I have decorated many nurseries. Not one of them has featured cartoon characters or highly gender-specific colour palettes, but I like to think they were all successfully executed rooms, resulting in happy clients -- both parents and babies. What they do all have in common is wallpaper. A great source of pattern and colour, wallpaper often adds the whimsy and flair without venturing into garish critter land. Below is the perfect example of a really playful nursery I designed using a Schumacher wallpaper.
Photography by Donna Griffith.
I can offer two good reasons it behooves you to decorate your child's nursery in a gender-neutral, non-babyish way:
- You may have another child of the opposite sex who will inherit the nursery as is, while your older child moves to a bigger room.
- You may not have any more kids and want to convert the nursery -- often a small room in the house -- into a home office or guest bedroom.
In the world of design, we often refer to a source of inspiration as a "jumping off point." That source offers many directions in which to go, be it colour, theme or shape. I tend to look to fabrics and wallpaper as a starting point for many projects and approach decorating a nursery using the very same method.
So here goes: six fantastic wallpapers you can use to create a dreamy nursery that will stand the test of time.
My last piece of advice would be to hire a professional paperhanger. They will make sure the paper goes up quickly and perfectly, and you don't have to worry about destroying the product, hurting your back or arguing with your spouse. Since so many people ask me for references, here is a link to my friend John Arnold's info on HomeStars. Happy decorating!