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nursery ideas: using grey in a baby room

To create a soothing environment, have you thought about using contemporary grey instead of more traditional colours like blue or pink for a baby room?

I love how grey is lifted by white in this Scandinavian nursery, and accented with other soothing colours like blue, green and lilac to create a calming yet playful, modern space.

nursery ideas: using grey in a baby room

To decide whether grey is a suitable colour for the space, consider the room’s proportions, the quality of the light and how you’d like you and your child to feel in the room.

On its own grey can be quite draining, but it combines easily with many colours to counter this effect. Popular combinations for nurseries are grey with yellow accents (be careful not to use too much yellow near your baby’s bed as this may be too stimulating) or grey and pink. Darker greys work beautifully with pops of zesty colour like orange and lime.

Not all greys are alike – there are warm greys (yellow based) and cold greys (blue based). Combine them with colours from the same harmonious colour family to avoid uneasiness in the room.

nursery ideas: using grey in a baby room

Opinions are divided about the use of grey for a nursery or kids room. If you’d like to read more, there’s an interesting article on using grey in interiors by colour expert Karen Haller over on Stacey Sheppard’s interior design blog.

nursery ideas: using grey in a baby roomSo what is your verdict – would you use grey in a baby room?

x Ursula

(images: photography by mikkel adsbøl, styling katrine martensen-larsen via klm design)


16 Comments


  1. Most definitely! I love grey. My friend is having a baby soon, and she’s done her nursery in a soft warm grey and lots of white. All the colourful toys just pop against this scheme. The room feels so calm – which I think new parents can really benefit from 😉

    Great post Ursula,
    Xx.

    • I’m with you Holly. The most important thing is how a colour makes you feel. If it makes you feel calm, that surely is a good thing in a nursery.

  2. I love grey too. My son’s room is painted in Farrow and Ball’s strong White which exudes a very light grey, emphasised by the Farrow and ball All White woodwork. The white furniture in his room is emphasised against the light-ish grey walls.

  3. Grey is a very soft and calming colour and would work really well in a baby’s room as well as throughout the childhood years allowing the room to “grow” with the child. Besides what’s not to love about greys…

  4. Love the nursery. Where can i get that sweet hanging monkey?

    Thanks

    • Hi Katie – thanks for stopping by. The monkey is a Kay Bojesen monkey, a Danish design classic. I don’t know where you’re based, so google the name and see what comes up. In the UK Panic Design sell it.

  5. Love this nursery! Any idea what paint colour this might be?

  6. Wow I live this room

    I have been looking for the perfect shade of grey for few months now!
    Can you tell me where I can get the beautiful giraffe transfer??

  7. The room looks fantastic, I personally like the idea of using the color grey, this is because it really adds personality to the room.

  8. I absolutely love the combination of light grey with yellow for a gender neutral nursery! Its one of my favourite combinations and something I would definitely consider. I was actually inspired by that combination, before I knew about the trend, when I won a grey and yellow hippopotamus at a carnival game – now that hippo is being cared for dearly by me until I have a child one day (which won’t be anytime soon!). I also absolutely adore warm light greys with pastel pinks, combined with white and maybe some mint. Grey’s also make red really pop and look cool! For me, colour is one of the most important things in a room. Everything needs to fit together harmoniously and colour is the first thing I look out for. I’ll lose sleep over colour decisions!!! But lighter grey’s in a nursery is a no brainer for me 🙂

  9. I LOVE the crib!! Any idea what the brand is?

Trackbacks

  1. Eight steps to designing your dream nursery (Part 1) … Guest post from the fabulous Ursula Wesselingh of Room to Bloom! | Lisa Barnwell Pregnancy & Early Postnatal Care | London
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