20 Friendly and Modern Nursery Room Design Ideas

Designing and decorating the nursery room is always fun and beautiful but not nearly as easy as it may seem. First of all, you have to make a choice.

Nursery Room Design Ideas

Will it be a décor that matches the rest of the house or will it be cheerful and playful, full of color? There are lots of options to choose from.

How to plan a nursery room’s design

The nursery, just like any other room, doesn’t just look magical and beautiful all by itself. Its design requires planning and coming up with the perfect balance between functionality and style is tricky. Here’s a few tips that can help you achieve that.

How to plan a nursery room’s design

Start with an item

It can feel overwhelming to have to plan the whole design of the nursery room since there’s a lot of elements that go into it. Starting is usually the most difficult thing to do. Make the process easier by finding a single item or element to base the rest of the room’s design on. It can be anything like a particular crib that you like, a cute area rug, a cozy rocking chair, etc.

Be practical with the floor plan

Before you actually put anything in the room take some time to map out the floor plan and to decide where you want each major piece of furniture or functional item to go. Create separate areas for sleeping, changing, playing and so on.

Settle on a color palette

Another important step when planning the design of a room is to choose a color palette for it. This will make it easier to pick all the furniture, the decorations and the accessories for the nursery. You can use an online tool to find predefined color palettes or you can come up with your own.

Make a plan to control the light and noise levels

It’s also important to make sure the nursery room is a peaceful and calm environment for the baby to sleep in since making sure they stick to a sleep schedule is crucial. In that sense you should come up with a plan for your design to let you control the light, noise and air level that get into this room.

Plan for the future

When designing a nursery room you should think not just about the present but the future as well. Kids grow up super fast and before you know it your little one will be ready to give up the crib and sleep in a big bed. Account for these changes that you’ll eventually need to make to the room right from the start to make the transitions easier both on yourself and the little one.

Useful Nursery room design tips

There’s plenty of things we kind of learn along the way and plenty of things we can learn from those with more experience than us and this also applies to interior design. With that in mind, here’s a few useful tips worth keeping in mind when planning the design and décor of the nursery room.

Useful Nursery room design tips

Keep it clean and airy

It’s very easy to get buried underneath a ton of clutter when caring for a baby and it’s definitely worth minimizing these chances. Include lots of storage options in the nursery room and in different areas so you can easily put things away when you’re not using them instead of just leaving them out and about. Don’t give clutter a chance to take over this room.

Keep everything within reach of the changing table

This is important for safety reasons and also because it makes things a lot easier and more pleasant. Keep things like diapers, wipes, pacifiers, toys, laundry hamper and so on within reach of the changing table so you don’t need to step away and risk accidents. Also, restock any of these items when you run out.

Make sure the walls are washable

This actually applies to the whole house, not just the nursery room but it’s especially important here because it’s where you’re changing the baby and where potential accidents can happen. If you want wallpaper on the walls look for washable wallpaper and if you choose paint make sure it’s a type that’s easy to clean.

Include art in your design

Of course functionality is very important when designing a nursery room but don’t overlook the aesthetics. Include art in the décor like prints or posters that you can display on the walls for example. These help to create a soothing and whimsical atmosphere and there’s definitely plenty of styles and options to choose from including making your own art.

Give it love and character

When decorating the nursery room include items that will remind the little one of all the people that love them. This is a really great idea if you live far from other family members and a great way to help the baby establish an emotional connection with loved one and to familiarize themselves with everyone even when they’re not always able to visit.

Imperfections are ok

At the end of the day it’s important to remember that although you’re doing all this for the baby they don’t really care about what the nursery looks like. Don’t beat yourself up if something doesn’t look perfect, if the paintings aren’t perfectly aligned or if there’s a ring missing from the curtain. These are just things that make the nursery more unique.

Nursery Room Don’ts

Learning from our own mistakes is also part of being human and it’s nice to share these findings so here’s a few things to avoid doing when designing a nursery room.

Nursery Room Don'ts

1. Don’t pay attention to everyone else’s opinions

This may seem counter-intuitive since there’s plenty of useful things we can learn from other people but it’s important to filter all this information and to not pay attention to each and every suggestion. Too many chefs in the kitchen doesn’t always help the food taste better.

Don’t sacrifice functionality in favor of style

The nursery room is not the place where you should pick pretty things instead of useful ones. Before anything, make sure the furniture and accessories you choose do the job that they’re intended for and if you can also find a design that looks nice that’s just a bonus.

2. Don’t overlook the window treatments

Sure, it’s nice to have a room filled with sunlight and bright and airy because it looks and it feels great but keep in mind that babies need a lot of sleep and making sure they stick to a schedule is important in their development. So don’t skip the curtains or the blinds because they’re crucial for creating a restful environment.

3. Don’t keep every gift

Inevitably as a new parent you get lots of gifts from everyone you know. Some are useful and worth keeping but you may also get some that are just not what you need. Don’t be afraid to return them and get something more suitable instead. Just because something is a gift doesn’t mean you should keep it until the end of time.

4. Don’t be too specific with the decorations

In the first years of their lives babies quickly go through several phases and don’t really know what they like so creating a décor that’s very specific isn’t exactly practical. Before you know it all those cutesy decorations you spent a lot on may need to be replaced so don’t go overboard with the theme when decorating the nursery room.

Nursery Room Design Ideas

A fun and unexpected theme

Wallpapered accent wall

It’s not everyday you see a big and fluffy flamingo sitting in the corner of a nursery room and that’s just what makes this design so interesting and fun in the first place. The unexpected factor plays an important in making the room look fresh and quite timeless as well. This wonderful design was created by studio Ali Budd Interiors.

A cozy mural

Wallpapered accent wall

A good strategy when designing a nursery room could be to use a fairly neutral and timeless color palette for most of the décor and to include a statement piece like a mural in order to cheer up the room. You can find some inspiration in the design done by Atelier Leymarie Gourdon in this regard.

Green as a primary color

Wallpapered accent wall

Some colors tend to feel like a cliché when it comes to the nursery room and this includes primarily pink and blue. If you’d like to use a color palette that’s a bit more neutral but still very fun and cheerful, consider a nice shade of green. This lovely pistachio green makes the walls of this room designed by Wesley Moon look absolutely delicious.

A cozy reading corner

Wallpapered accent wall

A nice feature to add to a nursery room is a cozy seating area with a few shelves in the vicinity which you can fill with a bunch of children’s books. There’s plenty of cute and enjoyable moments you could spend here with the baby either reading or just relaxing. Use this design by Patrick Brian Jones as a source of inspiration.

Layered textures

Wallpapered accent wall

Find different ways to add texture into the nursery room in order to make it welcoming, comfortable and cozy. There’s quite a few ideas you can borrow from this beautiful space by Urbanology Designs. What stands out the most is the cloud-inspired fabric backdrop for the crib.

Simple colors and bold patterns

Simple colors and bold patterns

Both color and pattern are very useful for adding style and character to a space or creating focal points. The black and white chevron rug fits beautifully in this gender-neutral nursery room and really pops due to how neutral the rest of the décor is.

Wallpapered accent wall

Wallpapered accent wall

Painting a wall in a bold or contrasting color is enough to turn it into a focal point for most rooms but in the case of the nursery room that can feel a bit too simple. A wallpapered wall with a fun or a cute pattern fits the theme of the room a lot better. Check out this lovely sparrow wallpaper used by J&J Design Group if you need some inspiration.

Soft pastels mixed with neutrals

Soft pastels mixed with neutrals

Incorporating pastel colors into a nursery room’s design seems like a very cliché thing to do but don’t let this prevent you from doing it anyway. Find a stylish and interesting way to mix the colors with certain patterns and use light neutrals to make them stand out more.

An eclectic mix of modern and retro

An eclectic mix of modern and retro

This lovely nursery room designed by Rockabye Mommy has a really interesting look. It mixes modern design elements with retro details which give it a sophisticated flair. The wallpaper pattern and crib canopy are strong examples.

Geometric.

Wallpapered accent wall
Combine colors and shapes in a simple but eye-catching décor

Wallpapered accent wall
An accent wall gives you the opportunity to include a pattern you like
Wallpapered accent wall
Try to mix and match elements but don’t overwhelm the décor
Wallpapered accent wall
I particularly like the combination of polka dots and mixed geometric shapes on the carpet
Wallpapered accent wall
The chevron pattern never gets old and it’s very versatile
Wallpapered accent wall
Try mixing shapes, colors and patterns which have a common element
Wallpapered accent wall
Stripes and elegant and you can also make them child-friendly
Wallpapered accent wall
The shapes and lines don’t always have to be intricate and complex

In a modern home, you could try a décor that preserve some of the characteristics used throughout the house and integrate them into the nursery design. For example, geometric lines could be a very nice choice. You could cover the walls in wallpaper with an interesting pattern, you could have an eye-catching area rug or you could play with shapes when choosing the furniture and the accessories.

Wall Decals and Artwork.

Wallpapered accent wall
A simple pattern to match the minimalist interior design
Wallpapered accent wall
Tree wall decals are very popular and they can be a focal point in a simple décor
Wallpapered accent wall
You can also cheer up the décor with some nice paintings or artwork
Wallpapered accent wall
Pick a theme, not necessarily recurrent throughout the room
Wallpapered accent wall
You can also opt for something subtle to personalize the décor with
Wallpapered accent wall
A chic mix of horizontal and vertical stripes and a zig-zag accent piece

Wall decals are quite common in nurseries and kids’ rooms. They’re available in a huge variety of designs, colors, shapes and themes. Depending on the style you have chosen and on the overall theme and color palette, you could opt for something simple, maybe a recurrent element or you could create focal points in the room.

White Decors.

Wallpapered accent wall
To maintain a minimalist palette, mix white with other neutral and light shades
Wallpapered accent wall
Add some warmth to the room with wooden elements and soft textures
Wallpapered accent wall
Try to pick one or two accent colors and to highlight them
Wallpapered accent wall
Colors like beige and brown have an elegant and earthy look
Wallpapered accent wall
You can keep the color palette simple and play with ornate elements
Wallpapered accent wall
The white, gray and red combination is very chic and also suitable for the nursery

White may not seem like a very creative choice for the nursery. But it is, in fact, an interesting choice. White is a very pure color and it can be soothing, especially in this particular room. In addition, it’s a perfect background if you want to highlight a certain accent element or to create a focal point in the room.

Picture sources: 12345678910111213, 14, 15, 16 and 17.