4 nursery design tips for a happy baby

A new baby brings plenty of changes, including nursery renovations to your home. A well-rested baby is a happy baby, so it is important to make sure that the room is going to be the perfect place for them to sleep in. Here are our nursery design tips to help your baby sleep.

1. Choose colours carefully

For a baby, the world is new, exciting and often overwhelming. For this reason, picking a neutral colour scheme for the nursery is great in creating a calm atmosphere for them to sleep in. Bright or bold wallpaper can be over-stimulating – pastels or neutrals are a great base for a room, and can be accented and complimented with colourful decor. If you're in strata living, make sure you check with the owners corporation of your building to make sure you are allowed to renovate your apartment.

Sticking to a specific style is a great way of creating cohesion, as well as keeping yourself from over-cluttering. Think to the future when you're considering colours and decorative aspects of your nursery, especially if you're planning on staying in your Gold Coast property for a while. While your wee one might love their dinosaur themed feature wall while they're young, it may not be as "hip" when they enter their teenage years. Opt instead for temporary decorative pieces like wall decals and art prints, which can easily be swapped out with a change in interests.

2. Dim the lights

Everyone can benefit from a decent sleep, but for new babies a good rest is crucial to their development. Blackout curtains are a great way to block out excess light for those middle of the day naps. These curtains can also help with regulating the temperature of the room by trapping either the cold or hot air in.

The first few months of babyhood is filled with rapid growth, and this is exhausting work for an infant – the nursery space should be dimly lit so they can get all the rest that they need. A lighting fixture with a dimmer switch allows you to lower the brightness of a room in preparation for bedtime. Soft, orange lighting will create a sleepy vibe for your baby, as well as allowing enough light for you to quietly sneak in and check on them while they sleep, without disrupting them with sudden brightness.

3. Pick out some plants

Plants are a nice and natural way to decorate any space and have great health benefits. We are in constant contact with items that have chemical omissions, like cleaning products or clothing dyes. These contribute to polluting air quality, however plants can filter out chemicals to provide us with clean air. Indoor plants can reduce air chemicals as much as 90 per cent which can improve sleep and reduce headaches, according to a survey of research by the University of Melbourne.

4. Keep yourself comfy

While the nursery needs to be comfy for your baby, you'll be spending plenty of time in there during their first few months, so it needs to be just as relaxing for you. Having a comfortable rocking chair for late night feeds in the nursery will allow you to transfer your baby from cot to chair swiftly. This is perfect when it comes to dream feeds, where you can feed your baby while they're asleep, minimising the risk of wake up tears and a longer settling time.

Comfort also means keeping everything you need in one space. Have a designated changing table set up in the nursery fitted out with everything from nappies to an extra bib. This way, you'll know exactly where everything is and can quickly deal with messes without too much setup, or keeping your baby awake for too long.

Looking to upsize your Gold Coast property to fit your expanding family? Get in touch with the team at Ray White Surfers Paradise for a friendly chat.