NURSERY / KIDS ROOM PROJECT – YOUR GUIDE ON WHERE TO START!

If, having read my previous post, you are still feeling lost for ideas for your nursery / kids room project (or any interiors project for that matter), I’ve created a short guide, to get you started. Below is a list of additional tips to help in your planning:

1. CREATE A MOODBOARD.

If you only follow one of my tips, this is the one! A moodboard will help you settle on your preferred colour palette, theme (if, indeed you want to pick one) and the mood that you want to achieve in the room. Refer to your moodboard BEFORE you make any purchases for the room, to see if the items you picked go with your original idea. You can create a moodboard by simply pinning images to a Pinterest board, saving screenshots of images you like to a dedicated album on your phone, using an app to create a professional moodboard or building a scrapbook with magazine cutouts. The choice is yours! Whatever you do, do not skip this step. You will soon see it makes all the difference! But equally, don't feel that once you created it, you need to rigidly stick to it. These things evolve over time and you will likely remove or add new images to it.

2. THINK ABOUT THE USE OF SPACE.

Considering how the room will be used, will guide you through narrowing down your colour scheme, the shopping list and layout. In the first months of your baby’s life, they will predominantly be using the room to sleep and feed, so you may want to opt for a colour palette that promotes calmness and is cocooning and restful; an ‘FYI’ in case you are planning to include yellow in your colour scheme - yellow is a stimulating colour and is known to make small babies cry. With that in mind, you may initially want to only use pops of this colour as accents (rugs, artwork, toys), and save using it more liberally until the next time you update the décor.

3. LIST ALL THE ESSENTIALS.

Making an inventory of what you ‘absolutely need’ and what is ‘nice to have’, is a good way of managing your project and your budget. I found this very helpful and as a result only invested in items that I knew we would keep for years (like a vintage sideboard or the Miffy lamp).

4. LOVE OUR PLANET.

This was a Big One for me! Make purchases that will last and won’t end up in a landfill. If you can, shop second hand or invest in pieces made from natural materials such as wood, rather than plastic. Or look for brands which make items out of recycled materials. Babies use a lot of things for a short time and looking into sourcing some items from specially set up ‘libraries’ might also be an option for you. it's useful to note that some second hand items hold a great resale value (prams, bouncers, high chairs, etc.) and you may find that once your baby’s grown out of using it, you still get quite a lot of your money back, by offering it on a resale site again.

5. SET A BUDGET.

Even if you don’t love doing this (who wants to set an upper limit to their budget?!), budgeting will help you become more discerning about your choices and narrow down your options. This is a good thing when there is too much choice and you are more likely to 'cut out the noise' and only go for the things you truly love. If you are lucky to have family members who offer to buy things for your new arrival, consider asking them to get some of the items off your inventory list. This will free up your budget for all other things you are yet to buy.

6. HAVE FUN!

Don’t forget to have fun, choose cute, quirky accessories (I love bunting, mood lights, rugs and artwork) and make this a space you and your baby will love!

I hope this helps you along with your nursery project and would love to hear your comments and stories on how you got on.

Love, Jo x