June 7th, 2010
For kids of all ages, there is something about pirates that sets the imagination on fire and makes us want to set sail for adventure. So it shouldn’t be any surprise that a pirate themed nursery is perfect for a baby boy’s first bedroom. Pirate mural nursery ideas are bountiful as are pirate themed fabrics and accessories. When designing a nursery with a pirate theme, think tall ships, treasure maps, eye-patched mischief makers and walking the plank!
Paint the walls a color (from Benjamin Moore) you would find from sailing the Seven Seas. Once you have chosen the main color for your pirate themed nursery, paint a tall ship mural or treasure map on one or two walls. Because it will be the natural focal point of the nursery, when opting for a mural, plan on putting the crib or the changing table against that wall. If a mural seems too labor-intensive, select instead a pirate themed wallpaper border. Borders, with a nautical motif like anchors or flags, around the entire room will give the painted walls a finished appearance while adding a festive mood to the nursery.
Let’s start with the Stork Craft Aspen Stages Oak Fixed Side Baby Crib; it has an adaptable design that fits a number of décor styles including country, transitional and even contemporary. The lines of the crib are relaxed and fluid. Since we will be bringing the pirate theme into room through other elements such as the area rug, the nursery curtains and select furniture pieces, dress the crib with the Caden Lane Classic Blue Noah Baby Crib Bedding Set.
The changing table and a dresser are the two other pieces of furniture you will need to make your nursery functional and complete. Since there’s something so attractive about swash buckling pirates, a pirate themed nursery has a lasting appealing. The Powell Furniture Shiver Me Timbers Youth Triple Dresser will provide plenty of storage in the nursery and for several years to come. Choosing furniture pieces like the dresser and matching nightstand that will grow with your child will be economical in the long run. Until he needs it by his twin bed, the Powell Furniture Shiver Me Timbers Youth Nightstand next to a glider or rocking chair will give you a convenient place to set down a bottle, book or toy.
From Long John Silver to Captain Hook, there are pirates a-plenty to provide inspiration for a pirate themed nursery for an infant boy.
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May 14th, 2010
A cowboy themed nursery has a rustic charm and an attractive versatility that could have an enduring appeal until high school…well at least he reaches middle school. It’s an ideal theme for a boy nursery because it involves animals, the Wild West, covered wagons, horses and of course, cowboys. It also allows you a lot of flexibility when choosing a design style, from rustic to country and Southwestern to vintage bordering on traditional. A themed nursery, especially a cowboy theme nursery, conveniently ties all of the other elements in the room and gives it a casual and welcoming vibe.
Not only because this is a boy’s room, but also because it involves cowboys and the Old West, choose warm browns, muted reds and sandy tones that reflect their world. When the walls have been painted, you can include the cowboy theme in any number of creative and imaginative ways. If you’re artistically inclined, you can draw or stencil a cowboy scene or motif on one or more of the boy nursery and then paint the mural. Perhaps a mural is too labor-intensive; opt instead for using letter stencils to spell out your baby’s 
name, a cowboy theme wallpaper border or framed vintage prints of cowboys doing cowboy things like herding cattle, etc.
Nursery sets are available in a range of styles. Buying your baby furniture in nursery sets instead of individual pieces is usually more economical. Choose baby furniture for your nursery in classic “boy” colors like black, dark brown or espresso that is well-constructed, durable and stylish. Or since it is a cowboy theme, how about a crib set in natural or pine? You will need a crib, a changing table and some form of storage like a dresser, chest of drawers or an armoire.
Your crib will need a crib mattress and naturally, themed bedding to make it extra comfy for your little one. Accessorize your cowboy themed bedroom. Include the floor in your nursery 
design plan by choosing and area rug like the Fun Rugs California Kids Medium Pile Cowboy Rug. Adding stuffed farm animals, wall art depicting a cowboy’s life on the range or lamps with bases in the shape of a horse or cowboy to the room will give your baby boy’s nursery a vintage look that will stimulate your child’s senses, transforming it into a place everyone can enjoy.
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Tags: baby furniture, boy nursery, cowboy crib bedding, cowboy theme nursery, nursery, nursery decor, themed nursery
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May 3rd, 2010
You’re in the first planning stages of your nursery. You have some idea of what you want, but you don’t want to just slap some paint on the wall. Even choosing to paint the walls with two colors, one for main color, one as an accent shade, doesn’t quite feet right. You want something else for your little one’s first room. How about a mural? A mural ties the theme you have chosen for your nursery together with all of the other nursery décor elements in the room, including the baby furniture and the crib bedding. Because it’s typically on a large expanse of the wall or even two or three walls, portions of it will be at eye level when baby is in the crib or being held, which helps stimulate brain activity and the senses. The best thing about a nursery mural is that it is totally unique to you and your new baby.
Painting a Mural
Pick a picture from a catalog, magazine or poster.
Trace the image onto an overhead transparency.
Project the transparency on the wall. If you don’t have a projector or can’t borrow one, try holding the picture in front of a bright light such as a halogen lamp.
Using chalk, which can be easily wiped away as opposed to pencil markings that can be harder to wash off, trace the outlines of the projected onto the wall.
Now you’re ready to paint. Go slow and take your time: you (really) don’t want to paint outside of the lines. Before adding the finer details like spots on a tiger or the leaves on a tree, make sure that the main wall color doesn’t show through.
Because you’ll be using more than one color, plan on painting your mural in stages to allow for the paint to dry.
Once the painting has been finished and has thoroughly dried, wipe the area with a lightly damp cloth to remove any chalk traces.
Other Mural Painting Tips
Another alternative to using a projected image is stencils. They can be traced onto the wall using chalk as well.
Plan on having a number of different sized brushes on hand – a flat paintbrush for broader areas, round paintbrushes for painting in details and outlines.
Yet another wall mural option skips painting altogether. Peel and stick vinyl pieces let you design your own nursery mural without having to paint. They are often available in themed packs; all you have to do is to decide how and where they are going to be arranged on the wall.
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Tags: arts and crafts, arts projects, baby nursery, decorating nursery, DIY murals, how to paint murals, mural painting, nursery decor
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April 16th, 2010
You have put a lot of thought into planning your nursery. You’ve painted the walls, carefully selected the baby furniture and bought those cute accessories like a lamp, curtains and a rug that make your child’s first room a special place. The final finishing touch is selecting pictures that stimulate baby’s vision, helping your child learn and grow. In order for wall art to have a positive effect on your child, pictures should be hung correctly and be predominant in baby’s line of sight.
Properly hung pictures and other kinds of wall art can actually enhance the subject by putting the emphasis on the picture, drawing the observer’s eye into the frame or the object itself. Depending on the size, color or shape, wall art has the ability to emphasize and harmonize the personality and atmosphere of the room. And the way in which wall art is placed on the walls, individually or in sets, can single-handedly make a room spacious or smaller – whichever is the more desired effect.
Tips for Hanging Pictures
Typically you would hang framed pictures at eye level when standing. But in a nursery, hang pictures and other types of wall art at baby’s eye level when being carried or held (when you’re standing).
Group smaller pieces of art into sets and position the pictures in each set close to each other rather than trying spread out a small number of pictures in an attempt to fill up the space.
To avoid creating a sense of clutter or busyness, when creating set of smaller pictures, group them together by color scheme, theme, style or size.
Before hanging a group of art pieces, have a plan. First make a rough draft layout by placing the pictures on a table or the floor – this will help you visualize how they will look like when they are hung.
Tricks the Pros Use
To make the best use of the space, match the size and orientation of the wall art to the main portion of the wall where it is to be hung. For example, a vertical framed picture would look best on a narrow wall but a landscape (horizontal) framed work of art would nicely fill the space of a wide wall.
There’s no “one hook per picture” rule – hang wide frames using two hooks. Place one hook on either side, one third of the in from the outer edges of the fame. Use a ruler or a level to ensure that both hooks are aligned properly.
Use removable hooks with adhesive backs for lightweight pictures or wall art pieces. This will give you the freedom to change a group of pictures to reflect a different season or a specific holiday.
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Tags: decals, hanging pictures, how to hang pictures, nursery decor, nursery murals, nursery wall art, pictures, wall art, wall décor, wall decals, wall murals
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April 14th, 2010
After planning the nursery and buying all of the baby furniture for it, you might be tempted to leave the walls bare or just hang a couple of photographs or prints in nice frames. But choosing the right kind of wall art for your baby’s nursery can actually make the space cozy and welcoming, creating a fun and vibrant atmosphere that will help stimulate your child’s senses.
Creating Instant Memories
Select a picture frame that allows you to mount a number of small pictures in the same frame. This will let you create a collage that not only can be changed, but will be unique to you and your family.
Go black and white. Frame a set of two to four photographs of relatives, people or places that are significant to your family’s history. Using black and white photos that are different yet connected by a common theme will add a sophisticated touch to your nursery.
Go poster. Take pictures of mom, dad, baby or the proud grandparents and make them poster size. Hang one or two by themselves on one accent wall for maximum effect.
Frame inspirational sayings or quotes that are meaningful to you.
Wall Art Ideas
Spell out your child’s name using three-dimensional wood or plastic letters. Or use letters stencils to write your baby’s name directly on the wall in paint using an accent color so that it stands out.
Love the idea of a wall mural for your baby’s room but can’t even manage to draw stick figures? Not to worry. You can create a mural from “scratch” with the help of peel and stick vinyl pieces.
Just want to give a certain area of the room a touch of whimsy? Use nursery decals to draw attention to the dresser, crib or the corner of the room where you have your glider.
Instead of Framed Prints
Use animal, clown or sea creature plaques made of plaster or resin to add a colorful, 3-D vibe to the walls of your nursery.
Select wall hangings in soft shapes like farm animals, airplanes, or boats that match the theme or the crib bedding you have chosen for your nursery.
Especially if you or someone in your family is a quilter, hang a baby quilt on one wall to add color and character to your baby’s room.
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Tags: decals, nursery decor, nursery murals, nursery wall art, pictures, wall art, wall décor, wall decals, wall murals
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February 3rd, 2010
What could be more perfect to welcome your little bundle of joy than creating a Valentine themed nursery that will share the love all year round? While red is such a vibrant color that brightens up a room, it should be “grounded” by other warmer colors to prevent it from being overpowering. A red or heart motif for a baby nursery will celebrate the love you have for your new born in a new and exciting way.
Color One Wall Red
To bring out the rich tones of the baby furniture, warm toned earthy shades will be the perfect canvas. Pick one wall to be the focus of the nursery and paint it a red accent color.
The Tulip Pod Sleigh Crib in Espresso has an impressive modern style that is positively eye-catching. The beautiful rich dark wood finish only enhances the gently tapered lines. It’s not just beautiful to look at; this versatile crib can be converted to a toddler bed and when finally needed, into a double. Technically this baby bed could take her from crib to college. The shapes and profiles of the Tulip Pod Collection are truly inspiring. The Tulip Pod Swivel Bookcase in Espresso and the Tulip Pod Armoire in Espresso are clean and concise, with sleek metal handles and feet that are the ultimate modern style decorative accents.
Choose solid red crib bedding or patterned crib bedding featuring hearts or red roses. Another option is to select something like the Caden Lane Classic Neutral Carey Baby Crib Bedding Set that introduces other colors into the design, as well as adding texture with a mix of stripes, dots and solid colors. No matter which option you choose, select curtains and an area rug that will match or complement the shade of red in the crib bedding.
The Fun Rugs Fun Time Shape Medium Pile Red Heart Rug is the must-have finishing touch. It adds just the right touch of whimsy to the room’s design and makes the lovely Tulip Pod baby furniture appear richer (if that’s possible).
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Tags: baby furniture, baby girl room design, color red, girls nursery design, nursery decor, nursery furniture, valentine's day
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January 22nd, 2010
A farm animal themed boy’s nursery is a fun way to decorate your baby’s first room. It’s a great theme for a baby boy nursery because it involves animals, bringing a variety of shapes into the room. For this type of theme, you can pick from any number of furniture styles from Southwestern to Mission to rustic. Today, we’ll design our farm animal themed nursery by selecting a country style décor with a little touch of sophistication.
Color choices (from Benjamin Moore) were chosen with the crib bedding in mind. A popular country style palette includes earth tones (Providence Olive and Shakespeare Tan) as well as the two blues (Misty Blue and Wedgewood Gray) that have more neutral undertones. This will help set the overall mood for the room, country style that is chic and trendy.
Once the walls have been painted, consider your options. You can add a wallpaper border that has a farm animal theme. You can even choose just one type of farm animal, such as cows, horses, roosters or sheep. If you’re creative and like to DIY, paint stencils of farm animals on one or two walls in brighter, accent colors that complement the crib bedding. If you’re really artistic, how about painting a barnyard mural on one wall or a section of one of the nursery walls?
The Status Furniture Milcroft Stages Convertible Baby Crib has a delightful country charm that will be a great place for your baby boy to sleep.
The BeBe Chic Counting Sheep Baby Crib Bedding Set Collection crib bedding set features whimsical sheep in a combination of solid colors and patterns that will give you farm animal themed nursery texture while creating visual interest.
The South Shore Furniture Sweet Morning 3246 Changing Table has a country style flavor, with its arched apron, classic round wood knobs and a warm wood finish. Especially if you’re on a budget, you might be tempted to skip the change table. But consider this: you will be changing your baby’s diaper anywhere from 10 to 15 times a day, from the time he comes home from the hospital for up one to two years afterwards. Because it eliminates crouching or bending yourself into awkward positions, a changing table is worth the investment, particularly if it can be repurposed as a dresser or storage unit.
A rug gives your nursery a finished look. The Walk On Me Kid’s Sheep Rug lends the room quirky feel. If you prefer something more neutral, select the Walk On Me Ivory Sheepskin Rectangle Rug.
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Tags: baby furniture, boy's nursery design, nursery decor, theme nursery
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