Baby, Baby - Gender Neutral Nursery Designs

Designing a baby nursery can be so much fun. However, for parents who are keeping the baby's sex a surprise or want to reuse the room for future siblings, planning a gender neutral nursery can sometimes be a design challenge. A good starting place when creating a unisex nursery is to select a soothing color palette. Browsing crib bedding, artwork or taking cues from nature may help get your creative juices flowing.

A soft yellow always makes a wonderful backdrop for your nursery. This French inspired nursery is warming and soothing in a golden yellow monochromatic color scheme. The chandelier is gorgeous - works for a boy or girl. Wouldn't you agree?

Yellow is also great when combined with accent colors. In this case shades of green are added to create an analogous color scheme. This nursery was designed for my first daughter - thinking someday we might have a son - but my second daughter used it too. The crib bedding by Wendy Bellissimo inspired the room's color palette. And the antiqued white sleigh crib by Ragazzi (now out of business) converted to a toddler bed which we loved. Yes, the mattress is slanted in the picture - our little one at the time had a bad case of reflux.The vintage dresser which also served as the changing table was purchased at a yard sale for two dollars (yep, that's correct). The veneer was removed and it was painted to coordinate with the room. My husband said I made up for the "good deal" on the dresser when I purchased hand painted pulls from MacKenzie Childs for $100. It was worth it!

In this yellow nursery room South Carolina-based designer, Angie Hranowsky, adds accents of turquoise in the Roman shades, slipper chair and bed linens. Be bold with blues - they're not just for boys anymore. Striking a perfect balance between masculinity and femininity, the soft shaggy white area rug gives the room texture and contrasts nicely with the heavy, dark wooden flooring.

Keeping the room organized and functional will help you in the long run. Hranowsky wisely adds a daybed to the nursery's design. It will certainly come in handy for those middle of the night awakenings.

Here is a sweet nursery in beige, pale turquoise and a minty green - another great color palette for a boy or girl. Mixing patterns and textures is also a good technique when designing an interior. Here the candy striped crib skirt and ornate patterned rug work well together.

A neutral color palette is also another great choice for a unisex nursery. The simple white crib becomes the focal point with the romantic canopy framing it. I especially like the brown and white bergere chair - a little unexpected in a nursery.

The crib bedding in chocolate, butter yellow and robin's egg blue sets the color scheme in this modern, gender neutral nursery. The wall is painted a tranquil shade of blue. A hand-painted wall mural like this one with a monkey in a tree is a darling way to incorporate nature into your design. Your little one will love it too!

For more nursery room design inspiration, you may enjoy reading Oh Boy! - Nursery Rooms or Sweet Baby - Tranquil Gender Neutral Nursery.

* images from Simplified Bee, Decor pad and Angie Hranowsky Design