Designing a Baby Room: How to Choose the Best Paint Color for a Nursery

One of the best parts of expecting a new baby is preparing the look and feel of the nursery. And when you’re planning out this sanctuary for your bundle of joy, choosing the nursery color scheme is the first big step in creating the perfect space for the newest member of your family.

At Oahu Pro Painters, we have been helping families in Hawaii for many years in residential painting and choosing nursery paints for their new children, and we thought it would be great to share with you some of the best nursery paint colors and decoration ideas.

Below, we’ll explore the reasons why selecting the right nursery colors are so important, and we’ll provide you with some great tips and teach you how to pick the best nursery paint colors for boys, girls, and gender neutral nursery color ideas as well!

Why Nursery Color Is Important?

Nursery wall colors are more than just an aesthetic preference for their parents; these colors affect your baby more than you probably realize. The shades of paint you choose will have a huge impact on your child’s mood and sense of comfort. For example, selecting colors that are either too dark or too bright may overwhelm new babies and create a sense of chaos.

There are many subtle, classy, and comforting nursery paint color ideas for you to choose from, which will fit both your personal color preferences for your home and help you keep your baby happy and feeling safe.

Of course, with a newborn whose eyesight is not yet fully developed, color doesn’t matter too much at the very beginning, but it will affect your child as they grow. And after all, as a parent, you’ll be spending a lot of time in your baby’s room. So it’s something that you’ll have to enjoy looking at as well!

What Paint Is Best for a Nursery?

Choosing a calming color for your baby’s room doesn’t mean picking from shades of white. Whether it’s a gray nursery or a purple nursery, there are shades of color you can choose that you and your baby will find soothing.

It also doesn’t mean that you have to select traditional pinks and blues for your nursery. While there’s nothing wrong with those colors, there is a whole spectrum of colors and options to choose from beyond pink and blue when it comes to nursery paint schemes. If you’re interested in choosing some other colors from the rainbow but aren’t sure where to start, contact us and we’ll be happy to provide you with a color consultation for your baby’s nursery.

Baby Girl Room Colors

There are many baby girl room colors that can be cute and girly beyond. Depending on which color category you start with for your baby girl nursery colors, there are many shades to choose from. It also gives you a fantastic opportunity to mix and match!

For girl nursery colors, combining feminine colors with earthy tones or whites is a great way to make a room feel classy. That helps make the nursery feel like more of a composed extension of your home than a room intended to be as childlike and distant as possible.

Let’s look at some of the color options for your baby girl’s nursery:

Green Nursery Paint Colors

Green is an excellent color for a baby girl’s bedroom. It brings with it the connotations of nature, but when you choose the right, muted colors, it is relaxing, delicate, and helps relieve stress and anxiety. Earthy, muted, and pastel shades of green look great with beige and white. Combine muted green walls with earth-tone or eggshell-colored furniture for a classy and comfortable look. Mint green nursery paint colors are also becoming more popular and can work well in a nursery.

Some of the best green nursery paint colors include:

• Mint
• Seafoam
• Blue-green
• Pastel green
• Moss green
• Sage

Purple

Purple walls give you a hint of femininity without going full pink. Deep purple colors are very warm and are generally a bit much for a nursery, but paler purple colors create a comforting environment that almost makes you feel like you’re relaxing in a field of lavender.

Combine with light blues and earth tones, and you have a feminine baby girl’s room that feels fresh, light, and clean.

Just as with green, choose paler shades of purple. Some good examples include:

• Lavender
• Violet
• Pink-purple
• Raspberry purple
• Pastel purple
• Lilac

Pink

Pink, of course, is the classic color for a girl’s bedroom, but don’t worry about it being overplayed if it’s your preference; it’s still a great option. Just be sure to choose something other than hot pink! When looking in the pink color spectrum, choose light pink paint colors for nursery rooms. Bright pink colors are unsettling and jarring, but muted and pale pink shades look much better.

If you’re worried about the pink being overwhelming, try combining pale pinks with grays and blues. You’ll see just how classy and peaceful you can make your newborn daughter’s bedroom.

Some great pink colors to choose from include:

• Peachy pink
• Pastel pink
• Dusky pink
• Blush

Baby Boy Nursery Colors

A blue baby room is probably your first port of call when decorating for a little boy, but there are some other great options to consider too. We work with a range of baby boy room colors that look great in combination with other earthy, delicate, and light colors.

Blue Nursery Paint Colors

Blue is, of course, the classic color for boys. But you don’t need to overdo it with a strong blue color. Opt for muted blues and you’ll create a calming effect that looks great in bright sunshine and gentle evening lamplight. A nice light blue nursery paint color, in the context of a well-designed room, is simply hard to beat.

Fantastic blue shades for nurseries include:

• Duck egg
• Powder blue
• Aqua
• Turquoise

Grey Nursery Paint Colors

A gray nursery color doesn’t have to be boring. There are many amazing shades of gray that go great with white, blue, and other soothing colors.

Gray is a great color for both walls and ceilings and can be used on feature walls also. With delicate grays on your walls, you have more room to go bright or adventurous with furniture and toys.

Some great grays include:

• Silver
• Dove gray
• Blue-gray

Orange Nursery Paint Colors

Orange is a great addition to a nursery, though it may be best used as a complementary color. Try combining orange with blues and whites, and see just how warm and comforting it can be.

As with pink, choose a paler, more delicate orange rather than a bright shade. Some great options include:

• Mustard
• Pastel orange
• Clementine

Gender-Neutral Nursery Color Ideas

Neutral nursery colors work for both genders, if you don’t know the gender of your baby yet, or even if you need nursery colors for boy or girl twins! These beautiful gender-neutral and unisex nursery colors create the same childlike vibe you expect from the others and can be combined with other gentle colors to create something unique.

Earth Tones

Earth tones are varied and can be as pale as sand or as dark as deep as terracotta.

Some great options that we love include:

• Burnt sienna
• Moss
• Red-brown
• Gray-blue
• Terracotta
• Tan

Brown

Brown is a great addition to any nursery and gives you lots of room to introduce other colors. Earthy brown tones can be almost as bright as beige and orange, while darker browns like chocolate may be used in conjunction with other colors.

• Chocolate
• Pale brown
• Pastel brown

White Nursery Paint Colors

White is easily overlooked when painting for a baby, but there’s a reason it’s one of the most popular wall paint colors!

Some of our favorites for babies’ rooms include:

• Pearl
• Cream
• Ivory
• Vanilla

Tips for Choosing a Nursery Paint Color

1. Consider Your Room Size

Before you start choosing your nursery color scheme, consider the size of the nursery. If you have a smaller nursery, it would be a mistake to choose darker, richer colors, as these colors absorb light and can make a small nursery look even smaller. Light nursery room colors can make the room feel bigger than it is.

2. Add Accents

If you want to experiment with a bold nursery room color, consider painting an accent wall and/or using bold color accessories to match your accent. Simply painting one nursery room wall a bolder color can add depth to the room, making it appear larger. Just make sure your accent color matches your overall nursery paint schemes!

3. Pick Paints that Can Grow with Your Child

Think long-term when it comes to your paint colors. Your baby girl's nursery colors may look cute now, but she may want something different later. Rather than choosing a primary color or a pastel, consider selecting a more sophisticated color that can grow with your child, such as mint green nursery paint colors, or even look at some gender-neutral nursery color ideas.

4. Remember Your Furniture

Whether you have already purchased your baby furniture or you’re reusing the furniture from a previous child or relative, consider the style and color of the furniture before you select a nursery color scheme. If it doesn’t fit and you can do so, you can even consider refinishing or repainting your furniture to match your desired colors.

5. Minimize the Chaos

Before opting for something bright and bold, keep in mind you’ll be sleep-deprived and changing a screaming baby in that room! Do you want a loud color contributing to the overall chaotic energy, or would you rather select a calming soft color that can help to dial down the vibes?

6. Choose Colors that Complement Natural Lighting

When your little one is born, their eyes are particularly sensitive to bright light. You’re going to be using natural light rather than artificial harsh lighting whenever possible. Keep that in mind when you select your nursery room color scheme because that kind of lighting can have a big impact on how colors appear. For example, pale yellow nursery paint colors tend to look great with natural light.

7. Settle on a Style or Theme

Consider selecting a style or theme for your room before you pick colors. Certain styles have limited color palettes, so if you’re going for a rustic look, stick with neutral earth tones such as grey nursery paint colors. The same goes for themes. If you’re going to be filling the room with dinosaurs, try blue nursery paint colors to evoke the sky.

8. Find Fabric First

You can also reverse-engineer your room color by going shopping for bedding and curtains first! If you fall in love with some particular sheet sets or drapes, you can then select a nursery room color to play off of what you’ve selected. Always go shopping for fabrics before you make any paint purchases.

9. Test Colors on Your Wall

The paint colors you see in the store may look different on your wall. Before purchasing a giant jug of paint for your nursery, get some samples and paint a small patch on the wall so you can see how the color will look. And while you’re at it, select a semi-gloss finish durable paint that can handle some dirty fingers!

10. Choose Colors that Go with Other Rooms

You may be completely settled on a nursery room color scheme or theme, but it’s always a good idea to keep the vibe of your overall house in mind. You don’t want your nursery to stick out like a sore thumb. For example, if your home is minimalist and neutral, perhaps white nursery paint colors are the best idea!

Conclusion

These shades should give you lots of baby room paint ideas, but if you’d like to find out more, don’t hesitate to call the Oahu Pro Painters team!

We offer color consultations with our team of local professional painters, helping you choose the right color, the right paint, and the right style.

Contact the team for a consultation and a free quote today!