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A Room for Your Baby
• A color scheme Don't try to make it to cute if only you are not preparing a space for your unborn infant. Bright colors and bold patterns make for a lively nursery. You can shower the room with a hip color scheme that will intrigue the eye and the imagination. • Sleeping quarters. Outfitting the room with both a bed and a crib will ease the transition from "baby bed" to "big-girl/boy bed." It's also nice to have a spot where Mom or Dad can sleep near the baby. Don't place a crib near draperies or blinds. The mattress should be firm and tight-fitting. Replace a crib with a bed when a child grows to 35 inches or shows an ability to climb. • Lots of storage. Baby clothes might not take up too much room, but sooner or later, dresses, shoes, and other duds will overwhelm the closet. It's smart to plan more storage than you think you'll need: A cabinet that can hold blankets and books now, but in a few years change its contents to toys and collectibles, will be a handy addition to the room. Tables, chairs, easels, and other items should be sturdy and difficult to tip over. Toy chests should not have a lid latch that could trap a child inside the chest. A free-falling lid could seriously injure a child. Remove the lid or install spring-loaded supports. • Double-duty furniture. The changing table converts easily to a bureau, so once the baby is out of diapers, the dresser can still serve a purpose in the room. When kids are small, a nursery adjoining the master suite is great. Once the youngest children progress to rooms of their own, you can recycle the nursery space. • A spot to sit. A diminutive chair will be a nice spot for baby to sit and read stories in a few years. Many parents opt for an adult-size chair in the nursery as well. For the safety of little fingers, a glider or overstuffed stationary chair is a better choice than a traditional rocker. • Sentimental items. Like the old dolls from granny or a set that holds photographs and other mementos. For parents-to-be, no room is more fun to decorate than the nursery. Because infants thrive on stimulation, new moms and dads have full license to unleash their creativity and indulge in bright colors and strong graphic designs. Where to begin, though? Here are some things to keep in mind before decorating the room for your new arrival: 1. A the room to last through childhood. Avoid giving it too much of a baby feel - once your child hits preschool, light blue or pink might seem like it's "for babies." Choose wall treatments and furniture that is suitable for any age and use accessories to give the room a baby feel. Also make sure there's a place for a bed once your baby grows out of the crib. 2. Light in the room. Check out the angles that the sun comes in at different times of day. Don't put the crib in a spot that gets direct sunlight in the morning, or in a spot that a streetlight shines on all night. 3. Double-duty furniture. You might find a changing table that can convert to a dresser once your baby grows out of diapers. The longer you can use the furniture, the better the value. 4. Avoid wall-to-wall carpeting. Use area rugs on a wood or cork floor, if possible. Hard floors are easier to clean up and they don't harbor allergy-aggravating dust. Area rugs can be replaced much more easily than carpeting as they get dirty or your child's tastes change. 5. Give yourself lots of storage space. You'll probably need more room than you think. Once the clothes get bigger and are joined by shoes and other accessories, you'll need every inch of closet space you can get. Not to mention a place to put all those toys! 6. A place for you to sit in the nursery. Pick a relaxing chair. You'll be spending many nights there with your baby, reading her stories or rocking her to sleep.
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