A detailed list showing you how to incorporate 6 timeless nursery design elements to create the perfect space for your new addition.
Planning a room for a brand new family member is exciting! But can also be overwhelming, especially with all the other baby related tasks that need to get done. I realize baby may not even make it to his or her own room for 4+ months. But as a first time mom, nesting and putting a room together feels like a right of passage.
As I was planning and researching, I decided to round up 6 key design elements I want to incorporate to create the perfect, timeless gender neutral nursery.
1. Vintage Rug
A rug can and should serve as the anchor to your space. There is nothing better than a hand woven rug. Especially in a nursery!
A vintage rug is the definition of a “timeless” design element. It is neat to know you own a piece of history that is unique, natural and handmade. Hand knotted Turkish rugs stand the test of time. They are made from organic materials such as wool, cotton and silk fibers, and natural dyes. The color is typically extracted from nature- using flowers, roots, vegetables and insects. These dyes outlast synthetic dyes, even in direct sunlight.
Unlike most factory produced rugs, vintage rugs get better with time. They retain their value, and their textures and patterns have existed for thousands of years which means they will never go out of style. Often, these hand-knotted rugs can be passed down for generations if well maintained.
Interested in learning more? Download my vintage Turkish rug Ebook to learn about all my favorite places to buy! From local stores to online sources and Instagram shops, I’ve got the inside scoop. Get instant links to 10 of the best sellers to start a collection of your own.
2. Paint
The second step to any room makeover should be paint. A white, blank slate is always nice but incorporating color can really bring your design to the next level. The more I make our house a home, the more I am getting comfortable with color. Especially dark and moody colors!
We are not finding out our baby’s gender, so keeping it neutral is a necessity. Once I chose our vintage area rug to anchor the space, I pulled inspiration from the rugs color pallet for the walls. I had dreams of sage green, and moved forward with my paint sampling process.
I absolutely love painting. Throughout countless DIY projects over the past 2 years, I have painted just about everything. I’ve painted:
If you need advice on the best way to paint a room, how to choose and make sure you have the right tools, or steps needed to sample and choose the right paint color, I’ve got you covered. Learn everything you need to know about paint so you can incorporate the perfect wall color into your timeless nursery design.
3. Wall Treatment
A wall treatment is the perfect way to add texture, dimension and color to a room. You can either add your wall treatment to all four walls, or choose to make it an accent wall behind the crib.
The possibilities for adding wall treatments are endless. Chair rail, picture frame moulding, beadboard, board and batten, shiplap… you can’t go wrong. Wall treatments are easily DIY’ed, and a good way to develop basic wood working skills. For more inspiration, you can peruse my whole post dedicated to wall treatments.
4. Antique Dresser
There is nothing quite like sturdy, wooden and worn antique furniture. I had been scouring facebook marketplace for the perfect dresser, and I just hadn’t found anything right yet.
According to my research, I was looking for a small dresser that was at least 36 inches tall, 18 inches deep, and 35 inches wide to use as a changing table.
When we were home for Christmas, my mother-in-law offered this antique chest of drawers that was just about the perfect size! You can’t beat free, or furniture passed down through family. It even had locks to add a vintage skeleton key and decorative tassels to. With updated hardware, I think it will tie in nicely with the brass crib!
Shop my updated furniture finds including a skeleton key, tassel and hardware.
5. Woven Moses Changing Basket
I think these are such a fun twist on your typical changing pad. . A woven Moses changing basket adds a touch of texture and is more aesthetically pleasing.
The basket doubles as the perfect place to take monthly photos to document baby’s growth too! As a newborn they will look teeny tiny inside, and as the months continue to pass you’ll be able to compare just how much (and fast) they grow!
6. Window Treatment
Sleep is important and can be hard to come by for babies (or at least that’s what I’ve heard!). Why not eliminate any variables that may interfere with that precious sleep?
Surprisingly, we never had (or put) blinds on any of our windows. I have PTSD from having to clean blinds as a punishment as a kid, so I knew I didn’t want to go that route.
I chose an affordable, light filtering bamboo roller blind in a neutral ivory color. Custom, black out bamboo blinds were out of our price range, so I planned a way to DIY a blackout panel for the back of the shade.
Drapes offer an extra layer of light protection in addition to bamboo roller blinds. Window treatments are a great way to add color and texture to your little one’s room. Here’s a link to my inspiration!
I hope these 6 timeless nursery design elements have helped get your wheels turning to begin planning your space. Nailing down the big features to anchor the room allows the smaller details to fall into place easier.
Enjoy the process,
