Designing your baby’s nursery can be daunting. Colours, themes, accessories … it’s easy to get wrapped up in the ‘Pinterest’ of it all and miss the actual point: to create a warm, happy space for your new little human, and yourself! We asked Baby Couture owner Courteney Viljoen for some tips and trends for decorating a simple, neutral nursery.
If big, loud colours and bold prints are not your thing, then it’s time you met Courteney. As the founder of Baby Couture – a bespoke modern nursery boutique brand – Ballito mom Courteney is inspired by her love of textiles and belief in the importance of remaining true to yourself, even when you are bringing your new little addition home.
Courteney is passionate about helping new parents maintain their own design sense with modern nursery elements that offer a stylish alternative to the sometimes overly sweet stereotypical nursery or child’s room.
“Our designs are high-quality creations for style-conscious parents, designed to enchant and engage children without compromising quality or respect for the environment.”
One of the most important things to remember, she says, when designing a room for your baby, is to create a space that will grow with both baby and parents. Here are a few more great tips:
NATURAL NURSERIES … TIPS AND TRENDS
- Grey is the new pink and blue. When it comes to decorating the baby nursery, more and more families are opting for soft, neutral, natural tones over bright, frilly, themed, stereotypical gender-specific designs of the past.
- Parents want a space that will grow with their child. Often, they would also like a nursery with a gender-neutral colour scheme, because, later on, the room may be used for a second child.
- Layered rugs over a hardwood floor can add warmth and texture and gold drawer handles on a white compactum give the room a grown-up, luxury feel without any of the typical baby animal decals or ABCs wall art.
- We’re designing with a lot of wood tones and natural materials, such as a wicker basket that gets used for toy storage, a natural rattan baby cot and soft, neutral linens. We also love adding a touch of greenery to a nursery, such as a Fiddle Leaf placed in a wicker basket, which softens a room so beautifully.
- Whilst it’s a great idea to let a favourite print or accent colour inspire your overall design, you should avoid anything too ‘theme’ orientated. Close friends and family members are more likely to get carried away, and you’ll be seeing teddy bears and bunny rabbits for years to come.
- Baby nurseries are adopting a cleaner, simpler look, following popular interior-design trends seen globally, such as minimalist décor and modern furniture. This means creating a room that will outlive its initial purpose and adopting furniture styles and colour palettes found in and around your home.
- Parents also like furniture that grows with their child. Choose a cot that will transition into a toddler bed, daybed, or full bed. The concept does however extend beyond the cot – rather than using a compactum that is strictly a compactum, I always recommend using a chest of drawers and placing a changing mat on top.
- As a new parent, you’ll spend countless hours here. It needs to be a tranquil, beautiful space where you can put your feet up and truly relax. Show yourself how you want to feel in the space. What would you like to see? This should help guide you in the right direction, towards setting up the Pinterest nursery of your wildest dreams!
Details: [email protected], www.babycouture.co.za, @babycouturesa
