Whether you are expecting or just want to redesign your baby’s nursery, it can be expensive to buy new decor that is intended for a nursery. However, it can be a lot of fun to spend time working on DIY projects to design your nursery on your own. Since there are a lot of DIY ideas for a nursery, it can be a little overwhelming to find the perfect DIY projects for you, so we have put together this list of our favorite DIY project ideas for your nursery!
Hang DIY Blackout Curtains
Babies sleep at weird times, and if you do not want the sun to wake up baby in the middle of nap time, one of the best DIY ideas is to make some blackout curtains for the nursery. You can pick pretty much any fabric design you like, and they are relatively simple to sew. Then you just need a curtain rod, and you are good to go. This might seem like it is not entirely necessary, but some babies will get woken up by the sun, messing up naptime; DIY blackout curtains are definitely the way to go to avoid this.
Photo by Andrea Dolson-New Leaf Interiors
Bring the Night Sky Inside
Stars are a popular motif in nurseries because there are a lot of ways that you can DIY a star design. You can paint the ceiling a dark blue that feels like the sky and add stars and moons to it. There is glow-in-the-dark paint you can use for the stars. If you sew, you can sew little stars and hang them from the ceiling, like a larger mobile, to keep them occupied. Having something visually stimulating can make your baby feel relaxed and entertained, so they might be a little quieter when lying in their crib at night. There is also the potential that this can improve your child’s imagination later on.
DIY Blanket Storage
Babies tend to have a lot of blankets, and they can be tricky to find storage for sometimes. You can get a vintage ladder to put in the baby’s room and paint to go with the rest of the decor. The blankets can then be folded over each rung on the ladder, so you have some cute blanket storage that does not take up too much space in your nursery.
Photo by Kathy Kuo Designs Inc
Create a DIY Floral Wall Hanging
A small but beautiful floral wall hanging is a great DIY project for the nursery. This is another easy to customize design for your baby. A fun way of doing this is to get a long, fake branch and attach flowers to it that hang them down from it. You can attach ribbons to the branch and tie or glue some fake flowers to each ribbon. This can be as subtle or obvious as you want it to be for your nursery.
Block Art of Baby’s Name
If a baby sees the shapes of their name regularly, they can begin to understand letters, making it easier for them to start learning letters. You can help this by creating some block wall art of your baby’s name in their room that they will see all the time. This is a fun thing to do that you can completely customize to the aesthetic of your nursery.
Make the Walls a Statement
The colors of the walls in your nursery set the tone for the rest of the room. There are a lot of different DIY options for the walls that you can have fun with. If you want the room to feel bigger, a good option is to paint it a lighter color; this will make it seem bigger and airy.
You can use sponge art in fun little shapes for the nursery. One fun way to make sponge art is to cut potatoes in half and carve shapes into them instead of buying sponges. Then, you can dip them in paint and have fun decorating the walls. Another way to do the shapes is to buy cookie cutters in unique shapes and dip them in paint to apply them to the walls. If you do not want to carve out shapes in potatoes, cookie cutters are a great option, and you can get bigger shapes than you might with potatoes.
Wallpaper is also a good way to decorate the walls in the nursery. For something more unique, you can install faux stone or brick on the walls of the nursery, which will give the walls some depth and character.
If you want to be able to change the designs on your nursery walls frequently, you can use chalkboard paint to let you change out the design whenever you want. Plus, as your baby grows, they will enjoy having a wall they can doodle on.
Make a DIY Mobile
Hanging a mobile above the baby’s crib is a great way to keep them entertained. You can cross two pieces of wood together for the base, then use yarn or ribbon to hang things off of. Another way to do this is with an embroidery hoop, so you can hang more decorations off of it in varying heights. This is a much more affordable way of getting a mobile for your baby, and it lets you customize it according to the rest of the décor in the room.
Photo by Crowell + Co. Interiors
Make a Shadow Box
You can get a shadow box from most craft stores and create shadow boxes for your baby’s nursery. Pick a theme for your shadow box and have fun putting it together. You can put the baby’s name in it, the hat and onesie they came home from the hospital in, their footprints, and any other mementos you want displayed. You can also incorporate anything fun from the baby shower, like the cards and decorations. These are fun and surprisingly easy to make.
Create a DIY Baby Gym
A baby gym is expensive, but you can make one pretty easily on your own. You just need a few pieces of wood and the tools to put it all together. Once it is put together, you just need some toys to hang from it to keep your baby entertained.
About the Author
Auz Burger is a freelance writer and an expert in faux stone and brick veneer and home DIY projects. She has a BA from Washington State University and has been writing and editing professionally for over a decade.
