By Jessica Ackerman
While soft pastel colors have often dominated the color palette when it comes to designing a baby’s room, the trend today is toward bold color.
Orange, lime green, and fuchsia are some modern shades that lend dramatic cheeriness to a bland room.
Adding bold color need not take away from the soothing and calm ambience of the space. Neutral and pastel colors create a backdrop that invites parent and child to relax and rest, while bold colors add a spark of interest and fun. Here are some ways you can add bold color to a baby nursery.
Wall art: One of the quickest ways to brighten up a room is to hang some colorful art on the walls. For a baby’s room, animal and alphabet designs are popular options. Geometric shapes and modern floral patterns are also attractive. Wall art can come in the form of framed pictures or canvas art, wall decals, and might have the double-function of serving as hooks or shelving. Having a themed room helps with selecting coordinating décor to place on the walls.
Baby toys: Babies enjoy playing with toys in bold, high-contrast colors. If you have toys that your baby isn’t old enough to play with yet, like a set of toy cars or furry stuffed animals, display them in the room for the first few months of your baby’s life. A brightly-colored baby mobile hanging over the crib or changing table is another item that can add a pop of color. Against neutral colored furniture and pale walls, baby toys can really stand out as fun decorative accessories.
Paint: An easy way to incorporate bold color into the color scheme of a baby’s room is to paint it on the walls. Consider painting a band of stripes or polka dots that runs horizontally around the room and pulls the different colors together. For example, in a room with pale blue walls, you can add a band of blue, white, and orange stripes. If you wish to have more bold color, try painting the bottom half or third of the walls a bold hue and the remaining wall area a coordinating neutral shade.
Lamps, rugs, pillows, curtains: Accessories scattered around the room are a great place to put bold color. You can choose to have these items decorated to match the theme of the nursery, or simply purchase items in an unexpected color. A chic lampshade or a trendy window valance can serve as an interesting focal point in the room. You can also coordinate accessories by adding bold colored ribbon to trim the edges of fabric, lampshades, and other pieces in the room.
Furniture: Contemporary cribs now come in bold colors like black, chocolate brown, and orange. They make a stylish statement in a baby’s room, and may blend in well with the décor, not just in the room, but also in the rest of the home. Another way of adding bold color to furniture is to give an old dresser a fresh coat of paint and use it as a changing table, or paint an armoire or bookcase a new, vibrant color.
Jessica Ackerman, author and staff designer at WallDecorandHomeAccents.com, specializes in wall art trees and outdoor metal wall art.
