and most new parents are – there are more affordable options. One method is to select a main color for the walls (can always be changed later), and then dress it up with smaller mural elements, stenciled designs or removable wall decals. Border wallpaper is a great start in a child’s room, as it is easily removed later, and you can select a color within the design of the border paper to use as your primary wall color. Then use creative accessories throughout the room to establish the theme. Consider small area rugs, cute bedding ensembles, wall art, decorative lamp shades, fan pulls, pillows and more. If your child outgrows the theme, usually you can simply change the accessories without having to re-do the room.
SAFETY FIRST. When choosing accessories, try to choose mostly “soft” objects, like pillows or stuffed animals. Make sure that no accessory items in the room have small parts, like buttons or beads, which can be pulled off and cause a choking hazard. If you use area rugs, make sure to use a rug grip to keep the rug securely in place. For safe lighting, consider overhead lighting or permanent wall lighting, like sconces, rather than table or floor lamps which have cords that call be pulled on or tripped over. How about a ceiling fan with a decorative light attachment? Lighting that can be turned on and off by flipping a wall switch is safer and easier for both parents and children. Also, if you enter the room to check on your child at night, it is far easier to simply flip a wall switch than to fumble for the switch on a table or floor lamp. Oh, and remember those outlet covers too. Use these to prevent your curious little one from sticking fingers or other objects into exposed sockets.
3. What about windows? My favorite suggestion to start with is a simple honeycomb shade with a cordless lifting system. These are available in an almost limitless selection of colors, they can be ordered with a room-darkening feature, which is great for naps, and they also help to maintain the temperature more effectively than almost any other window treatment. Then, I suggest adding a decorative top treatment, such as a valance or a cornice.
SAFETY FIRST. Always consider window treatments with available safety features such as cordless operating systems, and “break-away” clutch mechanisms. These features not only provide easier function of the window treatment, but protect your child from the possibility of getting tangled in loose cords as well. It’s also not a good idea to use any decorative trimmings on a child’s window treatments such as beads or tassels. These features can be pulled off and become a choking hazard.
As with any of the rooms in your home a professional decorator can help you achieve your vision. Have fun with your nursery, be safe and happy decorating!
Janet Cunningham is an interior decorator who lives in Morgan Hill. She is a Decorating Den INTERIORS business owner and enjoys working together with Pamela Ryalls-Boyd. Reach Janet at (408) 478-1095, jg************@gm***.com or visit www.decdens.com/jcunningham.
