Ideas to design a space that will nurture and delight baby and you.
Congratulations! It’s a...wait, we don’t know or want to know. Whether you are keeping the sex of a new baby a surprise or simply wish to explore a palette outside the conventional pink or blue, you’re not alone. Nurseries today are as much of a style statement as every other room in the home. And there’s plenty of ideas and inspiration out there to create gender-neutral nursery decor that pleases baby and parents alike.
Removable wallpaper is one of the easiest ways to generate maximum style with minimum time and effort. Why? It is much easier to remove or change than a painted mural or traditional wallpaper, meaning it can grow with your little one and live beyond baby number one.
So how can you prepare your baby without knowing the gender? What are neutral colors that work for any baby? We have the answers below to ensure you decorate a gender-neutral nursery that abounds with color, fun, joy and chic style.
FOCUS ON NEW NEUTRALS
Gone are the days when baby-doll pink or sailor blue were the only colors on offer for a nursery. And if you don’t know the gender, they can literally paint you into a corner. The new neutrals that work with any gender or home shades are gray and yellow. While you may be tempted to start with white, a gray nursery design is more modern and so versatile when layering additional colors and textures. It can be paired with nearly any color and brights really pop against a gray background.
Some Gray Nursery Wallpaper Designs We Love
Soothing: Agean Waves, Slopes, Sun Tile, GullsHappy: Chubby Bears, Menagerie
Graphic: Bicycles, Zeus Lightning
Naturalistic: Lotus & Papyrus, Hammerheads
While yellow has been a traditional neutral choice for years, today’s sunny shades are much brighter, bolder. And it’s all about punchy, happy designs. Less frilly ruffles and more natural, organic details. A yellow nursery design mimics bright sunny days even when it is cloudy, rainy, or dark outside.
Some Yellow Nursery Wallpaper Designs We Love
Mellow, Pale Yellow: Stylized Papyrus, Foliage LionsSunny, Bright Yellow: Citrus, Sea Garden, Trailing Turtles
Saturated Happy Yellow: Palms, Graphic Flower
Yellow & Brights: Olympians, Island Fruits, Rosa FIsh
JOIN TEAM GREEN
If you are playing for team green, it means you are choosing not to discover the baby’s gender until he or she is born. While this creates ultimate excitement at the moment just after delivery, it should not bring about any anxiety when choosing your gender-neutral nursery decor. Green is the color of summer grass, a hopping frog, a smiling crocodile, and many more fun things your little one will discover as they grow and learn. So it is a fantastic choice for a nursery color. Whether you pair it with crisp white or blend it with a happy rainbow of shades...you can’t go wrong with team green.
Team Green Nursery Wallpaper Designs We Love
Green & White: Aegean Waves, Parakeet
Green & Blue: Egyptian Icons, Slopes
Green & Yellow: Tigers, Rainbows
Green & Pink: Grapefruit, Watermelon
BRING THE OUTSIDE IN
For a wonderful source of inspiration that speaks to both boys and girls, go natural. Be it earth, air, or water, children naturally respond to and thrive in the outside world. Natural forms help babies understand simple, organic shapes and as they grow they will start to connect to the flora and fauna they encounter in Mother Nature. Natural patterns are ideal for a gender-neutral nursery because they grow with your little one, making them ideal for a boy or girl that is three months or three-years-old. Even better, the flowers never wilt and the rainbows never fade.
Natural Wallpaper Designs We Love
Flowers, Trees: Mediterranean Floral, PalmsAnimals: Camels, Rosa Fish, Parakeet
Fruits: Citrus, Island Fruits
EMBRACE THE DARK
While a deeper shade may seem counterintuitive to a baby’s space, it actually makes a lot of sense for a gender-neutral nursery. Deeper walls create a cozy, cocooning feeling, perfect for a room where newborns need to sleep a lot. Style-wise, a dark wallpaper makes for a gorgeous backdrop for artwork, hangings, and furniture. If you are going to go this bold route, make sure you choose pops of white and color to avoid making it feel like a black hole. An added benefit is that you can keep it when and if the room transitions to become a play area, spare bedroom, or office.
Darker Wallpaper Designs We Love
Black & Charcoal: Zeus Lightning, Sun Tile, Oasis CamelsIndigo: Tigers, Gulls, Olympians Bicycles
PLAY WITH SCALE
When it comes to pattern, there are a lot of choices when decorating a gender-neutral nursery. One of the elements to think about is the scale of the print. The size and form convey different vibes in a baby’s space. Small-scale patterns feel a bit quieter, sweeter when gracing a room, giving the space a calming presence. The bigger the scale, the more bold and graphic statement it makes, opening up their minds to positive stimulation. A looser-scale pattern allows you to mix in other prints more easily while tighter-scale version should be the star of the show, blended carefully with solid colors and textures. If you feel a bit pattern shy, consider adding it on one wall or a ceiling.
Graphic Wallpaper Designs We Love
Small-Scale: Lightning Bolts, Egyptian Icons, Sun TileLarge-Scale: Grapefruit, Chubby Bear, Stylized Papyrus
Looser Scale: Bicycles, Cactus, Crocodile, Gulls
Tighter Scale: Menagerie, Sea Garden Small
