Nursery Ideas & Toddler Bedroom Inspiration

Bump growing day by day? Tiny feet kicking away? It’s time to prepare your nursery. From timeless furniture that will last throughout their childhood, to adorable room accessories for a gender-neutral nursery, we’ve got lots of nursery ideas to kick-start your plans.

We know the toddler years may feel like many moons away at this stage but being savvy with how you decorate now can save you time and money in the long run. When it comes to transitioning your nursery to a toddler bedroom, we’ve got some tips on things to consider now, as well as ideas on how to add to your child’s room later down the line.  

NURSERY IDEAS... WHERE TO BEGIN?

We understand there are a lot of decisions to make when you’re expecting a new arrival, so we want to make decorating your nursery as simple as possible!

STARTING POINTS

Choosing a theme and some core pieces you truly love can be a great springboard to help you pull together a plan for your nursery as our Senior Creative Manager and Mum to Abel, Jen explains:

"When I was planning my son’s nursery I started with a theme and chose fabrics and prints that worked with and around that theme. I then built up from there and chose my paint colours to match these. I’d recommend doing it this way round so that you don't end up with mismatching tones and textures after you have painted the room! This will help you create a calm and curated space for you and your baby.”

Our Woodland Animals by Ryn Frank print features adorable woodland flora and fauna set against a soft green backdrop. If you’re looking for neutral nursery ideas, then this gorgeous print could be the perfect catalyst for your nursery inspiration. The Woodland Animals range features a Changing Mat, a Cylinder Lamp, Muslins, a Portable Playmat, and Canvas Storage Cubes.

We love to team this print up with white and natural wood furniture, as well as sage, grey, and natural tones.

CALMING COLOURS

Next, we recommend choosing a calm colour palette to create a soothing, tranquil sanctuary for baby to snooze in. This type of colour scheme will allow you to layer in colour and texture as your child grows older, offering longevity and flexibility when it comes to updating their room in the future.

Our Woodland Animals print with its soothing green foundation is the perfect example. Not only does it offer a serene backdrop for a neutral nursery, it’s ideal for parents who chose to keep their baby’s gender a surprise or simply want a subtle, unisex look.

Although we recommend choosing a calming colour, don’t be afraid to be creative with your chosen colour. Just because you paint one wall or even the ceiling a sage green or mellow yellow, it doesn’t mean your baby will have sleepless nights! After all, babies can only see in black and white for the first few months until their colour vision starts to develop.

Wall stickers are another cost-effective way to be creative with your nursery. You could pop some interesting shapes in a place where baby can easily see them – for example, on a wall by their changing table. This is a great way to stimulate their developing vision.

NURSERY ORGANISATION

Before you order any big-ticket items for your nursery, it’s a good idea to draw out a plan of the room on a piece of paper. This will help you to visualise different options for where key pieces of furniture will go and decide upon the most practical position for them.

When you've got a crying newborn in your arms who’s in need of a change, you want everything to be in easy reach – nappies, wipes, their changing mat etc. Plan your nursery layout with practicality and functionality in mind. Deciding on a layout before your furniture arrives will also be helpful come delivery and assembly time, after all you don’t want to be heavily pregnant and shuffling around furniture as you can’t make your mind up!

Multifunctional storage is the dream when it comes to nursery organisation. We offer lots of practical, stylish solutions to cater for your every need. From roomy drawers to keep socks sorted from baby grows to handy storage baskets, to fill with anything from laundry to nappies or muslins, explore our wide range of nursery furniture and storage ideas here.

Two of our favourite nursery organisation ideas which both offer longevity are:

The Potter Book & Toy Organiser – this low level storage table has three sections to keep bits and bobs sorted and can be turned into a home for toys and books when they’re older. Whilst they’re still a baby, we like to fill it with nappies, wipes, creams, towels, and blankets. It can be handy to have a supply of these essentials low down so you can pop their changing mat on the floor for a quick nappy change; often it can be easier to change your child on the floor if you’ve got a particularly wriggly baby! 

The Shaker Peg Rail – our bestselling nursery must-have not only looks beautiful, it’s practical too. Hang muslins from its hooks, so they’re always on hand for spills and baby sick! Use the shelf to display cute knick-knacks and prints you collect along the way to add character to your nursery. Once they’re older this rail can be moved to a child-friendly height and used to display fancy dress costumes or everyday clothes to encourage independence.

THE COT

The most important component of a nursery is the cot, so we suggest doing your research to find the most suitable one for your space and budget. Our Little Wren Cot Bed is made from solid pine with strong plywood slats and has a long-lasting Bright White painted finish. To give you peace of mind, we've designed and tested it to meet both the cot bed standard (BS EN 716) and the single bed standard (BS 8509). We also test our paint to EN71-3 safety standards to ensure it's safe for babies. Team it up with our Nutkin Toddler & Cot Bed Mattress to give your baby the perfect foundation for a comfy night’s sleep. You can also add our Underbed Storage Drawers to make the most of an often wasted space underneath the cot.

We know how quickly little ones grow, so we’ve designed the Little Wren Cot Bed for use from birth to the toddler years. With its adjustable base and three height options, it’s easy to transform to suit your baby/toddler’s age and range of movement so you don’t have to rush out and buy a new bed as soon as they start toddling.

THE TRANSITION FROM NURSERY TO TODDLER ROOM

LAYERING

Once your little one reaches the toddler years, their personality will start to shine through so now’s a great time to freshen up their room with accessories that reflect their favourite things.

The benefit of sticking to a versatile, calm base colour for your nursery, is that it’s easy to add to the room’s decor. Layer in pops of colour to add interest and stimulate their blossoming minds, such as our Woodland Animals Wall Hanging. Handcrafted from felt, it’s an eye-catching addition you can hang from a peg rail or wall hook.

Pastel coloured shelves, like our Townhouse Wall Shelves, are another way to add splashes of colour, as well as create extra storage space for teddies, trinkets, and their artwork. We love our Magnetic 3D Art Frames for displaying drawings and paintings to make their room feel more personalised.

When it’s time to switch to toddler bedding, you can have lots of fun. Our collection of toddler bedding designs offer a subtle way to introduce more colour or a theme they’ve started to show an interest in. Our range includes dinosaurs, farmyard friends, twinkly stars, or woodland animals; whichever you choose, each duvet cover and pillowcase set is made from 100% cotton as soft as freshly laundered clouds to keep your toddler cosy. 

You could also add new layers of texture to your little one’s room with cushions and rugs. As they get bigger and enjoy exploring their room, tactile, soft textiles are a lovely, sensory addition to pique their curiosity. Our pure wool On the Farm Rug provides a cosy place to sit and play; it’s bound to be a hit with little farmyard fans.

TODDLER BEDS

If you opted for a standard cot when preparing your nursery instead of a transitional cot bed, you’ll also be in need of a toddler bed now your baby has grown. Our Star Bright Toddler Bed in Bright White is a solid and sturdy first bed for your little dreamer.

We understand the transition from cot to toddler bed can literally be a little bumpy; that’s why we’ve kept this bed low to ground and added guard rails so your child feels safe and snug. These features, plus the fact that it’s been thoroughly safety tested to British and European standards, mean you can rest easy knowing your child is safe while they slumber. We recommended this bed for children age 18 months - 4 years.

BOOK NOOKS

As your child gets older, they’ll start to show more of an interest in books. Creating a dedicated corner for story time is a wonderful way to foster a passion for reading.

Our bestselling Greenaway Bookcase in Narrow or Wide is an excellent add-on to a toddler room, or you could even include one from birth for board books and teddies. Hang one low to the ground to provide early readers with easy access to their books. The Greenaway’s front facing shelves will ensure little ones can see their favourites.

Pop a bean bag and a cosy rug in their reading corner to create a snug and special place. If you have the space, you could even turn a teepee into a cosy book nook by filling it with cushions and blankets. Our Fox Children's Cushion will add a vibrant flash of colour!

We hope you feel inspired to create a calm, organised nursery you can add to as your child grows. For more nursery inspiration explore our Woodland Animals Collection and why not take a peek at our Toddler Bedrooms section and save some ideas for future reference?