You can decorate a whole nursery yourself with a little vinyl, some basic supplies, and a bit of patience. The eleven ideas below cover the walls, the furniture, and the little finishing touches, and every one can be personalized with your baby's name or a sweet slogan. Just keep one rule in mind as you go: the space directly around the crib stays simple and clear, so all the decorating happens where your baby can admire it, not where they sleep.
Decorating the nursery for your first baby is something many parents look forward to. Whether you love to craft or not, being a soon to be parent has a way of bringing out your creative side, and there are so many do-it-yourself baby room decorations you can add to your child's first home.
With the right tools and TeckWrap Craft vinyl, you can turn a plain space into a dreamy nursery. Read on for eleven DIY baby room ideas to inspire you, along with the best vinyl for each project and a few safety notes to keep the room as safe as it is charming.
Most parents would do just about anything to welcome their baby. If you are pregnant and in the nesting stage, planning DIY nursery decor is a lovely way to spend the last stretch before your little one arrives. Preparing the room yourself has benefits for the baby and for you.
The nursery becomes your newborn's own private space, a calm place to grow and settle into their new surroundings.
It gives you a quiet spot to bond with your baby in those early months.
Planning the look and color scheme yourself costs far less than buying everything off the rack or hiring someone to do it.
You get to personalize every detail to your own style, taste, and personality.
Below are some easy DIY nursery projects you can make at home, all using permanent adhesive vinyl and heat transfer vinyl.
Nursery Safety Basics to Keep in Mind
Decorating is the fun part, but a nursery is first and foremost a place for your baby to sleep safely. A few simple habits let you have a beautiful room and a safe one at the same time. When in doubt, keep the sleep space plain and put the decorating everywhere else.
Keep the wall directly above the crib clear. Place wall art, shelves, and decals on a different wall your baby can look at as they grow, not one they sleep under.
Position the crib at least three feet away from windows, blind or curtain cords, and outlets, and never hang anything with strings near it.
Enjoy a mobile only in the early months. Once your baby starts pushing up on their hands and knees, usually around four to five months, take it down.
Anchor dressers, shelves, and other heavy furniture to the wall so they cannot tip.
Keep the crib itself bare while your baby sleeps, with just a fitted sheet on a firm mattress.
Let freshly made vinyl projects cure and air out for a day or two before they go into the room, and choose quality vinyl so the space stays fresh.
What You Will Need
Most of these projects share the same short supply list. Gather these before you start and you will move through each idea smoothly.
A cutting machine such as a Cricut or Silhouette, plus a weeding tool and transfer tape.
A few basics you may already have at home: wood offcuts, fabric, acrylic or spray paint, and simple hand tools.
11 DIY Nursery Decor Ideas
Decorate your child's nursery in a personal way that shows how much you love your little one. Here are eleven ideas to spark a space full of warmth and charm, each with a vinyl suggestion to match.
1. Impressive Backdrop
Turn a blank wall into a starry night scene, and add a moon and clouds to finish it. It is calming, gender neutral, and visually interesting. Use Glow in the Dark Adhesive Vinyl so the stars glow once the lights go off. Safety note: put a busy backdrop on a wall your baby faces, not the wall directly above where they sleep.
2. Wall Art
Add art the baby can look at, like a village scene, a phrase such as "Make Your Dreams Happen," rainbows, unicorns, or a garden with sunflowers and birds. It also hides little wall imperfections. Try Matte and Glossy Adhesive Vinyl, or UV Color Changing Vinyl near a window for a color that shifts in daylight.
3. Name Board
Help your child recognize their name early with a board in bold, colorful lettering. Use any wood you have at home and add little flowers or animals like a giraffe or teddy bear. Adhesive or heat transfer vinyl both work here. For extra sparkle, use Metallic or Holographic HTV, or Shimmer Adhesive Vinyl.
4. Wooden Baby Gym
Skip the pricey store-bought version and build one from wood you have around, using a file, chisel, drill, and Danish oil. Keep it simple and hang soft, colorful toys or rattles from it. Decorate the frame with Colorful Pearl Adhesive Vinyl to make it more stimulating.
5. Laundry Bin Decor
Add a fabric laundry bin for tiny clothes that later doubles as a toy organizer. Dress up a wood or plastic bin with fabric and cheerful designs in Ombre Glitter HTV. A cute idea is a giraffe face on the lid with its body patches down the sides, or a ladybug on top.
6. Baby Clothes Rack
An open clothes rack is a budget friendly way to show off all those adorable outfits. Color coordinate the clothes each week and use matching hangers for a tidy look. Add a wall decal above it in Metallic Satin Chrome Adhesive Vinyl with a slogan like "What Will The Baby Wear?"
7. DIY Mobile
Introduce shapes and animals early with a mobile of stars, trees, rainbows, elephants, bears, and more. Match your color scheme, or use Holographic Craft Vinyl for a sparkling, star-like effect. Safety note: enjoy the mobile in the early months only, hang it well out of reach, and remove it once your baby can push up on their hands and knees.
8. Pom Pom Rug
A soft pom pom rug is great for tummy time and floor play. Mix colors for fun, or keep it versatile with brown, white, and black. Add fabric patches decorated with iron-on vinyl, plus a name or a slogan like "It's Going To Be A Great Day!" PU Heat Transfer Vinyl and its bright colors work well here.
9. Teepee Tent
A personalized teepee is easy to make from a few wooden rods and the fabric of your choice, painted with acrylic or spray paint. It is great for play now and reading later. Customize the fabric with PU Heat Transfer Vinyl or Glow in the Dark HTV. Safety note: use battery fairy lights rather than mains-powered ones, and keep any cords tucked safely away.
10. Crochet Teether and Rattle
A double duty teether and rattle is useful and looks sweet on a shelf. You will need cotton yarn, beads, a teether, twill ribbon, needles, scissors, polymer clay, tape, and fiber stuffing. Skip the vinyl on this one, since your baby will put it in their mouth.
11. Wooden Moon Cradle
A wooden moon cradle is a beautiful piece to rock your baby in. Paint it with acrylic or varnish it to bring out the natural wood, then personalize it with a name or a slogan like "Starry, Starry Night" using Matte and Glossy Adhesive Vinyl, which comes in plenty of shades to match the room.
Design Tip
Newborns see bold, high-contrast patterns most easily, so black and white or strongly contrasting art gives their developing eyesight something to focus on. Save the soft, muted palettes for the calm corners of the room, and place the punchier designs where your baby spends their awake and play time.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is best not to. Keep the wall directly above the crib clear and put art, shelves, or decals on another wall your baby can enjoy as they grow. Anything heavy or stringed above the sleep space is a hazard, so let the decorating happen where your baby plays and looks around rather than where they sleep.
Yes, when you use it sensibly. Apply it to walls, wood, and fabric items rather than anything your baby will chew, let freshly made projects cure and air out for a day or two before they go in the room, and choose quality vinyl. Keep vinyl off teethers, rattles, and other items that go in the mouth.
Remove it once your baby can push up on their hands and knees, which is usually around four to five months. Before then, keep it hung well out of reach. After that point, dangling pieces become something a curious baby can grab or pull into the crib.
Use permanent adhesive vinyl for hard surfaces like a name board, wooden gym, or moon cradle. Use heat transfer vinyl with a heat press or iron for fabric projects like a teepee, rug patches, or a laundry bin cover. Both come in plenty of colors and finishes to match your color scheme.
The second trimester is a comfortable time to start, since you usually have the energy to plan colors, cut vinyl, and set up furniture before the tiredness of the final weeks sets in. It also leaves time to let painted and vinyl projects cure well before your baby arrives.
These are the exact same texture and sheets that I am able to buy at Walmart. The green shirt is using your product, step by step instructions and the black is the product that I ordered from Walmart at 1/2 the price
I bought this big roll awhile back and never had to worry about strategically cutting my designs to fit into a short roll. I had all the vinyl in the world and I knew that I could easily take on big projects because my mega roll of 001M was always there. The peace of mind was definitely worth the purchase.
