For the fourth and final time, I’ve had the challenge and privilege of creating a gender neutral space for our precious babies to come home to. Each time my style in home decor has changed (matured) a bit, and looking back to my first nursery, I think I’ve come a looooong way. Navy’s nursery looked like a box of crayons went on an all-night bender. Knox’s nursery didn’t know WHAT it was because we had just moved into our then-new home two weeks before his arrival (think white furniture, pale grey walls and that’s-about-it). Brighton’s nursery was slightly more accessorized than Knox’s but being the same bedroom 3 years later, it didn’t change much. I added some vinyl shiplap wallpaper and a fuzzy rug and that was about it.
Baby #4, though. Sweet, precious baby #4 is the lucky one. He/she got a brand new nursery since this bedroom has never before been occupied, and with it came new furniture and fresh decorating eyes from Mama. Still, keeping to a gender neutral theme is so challenging. After doing this four times, I can definitely say what did and didn’t work for me over the years, and I feel like this gender neutral nursery is one that makes me feel so at peace and will hopefully be a tranquil resting place for our sweet baby in several weeks, too. Here’s my advice if you’re looking to design a gender neutral space.
Some of the links at the bottom of this blog post are affiliate links; happy shopping if you’re in the market for any of the mentioned items!
1. Gender neutral COLORS vs. just plain NEUTRAL
I decided that I was going to go with straight up neutrals and avoid any of the generally accepted gender neutral COLORS (such as green, yellow, etc.) as I did with Navy and then Knox. Navy’s room was painted in a bright sunshine yellow which, sure, is not gender specific. But there was nothing peaceful or serene, and my young, naive self could not see the value in serenity within the nursery at the time. NOW, I have a newfound appreciation for stepping into a space that makes you inhale deeply and feel peaceful. Yes. More of that.
2. Don’t stress about every last accessory before baby arrives
Look, your baby likely won’t even darken the doorway of his or her nursery until they’re a few weeks old. I don’t know why, as moms, we fuss over the nursery so dang much except that nesting is a biological force to be reckoned with that takes over every facet of Third Trimester Life. Otherwise, being fully “prepared” with your nursery is really quite overrated. So if you just grab the basic items before little baby arrives, you can always throw up a gender-specific piece of artwork, or even gender-specific bedding after the fact. I have left one wall (across from the crib) relatively blank with the intention of getting something post-delivery that makes the room feel a little more gender-specific, but even if I never did that, I think the accessories represent both genders well enough. Speaking of accessories…
3. Go with decor that simply looks good with the rest of your home
Think of your house as a catalog. You want to flip from page to page and feel like the whole thing is cohesive and goes together, right? Kids rooms are a slight exception to this rule because they’re a great opportunity to get a little more creative with colors and kid-centric themes, BUT the nursery was a perfect place to implement this rule of thumb. If you walk into my nursery, you see accessories such as house plants, ceramic pots, knit blankets and magazine racks that you could easily spot in any other room of the house. This works for multiple reasons: a) I can always repurpose these little knick knacks or replace them with other items I find throughout my house, and b) it doesn’t matter what gender the baby is, because the baby’s room is simply an additional space in the house, so just like my living room isn’t gender-specific, neither does my nursery need to be.
4. Buy for quality
Guys, I’m speaking from experience here. I purchased a cheap-o changing table that required assembly about halfway through my pregnancy and it was a nightmare. The piece had one star on the website, which should have been my warning (apparently I wasn’t paying enough attention when I ordered it) but it came with mismatched wood pieces, was incredibly cheap fiber board construction, and one piece was just completely split in half, ruining the entire piece of furniture. Luckily, the company took care of the refund for us and didn’t even ask us to hassle with returning it, we simply took care of its disposal since it was unusable in its broken condition. THAT experience led us to purchasing a much higher quality piece of furniture for the changing table that ultimately will just remain a dresser for one of our kids (potentially Brighton as she outgrows her current baby furniture). Just remember that FUNCTIONAL furniture should be a better investment than decorative furniture (i.e. a dresser that you use daily, pulling the drawers in and out of, should be of higher quality than say, your side table in the living room that serves no purpose at all except to hold an occasional beverage). Spend your money smarter with regards to furniture and decor!
5. Make a space that makes you happy
Look, I am the queen of insecurity when it comes to these sort of decisions. I constantly ask other people their opinions and allow mine to shift and change on a dime because someone whose opinion I value has disagreed with my preliminary assessment. But WHO’S actually going to even be using the space? ME! So I should be the one who confidently goes ahead with whatever idea I feel is most inspiring, pleasing, or soothing. It can be hard to drown out those other voices, but your space is just that; your space. Whether you’re decorating your master bedroom, your living room, or your baby’s gender neutral nursery, start with your big items and then you can begin decorating and accessorizing from there, following YOUR instincts for what works and feels right in your home.
How about some sources for all this nursery goodness, eh??
Room Sources: Our walls are painted Sherwin Williams Agreeable Grey, which has proven to be a house-wide perfect neutral paint for us. I definitely wanted something on the warmer side than cooler, and this fit the bill. The crib is this adorable Jenny Lind style in black from Wayfair-Wayfair believes that options for your home can come from just about anywhere, so we carry over 5,000 brands of products like furniture, lighting, cookware, and everything in between. “>Wayfair which I truly LOVE. The rocking chair is this sleek and clean glider, also from Wayfair, and it is comfortable AND the exact look I wanted, AND it didn’t break the bank. I was between this and a Pottery Barn rocker with separate ottoman and I think I saved myself about $800 by going with this and I couldn’t be happier. The changing table is the Harmony Dresser from the new Crate and Kids line by Crate & Barrel (they also have some FABULOUS rocking chairs that I was very tempted by like this striped one). For over the crib, I snagged this pretty linen canopy that I think is so dreamy and a different take on over-the-crib centerpiece (as opposed to putting a large piece of art up there). Artwork: this piece, this piece, and this piece are all from Minted. I bought a small ceramic vessel and some loose stems, succulents and viney plants at Hobby Lobby to put on this floating shelf from Target along with a small clock. Also from Target is my big gold mirror for over the dresser. My bedding was from Etsy when Brighton was an infant and it was unavailable for the longest time but I just checked and am SO EXCITED to say it’s back in stock!! Gender neutral mamas rejoice, this linen bedding is in my opinion the perfect set if you don’t know what sex your baby is. My blanket ladder is also from Etsy and it has some of my favorite neutral muslin swaddles on it (X & O’s, plain white and a pretty pom trim version). Finally, my artificial split leaf philodendron was a lucky Homegoods find, but the pretty and modern plant stand it’s in was from Amazon.
