Do you need to decorate a baby nursery but don't know the gender?
Do you have a boy and girl baby sharing a nursery?
Do you expect to have other babies who will inherit the your baby nursery?
Do you prefer a gender neutral color scheme?
If so, consider these ideas for decorating a gender neutral nursery.
Neutral Furniture
Most baby nursery furniture is either white or stained wood, which are both neutral colors and work well in a gender neutral baby nursery.
Avoid furniture that is painted pink or blue.
Also avoid furniture that is overly ornate in a feminine style.
For a more modern look, consider furniture in a metallic color or furniture that is black or a very dark color.
Select upholstery fabric that is not overly feminine or masculine for your baby's gender neutral nursery.
Consider purchasing a convertable crib that converts from a crib to a toddler bed for more versatility.
Neutral Theme
When decorating your baby's nursery, you do not need to have a theme.
If you want to have a theme, select one that is gender neutral instead of one that is more closely related to one gender.
Try to avoid having your baby nursery theme be a gender typical team sport, flowers, dancing, princess, butterflies, trucks, hunting, superheroes (unless you include an equal amount of male and female superheroes), fishing, or any other gender specific theme.
Neutral themes for a baby nursery include nature, hot air balloons, the night sky, birds, pets, colorful geometric shapes, letters of the alphabet, travel, and more.
Neutral Colors
When selecting colors for a gender neutral nursery, stay away from using mostly baby pink or baby blue that is typically used to designate a baby girl or a baby boy.
Instead, opt for gender neutral colors in your baby nursery, such as a pastel yellow or a soft green.
Complement your colors with neutral colors of white, black, gray, brown, and/or beige.
If you love using a combination of many soft pastel colors, you can use a little bit of baby pink and some baby blue, but try to use an equal amount of each in addition to other colors.
Mixing pastel colors with gray creates a soft version of the colors that works well in a baby nursery, such as sage green.
Mixture of Colors
If you wish, you can select a large item for your baby's nursery that will set the color scheme, such as a large piece of art or a large rug.
Your large item should have at least colors in it., but you can have more colors if you prefer
A designer tip is to repeat at least 3 of those colors throughout the nursery in at least 3 places to create a cohesive color scheme.
Feel free to use lighter and darker versions of those colors also to create a greater depth of color.
If you are waiting to find out the gender of your baby, consider purchasing accessories in a more gender specific color after the baby is born.
Unexpected Colors
Instead of the traditional soft pastels that are commonly found in baby nurseries, consider using more bright and bold vibrant colors in order to be more gender neutral.
A bold navy blue is more gender neutral than baby blue.
A bold purple is more gender neutral than a soft lavender.
Other unexpected colors include orange, turquoise, teal, emerald green, and burgundy.
Another option for a more glamorous baby nursery is to add metallic colors like gold, silver, and/or brass.
Using mostly neutral colors is unexpected for a baby nursery, but can look very sophisticated.
Non-Baby Items
Incorporate items into your baby nursery that are not specifically made for a baby in order to get a high end designer look.
You can add textural wicker baskets, a vintage dresser as a changing table, or a modern lounge chair instead of a glide rocker.
Consider that your baby will not be a baby for long, so try to find ways to repurpose adult furniture to accommodate your baby.
You might use an antique armoire instead of one made specifically for a baby nursery.
Instead of a baby themed mobile, you can use a fun eye catching light fixture instead.
