Design the perfect nursery – top 10 tips 

Words: Grace Tindall

Grace Tindall, founder of Scandibørn shares her top ten tips for designing the perfect Scandinavian-inspired nursery  

1 Keep your base neutral 

The first rule of Scandi styling, keep it simple. Use white or light wood and a colour palette of muted pastels or monochromes as the base. Using these neutral tones means you can add more colourful or graphic accessories in the form of cushions, wall stickers, storage, rugs, mobiles and artwork – items that can easily be changed when the child grows up. Using simple fabrics for a nursery means you can customise the look as often you like.

2. Think about how you want it to feel

This gives you a great starting point for designing your nursery – do you want it to feel bright, fun, magical, calm or cosy. You can then start to choose your colours, textures and décor items that fit with that theme.

3. Storage should be plentiful but pretty

Toys, bedding, baby equipment, books and numerous knick knacks which come part and parcel of every nursery need a home which isn’t on the floor. We love woven or fabric baskets like those from Olliella, Liewood and Fabelab available at Scandibørn. The Play and Go lego bags are also perfect for tidying away those small toys in a flash.

4. A good chair

You’ll spend a lot of time in it so make sure it’s comfortable. We opted for an Ikea Rocking chair and then accessorised it with a sheepskin throw and an OYOY lion cushion.

5. Strategically placed lighting 

A dimmer switch and a couple of lamps around the room mean you can always control the level of lighting according to the need and during the bedtime routine. If baby wakes during the night, little night lights which are not too bright can easily help you find your way round – we love the little cloud lights perfect for a bedside table and the Giraffe and Elephant which are new in store from Officina.

6. Furniture which lasts

Consider furniture which won’t date and grows with your child. Invest in a furniture set that will last for years, look for features like conversions from cot beds to junior beds; Junior beds that become a full adult singles and changing tables that can be converted into a regular chest of drawers

7. Add personal touches to make your nursery unique

We love‘The Birth Poster’ who make illustrations to scale of your baby at birth, Lala Loves décor for a personalised name sign or Ingrid Petrie for a family penguin print.

8. Make shelving a feature

A set of shelves in the nursery is not only practical but can easily be transformed into a focal point with a few carefully chosen items. Add photos, books and a few wooden décor items (we’ve curated our favourites from pinch toys, OYOY and Bloomingville). Rose in April, String Shelves or leather strap shelves, are all timeless in design.

9. Fit for purpose flooring

I’d always recommend a hardwood or laminate floor in a nursery, inevitable spillages are much easier and less stressful to handle, especially in the middle of the night! However a rug is a must, it makes it feel more cosy and can also provide a place to play, our World and Adventure rugs fit the bill for most nurseries, if you want something plain then we love the neutral tones of our new Naco diamond rugs.

10. Work with the space you have

Sounds simple but it’s so tempting to get carried away with filling the nursery with ‘stuff’. If you have a small nursery, use light colours and try to limit the amount of floor space taken up. Add three tiered shelving (like those from Rose in April), wall hooks which you can hang an outfit from or a storage bag.

See more interiors ideas at www.scandiborn.co.uk

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