Creating a nursery is perhaps one of the most exciting parts of planning for a new baby! As we were expecting our first baby, a boy and going through the usual stress of getting ready, we were contemplating how we were going to decorate the nursery. For us, a gender-neutral nursery was our aspiration!
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We understand that not everyone has a nursery. Maybe because of space or personal preference. In my experience, while growing up we never had a nursery or a room dedicated for the baby. We would share space with our siblings and family members. My fellow Latinos, I know you can relate.
In our case, we were lucky enough to have the extra space. We were planning on the baby rooming in with us, in a bassinet, for the first few months. Pro tip: it makes those midnight feedings and diaper changes much more bearable. Nonetheless, we wanted to have the nursery ready for when we made the room change.
The Room
The bedroom we would turn into a nursery had not yet been touched since moving into the house. It was navy blue, had shelving and a sliding closet door with one rod. You may be thinking, “well that’s a pretty good set up for a boys room, no real work to be done there”. However, since we wanted to have more kids, we decided to go the route of a gender-neutral nursery. We would be able to reuse that nursery with our future babies, no matter the gender.
The Plan
Colors
First, we decided on a paint color to replace the navy blue. We went with Shoji White by Sherwin Williams, because it’s a neutral white with a very light gray hue. That color we’ve found has worked great throughout the house!
Furniture
The second item we decided on was the style of crib and changing table. For us, the most important feature was functionality, affordability, and ability to keep using over the years as baby grows. We chose the Simmons Kids Monterey line, found in Target, Amazon (linked below), Buy Buy Baby and other retailers. We purchased the crib, changing dresser and 1 nightstand in the rustic white finish since we wanted to keep it light and airy.
Closet
For the third item on our list, we decided to remove the sliding doors of the closet and install a closet system. This would make organizing not only easier but also pretty :D. Marido had a super easy job when we remodeled this room compared to our other projects like the mudroom area and the front porch pergola, to mention a few.
Accents
All was left was to decorate the room! For this, we just used bits of color here and there to give it a cheery touch. After all, it is a kids’ room! We installed cloud-shaped shelves. We displayed all the books we got as gifts. It’s a sweet reminder of the gender reveal party we had back home in D.R., where we asked that each guest bring a children’s book. In Spanish of course!
We sprinkled in some color with a yellow and orange laundry basket, yellow and blue curtains, stuffed animals we were gifted, pictures and the bedding set.
Pro tip: You can use most of the gifts that you get for the baby and display them as decor in their room. Anything from stuffed animals, to his first birthday banner. All things we can ultimately use with a baby girl or easily change out if we feel like it.
The Result
In the end, we had a beautiful set up that was not only pretty and functional but flexible. Keeping future babies in mind.
We found that most of the items we used for our nursery are currently unavailable or out of stock online. Below is a list of similar items we used to decorate our nursery.
We hope you liked and were inspired by this little post, especially if you have a little one coming in the future! These ideas of neutral colors, multi-functional furniture and splashes of color can work well in any room, as baby grows into toddler hood and beyond. What gender-neutral nursery ideas have you used? How did the room evolve with the addition of more children? Share in the comments below!