Alternative Nursery Themes
- A one-of-a-kind baby should have a one-of-a-kind nursery.baby image by Yvonne Bogdanski from Fotolia.com
Decorating the nursery can be a fun way to while away the hours as you await the birth of your baby. Traditional nursery themes range from clowns, teddy bears and farm animals to the standard "pink is for girls and blue is for boys." Perhaps "classic baby" décor doesn't fit the rest of your house, your personality or your lifestyle. If so, consider alternative themes for the nursery. - A baby's eyes aren't as developed as adult eyes, so the most stimulating things to look at from the baby's point of view will be things that have a lot of visual contrast. In the beginning, that means black and white. White walls with black-and-white posters or stick-on murals will make quite an impact, especially if you combine them with black-and-white gingham curtains, sheets and a mobile to match. Keep the room from looking operating-room sterile by adding some punches of color in red, orange or yellow---most babies can differentiate these colors at about 2 months old.
- There's no reason to limit your baby to insipid made-for-kiddies tunes if you don't enjoy them. Your baby has been listening to the music you prefer since before he was born, so why not decorate the nursery in a fun theme to match your tastes? Paint the walls a vivid color, then tack up a "border" of record album covers around the room (you can find them at thrift stores and yard sales). Find or make bedding and curtains featuring musical instruments, notes or stars. For a finishing touch, spray-paint the furnishings dull black and stencil the baby's name (or the name of his "band") on the sides in white---they'll look ready for the adoring roadies to load on the bus for baby's next gig.
- If you can't decide on a color scheme, choose them all. You can paint the entire room in broad stripes of color that arch from wall to ceiling to wall, or you can choose a favorite background color and add rainbow-themed accents. Paint a rainbow stripe around the room at chair-rail height and hang rainbow-striped curtains in the window. Add shiny jewel-toned cushions to a rocking chair and hang faceted crystals from the curtain rod so the sun will splash rainbows all around the room. For some visual relief from all the color, paint the ceiling sky-blue and add a few puffy pink-tinged clouds. Use bright yellow bedding on the crib and your baby will be the treasure in the pot of gold.
