The importance of layout when decorating a nursery
October 31, 2011
Decorating a nursery is an exciting time for parents!
There are many factors that should be considered when you start out choosing the furniture and decor for the nursery, and we are going to cover the most important ones here.
Nursery furniture should not only be durable, functional and safe, but must also fit into the room you have chosen as your baby's room.
The size of the room plays a very important role in selecting the right nursery furniture.
As beautiful as large sleigh cots and oversized compactums are, these items are available in smaller sizes, which is far more practical for smaller rooms.
The second most important thing to consider when decorating your nursery is furniture layout.
Your nursery should ideally have a wall that is away from the open doorway, where you will place your baby's cot. This is to ensure that there is no draft on baby while he/she is asleep. Drafts will naturally flow between a window and a door, so make sure to place your baby's cot out of this air flow.
Do not place baby's cot directly in front of a window, as a pane of glass does nothing to keep night chills at bay.
If there is not much available wall area to place your cot squarely in the centre along the wall, then rather stand your cot with the head end against the wall, and place a small table or shelf unit between the cot and the window.
The head end of your baby's cot should preferably not be against an exterior wall, but if this cannot be helped due to the layout of your home and the position of baby's room, then consider having a cot bumper that is higher than the norm, which will help to insulate baby's sleeping space.
Your compactum will be where baby spends most of his/her time undressed, so ensure that if this unit cannot also be against a wall that is out of the door way, that you keep the bedroom door closed while bathing or changing baby.
Do not hang any heavy objects (like shelves or heavy framed pictures) on the wall above the compactum, to prevent any injury in the event such an item may fall.
If you place a table, shelf unit or chest of drawers near baby's cot, remember that your baby will at some stage be standing up in his/her cot and will reach for anything that looks interesting to play with, so do not place any objects that are dangerous within reach of the cot (like lamps, sharp objects or objects that can break or be swallowed).
You may opt for a rocking chair or another form of comfortable feeding chair for your nursery if you have the space available, and again, place this item out of drafts, and in a cozy corner if possible.
Have a small table close at hand for those items you will need while feeding baby: a night light for those late night feeds, a glass of water (breast feeding makes Mommy thirsty! :-) ), tissues, breast pads and nipple lotion etc.
Once baby starts to crawl however, make sure none of the harmful objects are in reach.
Pictures are a lovely way to add colour and to bring a theme together in a nursery, but opt for the kind that does not have a frame with glass, and if you hang any pictures above baby's cot, make sure he cannot reach them when standing up in the cot. The same applies to anything that is hung on the wall - keep out of reach! :-)
The last, and probably most important consideration is electrical plugs - these must be covered with plug plates if not in use, and if they are in use make sure baby cannot access them either from the cot or while playing on the floor.
Place a toy box, table, shelf unit or the like in front of a plug point that is being used so that it is out of baby's curious eye-sight.
Whatever the theme or design of your nursery, bear these health and safety factors in mind when starting out on your exciting nursery decorating project.
There are many factors that should be considered when you start out choosing the furniture and decor for the nursery, and we are going to cover the most important ones here.
Nursery furniture should not only be durable, functional and safe, but must also fit into the room you have chosen as your baby's room.
The size of the room plays a very important role in selecting the right nursery furniture.
As beautiful as large sleigh cots and oversized compactums are, these items are available in smaller sizes, which is far more practical for smaller rooms.
The second most important thing to consider when decorating your nursery is furniture layout.
Your nursery should ideally have a wall that is away from the open doorway, where you will place your baby's cot. This is to ensure that there is no draft on baby while he/she is asleep. Drafts will naturally flow between a window and a door, so make sure to place your baby's cot out of this air flow.
Do not place baby's cot directly in front of a window, as a pane of glass does nothing to keep night chills at bay.
If there is not much available wall area to place your cot squarely in the centre along the wall, then rather stand your cot with the head end against the wall, and place a small table or shelf unit between the cot and the window.
The head end of your baby's cot should preferably not be against an exterior wall, but if this cannot be helped due to the layout of your home and the position of baby's room, then consider having a cot bumper that is higher than the norm, which will help to insulate baby's sleeping space.
Your compactum will be where baby spends most of his/her time undressed, so ensure that if this unit cannot also be against a wall that is out of the door way, that you keep the bedroom door closed while bathing or changing baby.
Do not hang any heavy objects (like shelves or heavy framed pictures) on the wall above the compactum, to prevent any injury in the event such an item may fall.
If you place a table, shelf unit or chest of drawers near baby's cot, remember that your baby will at some stage be standing up in his/her cot and will reach for anything that looks interesting to play with, so do not place any objects that are dangerous within reach of the cot (like lamps, sharp objects or objects that can break or be swallowed).
You may opt for a rocking chair or another form of comfortable feeding chair for your nursery if you have the space available, and again, place this item out of drafts, and in a cozy corner if possible.
Have a small table close at hand for those items you will need while feeding baby: a night light for those late night feeds, a glass of water (breast feeding makes Mommy thirsty! :-) ), tissues, breast pads and nipple lotion etc.
Once baby starts to crawl however, make sure none of the harmful objects are in reach.
Pictures are a lovely way to add colour and to bring a theme together in a nursery, but opt for the kind that does not have a frame with glass, and if you hang any pictures above baby's cot, make sure he cannot reach them when standing up in the cot. The same applies to anything that is hung on the wall - keep out of reach! :-)
The last, and probably most important consideration is electrical plugs - these must be covered with plug plates if not in use, and if they are in use make sure baby cannot access them either from the cot or while playing on the floor.
Place a toy box, table, shelf unit or the like in front of a plug point that is being used so that it is out of baby's curious eye-sight.
Whatever the theme or design of your nursery, bear these health and safety factors in mind when starting out on your exciting nursery decorating project.
Posted by Yvette Scholtz. Posted In : Decor
