Fun + Functional Nursery Design
You don’t have to sacrifice beauty when aiming for function.
And you don’t have to spend a fortune to achieve the nursery look you desire.
As a second time mom, I know what matters in a nursery and what doesn’t! I made some poor design choices the first time around, and this time I’m not making the same mistakes twice! Let me show you how to make your nursery fun, functional, and affordable!
This light will blow your mind.
You turn it on with your FOOT! That little box at the bottom has a dimmer switch that you slide to create the perfect lighting (hello dimly lit nighttime feedings!) It is also so cute and chic! I will say, finding bulbs for this bad boy was HARD. We had to try three different kinds, and THESE worked! Pretty good price too!
This fan. It’s AWESOME. No chains. No noise.
Flip the wall switch to turn it on OR use the remote that comes with! You can anchor the remote to the wall (it comes with a remote holder), or you can take it wherever you go in the room. The fan has three speeds that are all quiet and a light. At 36,” it is nice and petite for small nursery spaces like ours!
Wall decals > Wallpaper
I love the look of wallpaper, BUT I don’t love the price or the hassle to install it. So, we went with removable wall decals that simply PEEL & STICK. This whole wall took a couple of hours to do, and these have been here for TWO YEARS! Yep, they were something I wanted in our first’s nursery and they stayed for number 2! Three packs of these decals nicely coated this 10 foot wall (8 foot ceilings), and I spent under $100 TOTAL. WIN!
DIY Board & Batten
This was surprisingly not so hard (even though I did all the math and none of the actual work… thanks Dad!). We followed a tutorial from Pinterest, bought some white wood boards, used the same paint as our trim, and this design element really made this nursery wall POP! Total cost was under $200 since we did the labor ourselves. Plus if we turn this nursery into an office or guest room down the line, this design element will still work!
If you want a cute wall or name sign, just do it.
Yep, I know it doesn’t serve a “functional” purpose, but it will be a beautiful piece that pulls the entire nursery together! This sign from Hickory Hollow Designs is perfect. We love the song “Humble & Kind” by Tim McGraw, and these words are written on the wooden posts of the home we built to raise our children. It’s my favorite piece of the whole nursery.
I’m a speech-language pathologist and feeding specialist who likes to dabble in interior design and creation of functional spaces. Follow along on Instagram for baby + toddler speech and feeding support and a whole lotta fun!
