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Baby Room Decorating V Nurturing - Head to Head
When decorating baby rooms and children spaces there are manyconsiderations to take into account to satisfy your need tocreate the "WOW" factor. There are color choices to be made,paint techniques and finishes to be decided on, the needs of theroom have to be identified, safety issues addressed, windowtreatments selected. Of course creating a room that your childand others love is also high on your list of priorities. All ofthis has to be accomplished within a set budget.
One question I hear being debated frequently is, "Should I usePrimary colors or Pastel colors for my baby room/child space?".Much information is available on the ability of Primary colorsto stimulate cognitive processing and development. Babies canperceive bright, primary colors long before they can focus onpastel colors. That's a fact. Parents want to provide astimulating environment for their children. That's also a fact.It's part of the 'morphing' process that takes place within youwhen your child is born - you change from a somewhat egotisticalindividual to being totally self-sacrificing for the needs ofyour child - it goes with the territory of being a parent.
So instead of visualizing powder blue, or misty pink, you thinkabout Magenta, or Tangy Tangerine or Aegean Blue. You tellyourself that even though the rest of your home is finished inBarely Beige, it's not as if it'll be the first room you seewhen you enter the house, and you can always paint it over ifyou really don't like it. If it's best for your baby or childyou'll talk yourself into anything!
Then you talk to other Moms, read some parenting magazines andchat to your friend who works in Childcare. You hear about"fussy" babies, who have trouble settling to sleep, who seem tocry all the time and grow into toddlers who need to beconstantly entertained. You hear the words "over-stimulated" andyou gasp! Once again you're visualizing Powder Blue and MistyPink as your preferred color choice for your baby room or childspace.
You've experienced your first taste of conflicting advice onparenting outcomes and providing the best environment for yourchild. It's seems whichever way you choose - Primary color orPastel color - it appears your child may be disadvantaged.
Don't despair, there's a simple decorating technique used byprofessionals that offers a solution to your dilemma. Your babyroom should contain 3 distinct spaces or areas:- a sleep area; awork area; and a play area. In the initial planning stages ofyour decorating project for your baby/childs room, draw the roomlayout on some grid paper, marking in windows, doors andclosets. Next, mark in the proposed sleep area,
work area andplay area.
A sleep area will contain a crib or bed, a bedside table,perhaps a lamp. It is an area designed for sleep, relaxation,dreams and rejuvinating the body and mind. It should inspire afeeling of comfort and security for your child. Sleep areas arewell-suited to the soothing effect of Pastel colors.
A work area will initially contain a diaper change space, diaperbucket, drawers or cupboards for clothing, storage forinfant-care products, and a feeding chair which will evolve withyour baby's growth into a toddler to becoming an area where yourchild can develop their fine-motor skills e.g. by drawing,painting, manipulating playdoh or construction. Your feedingchair becomes a story sharing place for you and your child, aplace to build magic and imagination. Work areas need to befully washable and easy to maintain - this is the area of theroom that will suffer the most "accidents"; from baby vomit, tospilled paint, to playdoh squished into the floor. Using Neutralcolors in your work area, highlighted with accessories using 2or 3 colors from the rest of the room allows you to easilyidentify and attend to any "spillage" accidents that may occurhere.
A play area for an infant may simply be an area where you keepcuddle toys, hang mobiles and shelve books. As your baby growsinto a toddler this area of their room can become the most-usedhigh-traffic area in your home. Your child will be playing withblocks, a dollhouse, making "cubby" spaces, playing pirates orcowboys or schools in this area. Your toddler will use theirhands on the walls to aid their physical stability as they play,and toys will be constantly bumped into walls as their grossmotor skills develop fine tuning, so keep durability in mindwhen choosing a finish for the walls here. The best Play areasare inviting and stimulating, and provoke excitement andimagination. Play areas are well-suited to the invigoratingeffects of Primary colors.
By identifying the 3 distinct needs of your child's room -sleep, work, play - and decorating appropriately, you'll begiving your child the "best of both worlds" without having tochoose. Decorating and best-practice parenting choices justbecame a whole lot easier!
www.baby-room-projects.com
About the author:
Nell Frances is author of the Step-by-Step Guide to Baby RoomProjects Ebook and brings over 20 years decorating experience toher articles. She's helped families decorate using minisculebudgets and zany ideas, to create baby rooms and child spacesthat echo with squeals of delight! For all your Baby RoomDecorating information and advice visithttp://www.baby-room-projects.com
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