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

Part of the fun of expecting a new baby is preparing the nursery. Choosing the best paint for baby rooms is also a big step in creating the perfect space for the newest member of your family.

At Oahu Pro Painters, we’ve helped the families of Hawaii prepare bedrooms for their new children for years, and we thought it would be great to share with you some of the best nursery paint colors and decorating ideas.

In this piece, we’ll explore why nursery colors are so important, and the best nursery paint colors for boys, girls, and both!

Why Nursery Color Is Important?

Nursery wall colors affect your baby more than you know. The shades of paint you choose will have a huge impact on your child’s mood and sense of comfort, with colors that are either too dark or too bright overwhelming new babies and creating a sense of chaos.

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

Color doesn’t matter too much for newborns whose eyesight is not yet fully developed, but it will affect your child as they grow…and it’s something that you, the parents, have to look at as well!

Choosing a calming color 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.

Baby Girl Room Colors

Many baby girl room colors are just as cute and girly as pink. And within each color category, there are many shades to choose from…not to mention, an opportunity to mix and match!

Combining girly 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 an extension of your home than a room intended to be as childlike and distant as possible.

Green

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.

Some specific shades of green to consider 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 is the classic color for a girl’s bedroom, and it’s still a great option…just be sure to choose something other than hot pink! Bright pink colors are unsettling and jarring, but muted and pale pink shades look much better.

Try combining pale pinks with grays and blues, and see just how classy and peaceful you can make your new-born 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

Blue is the classic color for boys. Opt for muted blues and you’ll create a calming effect that looks great in bright sunshine and gentle evening lamplight.

Fantastic blue shades for nurseries include:

• Duck egg
• Powder blue
• Aqua
• Turquoise

Gray

Gray 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

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 Colors

Neutral nursery colors work for both genders, or if you don’t know the gender of your baby yet. These beautiful gender-neutral 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

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

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!