If pastels, bunnies and teddy bears don't suit you or your home, you might prefer a nursery with a cooler, hip vibe. For cool baby nursery ideas, explore edgy adult decorating styles--past and present--and then adapt them for your baby's needs. Whether you add just a few touches or decorate around a comprehensive theme, turn your baby's nursery into a cool, happening place.
Disco Fever
Hang a mirrored disco ball from the ceiling to add a cool, nontraditional touch to your nursery--and to entertain your baby with the light show effect overhead. Babies spend hours and hours on their backs. For maximum light reflection, select wall paint with a sheen, either eggshell or glossy.
Add a shag rug, lacquered furniture and a low-slung velvet lounge chair to continue the disco theme, or just use sleek, contemporary pieces to subtly complement the mirrored ball. Dressing baby in a white leisure suit is completely optional.
Steampunk
With its roots in science fiction novels, steampunk offers a glimpse into an imaginary past world--one where present-day technology already exists, alongside steam power and gaslight. To get a feel for steampunk style, imagine Sherlock Holmes's Baker Street digs full of working computer gadgetry. Now imagine that gadgetry made from wood, brass and gears instead of plastic and circuit boards.
To outfit your nursery in steampunk style, start with traditional Victorian or Edwardian appointments--dark antique woods, carvings, velvet and brocade textiles and period lighting. Indulge in a reproduction crib and a high-backed, tufted chair for yourself. Simulate gaslight with amber-tinted light bulbs. Add a collection of antique, scientific equipment mounted on a high shelf, or hang old cogs and gears on the wall. Replace plain heating registers and switch plates with brass.
Flower Power
Recreate the years of peace and love by turning your baby's nursery into a groovy hippie pad. Start with any basic nursery furniture, and then add bedding and curtains made from a mix of tie dye and tiny, stylized floral prints. Make your own mobile from a colorful collection of fake flowers.
Paint the walls a with a bright, cheerful paint color. Embellish one wall with a few large-scale daisies or peace symbols, or go all out and paint it with a bright, psychedelic mix that would look right at home on a Volkswagen van. Grandma and Grandpa might feel right at home.
References
- Datamancer: The Opti-Transcripticon
- NPR: Steampunk Brings Victorian Flair to the 21st Century
- Stan Carpenter; Carpenter & Carpenter Designs; Memphis, Tennessee
- SFGate: Steampunk's Subculture Revealed
