43 Baby Room Ideas for Decorating a Charming and Functional Nursery

Created a Laid-Back Feel

Create a laid-back feel in your baby room with natural tones, a mix of furniture styles, and lighthearted wall decor like an oversized initial and kid-friendly art. Little Crown Interiors paired sheer curtains with blackout shades to control light.

Try a Rainbow Theme

Choose a rainbow theme to add pops of color throughout your baby room. A Beautiful Mess created a rainbow-tinted ode to joy with a few easy DIY touches that anyone could emulate, like multi-colored painted knobs on the changing table storage drawers.

Try a Nature-Inspired Theme

You can never go wrong by choosing a nature-inspired theme. In this nursery from Dale Blumberg Interiors, classic Cole & Son black-and-white birch tree wallpaper lines the walls to create a storybook forest feel.

Add Geometric Wall Art

Create a dynamic retro-inspired feel with a geometric wall paint accent. Chango & Co. decorated this modern baby room with a variety of shapes in luminous shades of blue, green, and coral, pairing the soft color palette with pale wood tones.

Incorporate Vintage Pieces

Create a calming backdrop with medium-toned gray walls. Erin Williamson Design complemented the wall color with an eclectic assortment of vintage accessories like a whimsical hot air balloon-shaped chandelier, a thrift store pirate painting, a stuffed animal trophy head, a vintage rocking chair, and a red Persian-style rug.

Try a Contemporary Look

If your home leans contemporary, decorate the nursery in crisp black and white. Little Crown Interiors used a bold, graphic palette in this sophisticated space, adding brass accents to brighten it up.

Paint the Ceiling

Decorate your baby room ceiling to give your child something to ponder while they're on their back in the crib.

Sissy + Marley Interior Design painted a bold striped ceiling to add just the right amount of playfulness and whimsy to this New York City nursery.

Add a Cozy Cottage Feel

Stick to soft colors and traditional vintage-style furniture and lighting to create a cozy cottage feel. Courtney Davey at Tuft and Trim chose tree mural wallpaper and paint in a pastel blue for a timeless nursery design.

Choose Midcentury Modern

If your home is full of midcentury style, there's no reason to stop at the baby room. This nursery from Little Crown Interiors features a midcentury modern-style crib and changing table with clean lines and rich wood tones that flow seamlessly with the style of the rest of the house.

Try an Animal Theme

Decorate your nursery with animals to create a warm feel.

Australian interior designer Nicole Rosenberg of Liberty Interiors created a fun, modern animal-themed nursery with graphic wallpaper, framed wall art, natural wood accents, and a mix of white, black, and gray tones.

Mix Bold Colors

Create a bold look in your baby room with a mix of bold and assertive colors. This space from The House That Lars Built includes saturated Kelly green walls, a vintage yellow and orange light fixture, green-and-white checkered curtains, and a checkerboard rug in shades of burgundy and scorching hot pink.

Hang Cosmic Art

Black-and-white art or photography with a cosmic theme will add dimension to a neutral baby room.

Leclair Decor paired black, white, and light wood tones with patterned textiles and framed prints of the moon keeping watch over the crib in this modern space.

Carve Out a Reading Nook

Create a cozy kids' reading nook for bedtime stories. Sissy + Marley Interior Design set up a dedicated reading corner with a comfortable upholstered rocking chair, clear acrylic book display wall shelving, a stuffed animal trophy head to define the space, and a faux zebra rug.

Create a Traditional Feel

Create a traditional feel in an older home with elements like classic patterned wallpaper, pinch pleat curtains, and a vintage velvet armchair.

Becca Interiors chose a soft palette of muted yellows and browns in this Colonial home nursery.

Hang a Gallery Wall

Decorate your baby room with a gallery wall of graphic prints for a modern feel. Chango & Co. layered graphic prints over black-and-white wallpaper to create a room that can grow with your child.

Try a Jungle Book Theme

Complement a jungle-themed nursery with natural wood and rattan furniture. This baby room from Kim Gordon Designs looks like a jungle book come to life, with walls covered in vividly illustrated wild animals and plant life.

Repaint the Dresser

Paint a secondhand dresser in a bold and striking color to modernize your baby room.

Christina Kim Interior Design paired a bright orange dresser with grasscloth wallpaper and a salmon pink ceiling in this baby room that mixes old and new furniture and decor.

Try a Woodland Theme

Woodland wallpaper will create a cozy feel in a modern baby room. Cathie Hong Interiors used a soothing palette of green, white, and natural wood tones in this warm minimalist space.

Stay Gender-Neutral

For a gender-neutral feel, stick to a neutral palette. Mindy Gayer Design Co. decorated this space in creamy shades of white and soft shades of black, adding plenty of texture with textiles like the pompom wall hanging and the round Moroccan rug.

Accent With Bright Yellow

Preserve a light and airy feel with a white-on-white aesthetic. Chango & Co. added warmth with colorful accents like a neon yellow wall sconce.

Hang Multicolored Wallpaper

If you're having trouble choosing a color for your baby room walls, choose every color. Little Crown Interiors covered this baby room in multi-colored confetti wallpaper, providing endless accent color choices to pull from when decorating the rest of the room that can be changed up over time.

Choose a Coastal Theme

Bring breezy coastal style to a beach house nursery for a cohesive feel. Chango & Co. decorated this coastal baby room with white painted shiplap walls, a curvy overstuffed armchair, light wood crib, and natural woven elements.

Embrace Barbie Pink

Embrace the power of pink to create a classic baby girl nursery. Forbes + Masters channeled Barbie pink from the bubblegum ceiling to the curtains, rug, and bedding in this theatrical space.

Choose an Alphabet Rug

Create a focal point in a small nursery with a graphic rug. Cathie Hong Interiors chose an alphabet rug to animate this neutral modern space.

Include Poetic Details

Add poetic details to make your baby room the stuff of childhood dreams. This baby room from The House That Lars Built has pale robin's egg blue walls, a floating sailboat suspended from the ceiling, and a hand-painted pear tree and little red bird mural in an unexpected corner for a signature look.

Add Boho Design Touches

Boho design touches will give your baby room a relaxed feel. A Beautiful Mess mixed a patterned rug and wallpaper, a colorful wall hanging, a Moroccan leather pouf, and a tall wicker giraffe keeping watch by the window in this simple space.

Try a Black Accent Wall

Create a soothing backdrop for a gallery wall above the crib by painting a matte black accent wall. Little Crown Interiors decorated the wall with a mix of photos, prints, and a tasseled wall hanging to complement the modern space.

Try a Hand-Painted Mural

Add whimsy and enchantment to an otherwise cookie cutter space with a hand-painted wall mural. In this New York City garden apartment baby room from AHG Interiors, a hand-painted mural featuring animals and hot air balloons floats up onto the ceiling for an immersive feel.

Try a Wallpaper Mural

Decorate your baby room walls with a wallpaper mural. In this twins' nursery from Forbes + Masters, wrap-around forest scene wallpaper creates a storybook atmosphere that adds whimsy to the neutral-toned space.

Set Up a Play Tent

Set up a play tent to create a little refuge for your toddler. This baby room from Mel Bean Interiors combines a play of patterns from the wallpapered ceiling to the rug, bedding, and dark floral play tent in the corner.

Try Horizontal Stripes

Make your baby room feel wider and more spacious with bold horizontal stripes. Use paint or wallpaper to create the effect, like this taupe-and-white baby room from Mindy Gayer Design Co.

Add Shine With Metallics

Complement a cool-toned nursery with metallic accents. This traditional nursery from Jules Interiors has a tonal palette of pale gray walls and a mix of gold and silver accents that reflect light and give the space a lift.

Pair Blue and White

Blue and white is a classic color combination that can work in both traditional and modern interiors.

This spacious nursery from Mindy Gayer Design Co. has soft blue-and-white printed wallpaper, white textiles, and a baby-sized table and chairs that will come in handy for playtime as the child grows.

Add Southwestern Style

Energize a modern baby room a fresh color accent. In this sunny nursery from McCall Dulkys of Interiors By McCall, coral paint on the wainscotting, a natural wood crib, and a tall cactus give the room an easy breezy Southwestern-inspired feel.

Choose Soothing Earth Tones

Choose soothing earth tones like shades of brown to create a warm and calming feel. Sissy + Marley Interior Design decorated this space with animal-themed art, wall sconces, rugs, and toys to create a nursery jungle atmosphere rendered in tranquil tones of brown and white.

Accessorize With a Juju Hat

Hang a lightweight textural element like a feathered juju hat for a soft feel. This neutral-toned baby room from Leclair Decor has an airy feel, with soft gold printed wallpaper, a tall vase of branches, and a white feathered juju hat decorating the wall above the crib.

Create a Minimalist Feel

For a minimalist take, choose an all-white palette and furniture with clean, simple lines. Cathie Hong Interiors decorated with framed illustrations, wood toys, and a pink table lamp on the changing table to warm the space.

Add Wainscoting

Painted wainscoting will help to ground your baby room design, creating a cozy anchor for the crib.

This simple nursery from The Posh Home features navy wainscoting around the lower half of the room, graphic patterned wallpaper on top, and a framed giraffe print hanging over the crib.

Choose Dark Florals

Create a sophisticated feel with dark floral wallpaper. In this baby room from interior designer Claire Staszak of Centered by Design, dark floral wallpaper in shades of black, pink, and red is paired with crisp white paint, elegant furniture and lighting, and framed ballerina art above the crib.

Add Wall-Mounted Storage

Keep children's book covers on display with space-saving wall-mounted shelving. Sissy + Marley Interior Design carved a book nook out of a corner of this New York City baby room that is anchored with a whimsical toy trophy head.

Anchor the Crib

Anchor the crib with an area rug in a room with hardwood floors. Desiree Burns Interiors chose a colorful scalloped rug that is soft underfoot and creates a space to comfortably play with baby on the floor.

Hang a Sign Over the Crib

Hang a printed sign on the wall to decorate your baby room. Leanne Ford Interiors decorated this modern space with whitewashed wood paneled walls and a lightweight textile message for an effortless feel.

Channel Vintage Style

Channel vintage style with modern furniture that evokes the traditions of the past. Interior designer Leanne Ford painted this baby girl room with pink walls, hand-drawn wood paneling illustrations, and furniture of her own design for Crate and Barrel that has old-school vibes and modern proportions.