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Born with style – Designing a chic nursery

June 22, 2011 by Vicky Harrison

Guest post by Kate Wood of Manon Interiors

Decorating a nursery can be a real challenge. It’s important to find a scheme to keep both kids and parents happy with without going down the route of twee childish patterns and colours. So we asked Kate Wood from Manon Interiors to put together her top nursery picks.

Kate explains “When I became pregnant and the time came to decorate my son’s room the only thing I knew for sure was that I wasn’t really a fan of the themed duvet/wallpaper/rug scene that the high street seems to want most nurseries to look like nowadays and how on earth I was going to get the cot I had fallen in love with in Paris home without my husband noticing.”

“Hardly taxing I know but add to that the fact that we were paying two mortgages at the time, running a busy shop and it had to be done quickly and on budget and I became somewhat of an expert at getting that casual chic look I love so much for a nursery too. To be honest, most of my nursery finds were items that I would happily have in any area of the house. Our bunny lamp seems to move from kitchen to office to Wilfies room regularly and I have long been a fan of Dandy Star’s graphic prints (above).”

“I started as you would every other room in the house and chose a shade of paint that both Wilfie and I could live with. Initially I opted for Farrow and Ball’s Powder Blue but have recently graduated to Downpipe on one wall (above) and Clunch on the others as I found the blue a bit cold…and my son went crayon crazy one afternoon so it was time!”

“I truly believe that you don’t have to spend lots of money on items that your children will quickly grow out of. This is where IKEA is indispensable and you can find some classic nursery staples there that may well see them through to University.”

“Sprinkle the rest of the room generously with bunting (Bought or homemade), a colourful print (like the Marcus Walter print above) and cute bedside lamp and you are on your way to a stylish nursery that will look individual to you and your home and, more importantly, that your child will love. A trip to Columbia Road in East london will prove a goldmine for children’s accessories as they have some great independent shops there. The flowers are worth it alone but I would also recommend Bob + Blossom for bits and bobs.”