Let your baby go gaga over their ‘hue-gah’ room
In the past few years, North Americans have been introduced to a new (to us) way of thinking about decorating our homes. It isn’t so much a specific look (you know I love my decorating rules), but a way to think about how a room feels.
If you haven’t heard the word by now, it’s hygge (pronounced hue-gah) — and it’s a Danish concept about comfort that’s often characterized by neutral colours, casual, boho-inspired style, and imbuing rooms with a warm, cozy feel. I think it’s a perfect approach to decorating nurseries, especially because it’s gender-neutral and grows with baby, evolving over the years as you and your child add touches that reflect their personality. Key storyboard elements include natural wood, wicker, handwoven textiles and colours from nature. It’s restful, relaxing and a sure way to decorate a nursery that’s both chic and comforting.
CALMING, HAPPY COLOUR
There are a few big trends for wall colours in nurseries this year. While pale grey or off-white guarantee a neutral hygge style, I love rooms with a cheery colour. Whenever I want a colour that’s not too trendy and is relatively neutral so it can be adapted to changes in style, I turn to a classic yellow with a green tone. My current favourite is Back to Nature from Behr Paints. The warmth hits a happy note while the green base is on trend with cooler tones from nature. TIP: Choose one colour and stick to it for a monochromatic effect: if choosing yellow-green, find bedding, accessories and artwork in similar colours. This will create a calm, peaceful environment for baby and parents to enjoy.
FURNITURE TO GROW
Furniture choices for any room in the house should have some lasting value, but quite often nursery furniture is seen as temporary, or gets passed down from one child to another. One way to increase the longevity of nursery pieces is invest in convertible furniture; a crib that can become a toddler/ child’s bed, a change table that becomes a dresser and a glider chair that can be slip-covered are all ways to grow nursery furniture into childhood. TIP: Choose furniture in a wood tone you like for the nursery; in a few years, you can paint it in your child’s favourite colour as an easy, inexpensive way to grow it into a new look.
ACCESSORIES ADD PERSONALITY
This is where you can really have fun! I once decorated a baby’s room and accessorized it with all non-baby store accessories: a birdcage lamp, washable cotton rug and framed art (behind glass) were all purchased at regular home retailer stores. TIP: If buying non-baby accessories, link their style with a theme (birds, clouds, animals) and then match the colourways (such as light wood tones, pale wicker and soft warm colours) for continuity and to help enhance the Hygge style and feeling.
LOVE THE LOOK
Are kids’ rooms decorated for kids or parents? It depends on the child’s age. Here’s a timeline for decorating a child’s bedroom.
Newborns: Cater to parents’ style, which can complement the style from other areas of the house. Keep your colours/elements to a maximum of three to create a calm and peaceful room.
Ages 3 to 9: This is where personality of the child starts to take over. Introduce a custom theme by replacing baby accessories with choices that best suit your young child’s interest and taste.
Ages 10 to 16: Kids rule! Paint any wood furniture (navy, cream or lime green are favourites) and create a bulletin-board wall to display sports schedules, artwork and images that inspire.