Starting the design process, regardless of the project, can be very confusing. Design for your nursery is not simple but it should start with simplicity. If you have very definitive ideas…you might want to take your time, be patient with how the look will evolve. And it WILL evolve. Remember, designing your baby’s nursery will be a process, meaning that it will grow, change, and adapt to your needs.

For example, don`t fall in love too quickly with insignificant items such as a character-themed wall paper or a lamp that you find particularly adorable. Items like these, especially accessories, should be introduced after you have selected your color combination or theme; you should not build your nurseries around them. Allow yourself to part with them or reconsider if it will help the overall design of the room or help you to move forward. Then, when your nursery is nearing completion, re-evaluate to see if these items still have a place in the overall design.

Not all parents will need to choose new furniture, but if you do, the furniture should be your first consideration. Choose bedding with fabrics that will that enhance the wood tones of your furniture; be sure to pick bedding and accessories before you choose wall color or wall paper. Large purchases like gliders or chair upholstery should be chosen after your color scheme is decided and soft goods are decided. Always look at your bedding choice on the wood color of your crib. You might love your crib and your bedding choice separately but they might not do well together.

Then and only then do you choose the best paint tone for the walls to enhance the choices of soft goods and furniture. Paint is difficult, always do a little testing and look at your test in all lights. A word to the wise: never try to match your paint color to a fabric color, especially when your fabric color is particularly intense. Your fabrics can handle the intensity, but your walls cannot. If you fall in love with a paint, chip back off a shade, paint always intensifies as you introduce more items into your little one’s nursery.

Cotton Tale Designs is honored to be included—in any small way—in this unforgettable time of your life. If you have any questions, or are in need of further guidance in creating the perfect space for your little one to live and learn within, please reach out to us, and we will do all we can to help you on this journey. However stressful it may be, we assure you, it will be worth it in the end.

~Nina Selby
Founder of Cotton Tale Designs