Room to Grow

A Nursery with Lasting Appeal

By Jacqueline Rupp

With all the designer lines, furniture showrooms and luxury furnishings on the market these days, one would think babyhood lasted a long time.

But investing thousands of dollars in a lavish room that will soon be obsolete may not be practical. Designing a room, however, with a bit of sensible planning and sophisticated decorating can give your child a space that will be welcoming for years to come.

It all starts with four white walls. Once you have a theme in mind, choose a color that will complement the other tones that will be introduced through art, bedding and furniture. A versatile color such as a warm gold or light green will make the transition from nursery to kid's room easier.

Sherri Blum, a certified interior designer, is the owner of Jack and Jill Interiors in Westminster, Md. She specializes in designing children's rooms and nurseries and is also the creator of a full line of hand-painted nursery wall hangings available in baby boutiques nationwide. Blum recommends using faux finishes as an inexpensive and flexible way to customize walls. She also suggests stenciling and stamping for a low-cost personalized look, but shies away from using wallpaper because of the extra work involved in its removal.

One popular wall decoration is the hand-painted mural. However, Blum has some advice before you commission a full wall painting. "You can avoid spending money on a mural, done in a theme that you felt was so cute for baby but doesn't seem to jive with your now toddler or preteen's personality, by choosing murals and themes wisely," she says. "An outdoor scene (countryside with blue skies, grass and trees) is great because various themes can be appropriately added or changed as the child's interests change. Girls can use this scene for a princess's castle, horses, butterflies or a cottage garden feel while boys can use such a mural to have a farm animal, transportation, knights and castles, fishing or camping theme."

Linda Cooper has 27 years of experience as an interior designer. Her design firm, That's My Room, in Winston Salem, N.C., caters to busy parents by offering more than 40 different themes and thousands of products to choose from. Her alternative to a full-scale mural is simple.

"Use paint and a border with a small mural, as these are less costly and easily changed," Cooper says. "There are many murals that can be placed just over the crib that give a custom look without much money or time."

"A great cost-cutting alternative to a wall mural is to purchase a large-scale canvas wall hanging for your child. This will cost hundreds of dollars less than a mural and the large size [2-by-3-feet] makes quite a statement in a nursery," says Blum "The bonus is that if you move, you can roll this portable mural up and take it with you to the next home."

To add interest to a wall, Cooper suggests using a rug or quilt as a piece of wall art. "Don't neglect the ceiling," adds Blum. "A baby spends most of his or her time on his back looking at the ceiling. A realistic sky mural will be calming for a child. At the very least, paint the ceiling some color other than white."

Want to see more?

• The Fifth Wall: Dressing Ceilings to Dazzle
• Designing Your Nursery: Decorating Secrets Revealed
• A Safe Place to Sleep: A Guide to Crib and Mattress Safety
• Talk about it!