In this article, we condensed nursery planning into seven easy steps, so that you can check this task off your to-do list long before you bring your precious angel home! 

Before you start nursery planning, clear out the room. You want to begin with a blank canvas. Any unneeded clutter will just make this process stressful. Once it's clear, you will have the opportunity to be in the room and let your imagination run free. At this point, you can start thinking about where you want certain items in the room and how you plan to use the space. Decide where you want the big furniture and then plan in accordance. 

No one enjoys this part of planning. But, having a budget early on will help to stay on track and minimize unnecessary stress. Nursery planning and designing can be extremely costly if not thought-out in advance. It is important to have a budget (whether small or large) in mind before shopping because it allows you to determine which will be your investment pieces, where you can plan ahead to find affordable options, and which pieces make sense to add to your registry to give your loved ones the opportunity to buy you the things you really want. 

This is pretty self-explanatory yet often overlooked. Buying furniture that’s too big or small for the space is such a hassle that can easily be avoided by taking measurements prior to shopping and buying! 

Yup, your new best friend will be your Pinterest board. This is where the fun begins! On Pinterest, you can look through inspiration boards made by other mothers and designers. This is where you will start to pick out the theme of the room. Start saving items to your own board to keep track of pieces you could envision in your new nursery. The boards help you to visualize a style to keep within a consistent theme. Also, Pinterest will help remind you of the important aspects of the room that cannot be forgotten. For example, having a nice big furry rug will allow for baby to sit and crawl in a comfortable yet safe environment. Also, since you will be spending just as much time in this space as your little one, it’s crucial that you plan for your own comfort. A nice, big rocking chair or small couch to sit on will make the space even more useful, as will a strategically organized changing station for your convenience! 

Not only is this step easy and effective when planning a nursery, but it’s also a lot of fun! While creating a mood board, you can start deciding on colors, fabrics, tones, and the overall theme for the nursery. When designing a small space, it’s easy to go overboard. For example, when exploring an outdoorsy/rustic feel for the room, in order to maintain a rustic yet balanced feel, pick out light-toned, simple big pieces of furniture. Then use smaller pieces, artwork, and throw pillows to add to the outdoorsy effect. On your mood board, a color palette will become very clear and picking the right pieces afterwards will be a breeze. Walking into a fabric store and taking swatches of styles that excite you to pin to your board is a way to experiment with different textiles and colors at no risk before making a choice. You will surely feel proud when you get to share your mood board with your friends and family so they know what color scheme to follow when shopping for baby shower gifts!  

When you begin shopping for big items, i.e. the crib, dressers, changing table, rugs, floor lamps etc. The easiest way to get this done is shopping online. West Elm, Amazon, Macy's and Birch Lane are all good places to start the search.  Buying in-store not only takes longer but also leaves you to carry and haul huge pieces of furniture to your house. While pregnant, this step can be hard on your body and on the baby. Once you identify those staples, filling in the details will be much easier, and building a registry online can help streamline your process and share your wishlist with loved ones.

Organization is key for building a successful nursery. Since most clothes, toys, and accessories in the nursery are going to be itty-bitty, a nice trick to optimize space are dresser dividers. This allows you to maintain a neat and accessible closet area. Somethings we experiment with in many nurseries are labeled boxes and colorful softboxes that for toys. Since they are decorative, they can be hidden in the closet or left out in the room. It’s an easy way to get rid of the clutter and keep the room neat. For a more tasteful, chic option, Moroccan-style woven baskets contribute to an overall more worldly aesthetic.

Visit our blog page for more inspiration, and easy tricks to prepare for the arrival of your little one. For more information about Nursery Planning, read more of our tips here.