Setting up the baby’s room
You are expecting a baby, and the nursery is starting to occupy your thoughts. When should you get started? Where do you begin? What should you choose now, and what can be left for later?
L’Enfant Roi, an expert in early childhood in Luxembourg, has compiled its approach into a free guide to support you every step of the way. Here are the six questions it addresses.
When should you really start preparing your baby’s room?
Too early, and you risk buying things you’ll never use. Too late, and you’re racing against the clock, especially if you’re planning renovation work or new furniture. There is a right time, and it depends mainly on your situation. Our guide gives you the windows to aim for, month by month, and the margins to allow so you’re not left scrambling at the last minute.
Where should you start so you don’t spread yourself too thin?
Doing everything at once is the surest way to get overwhelmed. There are two areas you absolutely need to prioritise, and several others that can wait. This order of priorities makes all the difference to your mental load, and to your budget. The guide explains the four-zone method we use every day in our L’Enfant Roi nurseries.
How do you design a room that grows with your baby?
A 3-month-old baby doesn’t have the same needs as a 9-month-old, let alone a child who is walking. The room needs to be able to adapt without you having to rethink everything at every stage. That is the spirit of the prepared environment, inherited from Montessori education.
Which decor should you choose, and which should you avoid?
Too many colours, too many patterns, too many objects: what looks cheerful to us actually tires an infant and makes it harder for them to fall asleep. There are a few simple principles for striking the right balance between stimulation and calm, and a few materials to avoid for your baby’s respiratory health.
What are the classic pitfalls when setting up a first nursery?
Buying too much, planning too far ahead, decorating for Instagram, overstimulating visually. The same mistakes come up almost every time, whether it’s your first child or not. Avoiding them doesn’t take expertise, just a clear direction. The guide brings together the most common pitfalls we see among parents-to-be, and the right way to think about each one.
How can you be sure you haven’t forgotten anything?
There’s no such thing as the perfect room, but there is a list of essentials for each corner that is well worth having to hand before the birth. No clutter, no gadgets.
