So you have a baby on the way? Congratulations! Exciting things are coming – but we all know with a baby comes a lot of other decisions you have to make. You’ll need to get many things in order, including purchasing all the necessary baby supplies, preparing the baby’s room, and finding storage for their new items. Here at Prime Storage, we have some helpful tips on baby room ideas, baby room storage, and what you can do if you are overwhelmed by your baby supplies.
What Does a Baby Room Need?
Begin preparing your baby’s room by brainstorming what you want the room to look like and what it should include. Many nurseries revolve around a theme – but choosing that theme can be difficult. Many Little Crown Interiors’ clients come with one item to their design consultations that help to dictate a theme. It could be a toy, a wallpaper pattern, or even photos of a vacation spot the couple loves. Pinterest and Instagram are chock full of baby room décor ideas if you need a jolt of creativity.
If you do not want to opt into a theme, you can choose a neutral color palette and add colorful accents to your décor. What’s great about choosing neutral walls and furniture is that you can constantly switch up the accent pieces as your child gets older. You won’t have to overhaul the room when your baby enters other stages such as toddler, child, preteen, teen.
Deciding a theme is excellent, but you also need to decide upon the contents of the baby’s room. While it would be challenging to prepare every little thing your newborn might need, there are the essentials that you’ll want on hand when you bring your new bundle of joy home.
Crib Furniture and Accessories
The centerpiece of almost all nurseries is the crib. There are many types of cribs to choose from, including those that provide the option to convert to a twin-sized bed for children. The convertible feature allows you to get more use out of this piece of furniture over the years.
Regardless of what kind of crib you choose, you’ll want to ensure that it’s assembled correctly and that there are no active recalls on the product. Choose a mattress and sheets that fit the crib style, too.
Changing Table and Diaper Items
Every baby room needs a convenient place to change your newborn’s diaper. Having a changing table gives you easy access to all your diaper changing essentials like diapers, wipes, baby powder, and more. You can even spring for a changing table that doubles as a dresser to store clothing and other baby supplies.
One of our favorite nursery add-ons is a diaper pail to toss baby’s dirty diapers in. Many diaper pails lock in odor (keeping baby’s room smelling fresh), are equipped with a hands-free way to open the lid, and are customizable to match the room’s theme.
Baby Monitor
It’s normal for new parents to be anxious about leaving their baby alone in a room, even if it’s for a few seconds. That’s where baby monitors come in to help you feel like you’re in the room with your baby. One of the first considerations when choosing a baby monitor is whether you’re looking for audio-only, audio and video capabilities or a monitor that also includes health tracking.
The technology of baby monitors has come a long way in recent years and includes many features and advancements that parents may find beneficial. Monitors are no longer used just as a walkie-talkie; some features to look for include:
- Infrared Night Vision to check on your baby while they’re sleeping
- The ability to play lullabies directly from the monitor
- The ability to monitor the temperature and humidity of the baby’s room
- Health tracking capabilities: Many parents worry about SIDS, and tracking monitors can provide parents with insight into their baby’s heartbeat, oxygen level, and movement. While they may not always be 100% accurate, they will provide extra assurance of the baby’s well-being.
- WiFi Connectivity: WiFi monitors connect directly to your home Internet connection and typically are more feature-rich. You can also use your phone or tablet to watch your baby. There are WiFi connectivity issues and privacy concerns, though, with WiFi monitors (versus traditional RF models)
- Video recording, so you can record or screenshot unmissable moments
Rocking Chair
If you are trying to put your baby to sleep, rocking is a tried-and-true method. If you end up not using your rocker frequently, it will still add a visual element to the space – or can be used elsewhere in your home. And a baby will always have you on the move, so keeping a rocking chair in your newborn’s room is also beneficial when you need to get off your feet.
We are swooning over cream mid-century modern rocking chairs with wooden accents. They’ll fit in with any theme and add a little something extra with their wooden frames. Plus, they’d look great in other spaces, such as a sunroom, office, or guest bedroom.
Dresser
Every baby room needs a dresser, whether it’s a part of your changing table or a standalone piece of furniture. Whenever putting a heavy piece of furniture in an infant’s room, be sure to secure the furniture to the walls with anti-tipping brackets. These security measures will help prevent accidents as your child ages and starts learning to pull up on furniture.
Baby Room Decoration Ideas
Now that you have all the essentials, it’s time for everyone’s favorite part—decorating! Décor will take your baby’s room from simple to unique! While some parents like to decorate based on whether they’re having a boy or a girl, many new parents opt for a gender-neutral palette. Subdued color choices will allow your child to design and create their own space as they get older.
Some fun décor items for your baby’s room include:
- Artwork
- Area Rugs
- Stuffed Animals
- Lamps & Other Light Fixtures
- Personalized Signage: Personalize your baby’s room with a monogrammed decal or sign of their name hung on an accent wall.
How to Organize Your Baby Room
Surprise! As a new parent, you will accumulate a lot of stuff for your baby. As a result, your baby’s room can become cluttered and disorganized quickly, especially when you consider how busy your newborn will keep you. That’s why it’s crucial to start on the right foot and spend time organizing your baby’s room so that you can maintain a calm and organized space when things get hectic.
Drawer Organizers
Invest in drawer organizers to keep essential items organized. With drawer organizers, you can separate items while creating more space in those drawers. It’s a best practice to organize your drawers based on types of items – or how you’ll use them, such as putting diapers & changing supplies such as wipes and diaper rash cream together.
We love acrylic drawer organizers that have non-slip pads on the bottom since they’re easy to wipe clean and are less likely to slip around the drawer. We also adore honeycomb drawer organizers, which can keep baby’s cute little onesies and sock sets separate. (These also make great extra baby shower gifts for parents-to-be, as they may not automatically think about drawer organization when planning their registry!)
Storage Bins
Instead of having random belongings scattered around your baby’s room, you can categorize and label storage bins to have everything in one place – such as a closet or credenza. If you’re looking for more ideas on nursery storage, check out Real Homes’ guide to top nursery storage solutions.
Closet Storage
Closet organization can help make more space in your closet to store items that don’t need to be on the floor, such as extra boxes of diapers and wipes. Creating additional space also allows you to plan ahead and buy larger size clothes that your baby will grown into.
Get Rid of Old Baby Gear
Newborns require a lot of baby gear that they’ll eventually outgrow or no longer need. Think clothes, playards, bouncers and rockers, bottles, and more. As your child grows, you can keep their room decluttered by clearing out the items that are no longer needed. If you plan to have another child in the near future, it may be worthwhile to keep these items. That’s where self storage can come into play. If another child does not seem to be on the horizon, opt for giving newborn supplies to friends who are expecting, selling baby clothes at consignment, or donating these items to your local women’s shelter or thrift store.
Plan for Your Baby with Prime Storage
Children require a lot of supplies, so naturally, clutter isn’t too far behind. As a result, reducing clutter can be challenging when you have children, and your belongings seem to keep piling up. That’s why self storage can come in handy when you need to create a little room or need to store overflow baby supplies for the next kiddo.
At Prime Storage, we offer a variety of accessible storage units along with several features and amenities designed with your convenience in mind. Your child’s growing collection of toys and clothes won’t be able to take over your home when Prime Storage is on your side. Growing family? We know your Life Demands Space®, so contact us to make that space with a Prime Storage unit near you!
