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Having a baby is tough. I mean, everyone knows that… but something you might not be thinking about initially if you’re an expecting mother is the fact that having a baby is expensive.
Not only do you have to get diapers and food regularly, but you also have to prepare for when the baby arrives. One crucial aspect of this preparation is creating a proper nursery room—a space where your little one can thrive, feel comfortable, and grow up.
That’s what Dea Attar says, the interior designer at La-Z-Boy Hunt Club and expecting mother herself. “I am going to have my second child, so I have experience with this already,” she says.
At La-Z-Boy, we may not have as much nursery furniture as we would like, but we do have some ideas to help you create the perfect nursery for you and, more importantly, your future child.
This article will feature some tips, tricks and some dos and don’ts for designing the right nursery for your home.
In This Article…
- Figure Out What Can Fit in the Room
- Try to Purchase Quiet Furniture
- Furniture Placement is Important
- Make Sure Your Nursery is Childproof
- Think Outside the Box When Adding Finishing Touches
1. Figure Out What Can Fit in the Room
Every room has a different size, and this comes with its own challenges. However, when designing a nursery, Dea says that it might be one of the smaller rooms you would need to furnish.
“Usually the parents take the master bedroom while the children get smaller rooms,” she says. If you are part of a young family and this is your first child, obviously, there will be another bedroom besides the master bedroom that needs furniture.
One of the better ways to figure out what can fit in a certain room is by measuring the length and height of the walls and then comparing them to furniture you have your eyes on.
To learn more about Measuring a Space, take a look at this article.
Once that’s done and over with, what kind of furniture can you place in this baby nursery? It is important to figure out what the baby will need to make it feel comfortable and well cared for. A crib, for example, should be on everyone’s top priority furniture buy.
Dea also says that a changing table might also be a bigger priority. “Some people may want their changing table in their bathroom, but for convenient purposes, some may want it close to the baby so they don’t have to travel far to change them.”
As for additional furniture pieces lower on the totem pole, you can get a dresser for storing clothes and linens, a small shelving unit for books and an accent chair for you to sit down with your baby.
At La-Z-Boy, many of our chairs can go well with a nursery, which you can learn more about by checking out this article.
2. Try to Purchase Quiet Furniture
Now you might be thinking, what do you mean by quiet?
Well, what we mean is you don’t want your furniture to be too loud or noisy that it’ll end up waking up your baby when it is napping or trying to put them to bed. After all, no one wants to have to deal with a cranky baby!
An example of furniture from La-Z-Boy that might not be the best is a manual reclining chair. Dea says that the clunking sound that the mechanism makes to release the legrest might be too loud that it might wake the baby up.
Instead, Dea recommends getting a gliding recliner or a chair and a half. “Even though it still makes the clunking sound when the legrest is lowered, the gliding recliner is better than the rocking recliner because the gliding motion is smooth and quieter.” To eliminate the loud clunking sound, you also have the option to upgrade to a power recliner.
If you’d like to learn more about our power feature and whether it’s right for you, check out this article.
She also says that a chair & a half can be a great long-term option if you like the idea of your child sitting next to you when you want to spend time with them. You can browse our best-selling chair & halfs by checking out this article.
3. Furniture Placement is Important
This may come as an afterthought for some individuals, but the way you place your furniture in a nursery can impact your baby a lot.
Some factors that may not immediately come to mind can have a significant impact on your baby's well-being and development. It's essential to consider these often-overlooked elements to create a safe and nurturing environment.
Take, for instance, the presence of a large window in the nursery. While it brings natural light and a pleasant view, it's crucial to ensure that no direct sunlight hits the crib.
Excessive light exposure can disrupt your baby's sleep patterns and make it challenging for them to relax and rest.
If you cannot avoid natural sunlight, make sure to use curtains to keep the room cool and comfortable. Dea also adds that curtains should be away from the crib since babies might want to play with them, resulting in other potentially harmful scenarios.
If your crib is positioned away from any items that your baby can accidentally grab a hold of, your furniture placement should be just fine.
4. Make Sure Your Nursery is Childproof
Although furniture placement is just as important as this next factor, childproofing your nursery will come mostly after the baby starts walking independently.
As your baby becomes more independent and starts exploring their surroundings, it becomes increasingly crucial to be mindful of the items and objects present in their room, as well as what they have access to. This awareness may require implementing restrictions on certain items to ensure their safety and well-being.
For example, if the closet has non-playable items, you might be more inclined to include a lock so the child can’t enter that space.
Another thing is ensuring that certain decorations, like wall art, aren’t harmful to the baby. “Maybe one of the decor pieces in the room is hung up and the child is curious about it. If they try to take it down and it has a sharp edge it might hurt them,” Dea says.
To avoid situations like this, it might be better to decorate the space with fewer heavy items and more light pieces. It might also be a better idea to go with less expensive decor items, in case something happens to them and not too much of your money gets tossed away.
5. Think Outside the Box When Adding Finishing Touches
Lastly, one of the most important things to remember is to be creative. As your nursery should follow your home’s theme–like any room in your house–it is also good to have fun when furnishing and decorating your child’s room.
After all, if this house is where you plan to raise your family, this might be where your child lives until they’re old enough to move out. Sure, they might decorate it with other stuff later, but giving it a personality will give them the environment they need to express themselves however they feel.
“It may not need to be over the top, but colouring it in neutral colours is a good starting point, or maybe adding an accent wall with wallpaper can be a good idea if you’re not trying to commit to something too permanent,” she says.
Dea tells us about her nursery room and how she decided to paint it pink since it is her favourite colour. “I went with pink not because it was for my daughter, but because I like looking at the colour.”
What's Next?
Dea leaves us with some final thoughts. She says that purchasing longevity furniture is a better choice than temporary items. Purchasing longevity furniture will not only save you money, but it can be the furniture your child uses even after they move out!
While there are other factors you should consider, we hope that this list of tips and tricks gives you an idea of how you should design your nursery.
If you’re feeling lost about how to plan your nursery, fret not! There are solutions to your concerns. As mentioned before, La-Z-Boy may not be the go-to place for designing a nursery, but we definitely know what it takes to include longevity pieces in a room.
Thanks to our design consultant and interior designers like Dea, we can help you develop a design project that will go well with the rest of your home.
Make sure to stop by any of our local Ottawa & Kingston locations, or schedule a visit online before coming in.
If you’re interested in some of our furniture items for your nursery, take a look at our Best-Selling Power Furniture.
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Rocker Recliner vs Glider Recliner