8 Tips for Decorating a Small Neutral Baby Nursery

Planning out my baby’s nursery was one of my favorite things to do when I was pregnant! It can get a little stressful in small spaces, though. Decorating a small neutral baby nursery requires careful planning to make sure you’re making the most of your space.

Here are my top tips for decorating a small neutral baby nursery!

1. Choose a light neutral paint color

Dark colors can make small spaces look and feel even smaller–we want the opposite effect! Keeping your paint color light and neutral will keep your small space feeling open and airy.

When you’re choosing your paint color, I always recommend going a shade lighter than what you think you like on a sample swatch. This pro tip works for large spaces too, but it is especially important for small rooms!

We knew we wanted to keep our son’s nursery light and airy, and I love using a neutral gray to get this effect. We chose Agreeable Gray by Sherwin Williams and I can’t put into words how great this color looks!

2. Find compact storage solutions

When you’re working with a small space, you need to choose your storage areas carefully. You want something that doesn’t take up too much space, but also packs a punch when it comes to storing a lot of items.

For my son’s nursery, we got a tall, skinny bookshelf from Pottery Barn Kids. It fits a lot of stuff, but since it’s tall and skinny it doesn’t overwhelm the room.

3. Take off closet doors

One way to make the most of your space is to take off closet doors to keep the closet open. This is especially true if you have accordion-type folding doors on your closet. That’s what we originally had, and they mostly just took up more space. When we took the doors off, we ended up with a lot more usable space.

Taking off the closet doors also helps with convenience, which is always hugely important in a nursery. You want to be able to reach things quickly and with only one hand when baby is in the other!

4. Use a neutral area rug

We have a large, cozy area rug in our son’s room that really ties the room together. It brings in the neutral color scheme and makes the room look bigger than it actually is. The bonus is that it is extremely cozy on our feet! We got it from Wayfair and we really love it.

When you’re looking into area rugs, make sure you choose one that isn’t too busy, which could crowd the room even more. You also want to stick with colors that are lighter than your flooring. This will help keep the space looking open.

5. Utilize shelving

In a small neutral baby nursery, shelving can be another much needed storage solution. Basic white shelves can give the room more dimension while also providing a place for items you may not need to get to every day.

We use our shelving to hold a bunch of our son’s stuffed animals. This kind of helps add to our decor and theme in the room as well. It also can help bring some pops of color to a small neutral baby nursery.

6. Find a compact rocking chair

Rocking chairs or gliders are one of the most important baby items (Click here to see the rest!). But when you’re working with a small neutral baby nursery, you’ll need to find a cozy, comfortable, compact option. Measure your space carefully to find a chair that will fit.

Even though you’ll be looking for a compact option, do not choose a cheap chair. This is a place where you’ll be spending A LOT of time, and you’re going to want to be comfortable!

7. Install hooks

Another great way to save space in a small neutral baby nursery is to install hooks for extra storage. We have 2 installed on each side of our son’s closet and 3 next to his tall bookshelf. Usually we use it for his hooded towels, but hooks can also be used for jackets and sweatshirts.

8. Incorporate a variety of textures

Adding textures to your small neutral baby nursery will give more dimension to the space, making it seem larger than it really is.

One way to add texture is with your area rug. You can also add texture by using baskets on your changing table or on shelves. Finding a rocking chair that is a more textured fabric will add more dimension as well. Pillows and blankets can be layered on your rocking chair to give even more texture to the space.

Last thing to know about decorating a small neutral baby nursery

Decorating a small neutral baby nursery can be so fun! Just remember to look for ways to save space wherever you can. Keep your color scheme light and neutral to make the space look open and airy instead of closed and dark. Find ways to vary the textures you use to give your small neutral baby nursery more dimension.

Did I miss any great tips for small neutral baby nursery spaces?? Let me know in the comments!