Baby Room Themes That Inspire

By Sherrie Le Masurier

I’m looking for some ideas for baby room themes that will inspire me and jumpstart the decorating process. Do you have any nursery themes to offer up?

If you’re having difficulty coming up any baby room themes that inspire you why not turn to your own interests for a little inspiration?

What is it that you like to do – spend time at the beach, garden, sail etc?

When it comes to baby room themes also give some thought to some of the things you enjoyed as a child.

If you saved some of your old toys consider creating a nursery with a vintage toy motif. (To supplement your collection check out local antique and thrift shops.)

Even a favorite color or fabric pattern can be the impetus of a great nursery theme.

Here are some fun baby room themes that may inspire you:

Vintage Toys
Colors for a vintage toy theme could include hunter green, red and navy. Consider accenting the walls and bedding with wooden blocks, a rocking horse, teddy bears, jack-in-the-boxes etc. Use a decorative border featuring teddy bears or a rocking horse. Plaid or antique looking lace curtains would blend nicely with the room.

Primary Colors
One of the best ways to incorporate primary colors into baby room themes is to use balloons, shapes or numbers. Consider simple balloon valances in a solid fabric over white sheers and colorful tiebacks dressed up with bright buttons. Also look for solid or print bedding. Bring an old dresser to life by painting it white and then painting each drawer (or just the handles) a different color. Use primary colored laundry and storage baskets to accessorize the room. Making handprints out of paint, outlining some simple but colorful balloons and sponge painting shapes or numbers on the wall are other great ideas.

While primary colors can make a baby nursery a ton of fun you also want to be careful not to overdo your use of color. Too many bright colors can overwhelm your child and create an environment that’s anything but relaxing.

Jungle Baby
If you know you’re having a boy consider a jungle theme in which you can add to as he grows. For now what about hanging a rope ladder horizontally from the ceiling of your baby’s nursery and adding some artificial vines and jungle animals? The plus side is that you give your baby something to look at that can later be used as a real rope ladder he can use to climb into a loft or bunk bed. Use a tropical mural as a backdrop and/or add a decorative jungle border. 

Rain Forest
You can adapt the basic ‘Jungle Baby’ theme idea for a girl and create a fun rain forest by incorporating colorful stuffed birds, a butterfly mobile and re-usable wall stickers of tropical plants. Use bamboo or straw blinds on the nursery window and wooden beaded curtains on her closet.

Blue Skies
Blue is a popular color choice for unisex baby nurseries. One of my favorite ways to use blue in baby room themes is to paint a beautiful blue sky with big fluffy white clouds on the ceiling. This peaceful and soothing idea can be taken one step further by painting on some glow-in-the-dark stars so your baby can gaze at the stars at night before drifting off to dreamland.

Favorite Animals
An animal themed nursery is another great budget-friendly unisex idea that will grow with your child. Incorporate lots of stuffed animals and related posters. Other good ideas include using animal prints in bedding and window treatments. You may also want to create some footprints on the nursery walls using a simple hand-drawn stencil. Many wildlife books offer samples of animal footprints. Use these samples to inspire your own design which can be cut out of a transparent sheet of plastic and turned into a stencil.

Nautical and Nice
Nautical baby room themes are another idea that will grow with your child and is perfect for both girls and boys. Boys tend to prefer a room heavy on sailboats and lighthouses, while most girls’ prefer fresh airy spaces with seashells and beach related accessories.

Under the Sea
One of the best ways to create a stunning under the sea baby nursery is to find a mural that inspires imagination and underwater adventures. Accent the room with sea-related wall hangings, a border with waves, and accessory items that feature mermaids, starfish, and sea horses.

On a final note, large seashells and big pieces of coral make great book ends for the above ‘Nautical and Nice’ and ‘Under the Sea’ baby room themes. And for a unique lamp idea purchase a Mason jar lamp from a country gift shop or made your own with a do-it-yourself kit and fill it with items like shells, starfish, sea horses and coral. You may also want to hang some fishing net on the walls of your baby’s nursery (available n fishing shops or Army-Navy type stores) to really bring the room together.