How to Decorate a Nursery With Ladybugs and Butterflies

Nailing a picket fence to the nursery wall enhances the outdoorsy theme.

Decorating a baby's nursery with ladybugs and butterflies gives it a fresh, outdoorsy feel. If parents choose a neutral wall color and decor that can easily be removed or reworked, the room shouldn't need a wholesale redecoration for at least several years. Smart choices make this a theme that can grow with the child and perhaps be used again for subsequent children. Start shopping early for accessories and fabrics to enhance the theme.

Things You'll Need

• Inspiration item
• Bedding
• Wall paint
• White paint
• Paintbrushes
• Fence posts
• Hammer
• Nails
• Wall decals
• Stencils
• Acrylic paint
• Stencil brush
• Curtains
• Stickers

Instructions

1. Purchase an item that you want to base the nursery decor around. Your inspiration could come from the colors in a framed picture that has butterflies and ladybugs, a rug, bedding, a lampshade or other item. This gives you an idea of what colors to use to coordinate the room.

2. Pick your bedding. You do not have to find a fabric that contains butterflies and ladybugs, but choose a color that goes well with your inspiration item or reflects the outdoorsy theme, such as pale green, yellow or blue.

3. Paint the walls in a neutral color that coordinates with the bedding or the inspiration item. Choosing a neutral may save you from repainting as tastes change.

4. Purchase fence posts and paint them white to simulate a white picket fence. Nail them to one wall or decorate all the walls with the fencing. This enhances the back-to-nature ambience and adds charm to the room.

5. Locate butterfly, ladybug or even bird wall decals at craft, paint or online stores. The wall decals are self-adhesive and easily removed if you grow tired of them.

6. Paint ladybugs or butterflies on the walls and even the furniture in your baby's nursery by using stencils, a stencil brush and acrylic paint, available inexpensively at discount, craft or hobby stores. Stenciling requires little time or artistic talent.

7. Hang lace or white eyelet curtains in the nursery if you cannot find any with a ladybug or butterfly motif. These give the room a fresh, airy appeal that works well with the theme.

Tips & Warnings

• Register at a department or baby supply store before your baby shower. This is an excellent way to ensure that the gifts match the theme of your nursery. Many people would rather choose something from a registry than try to guess what the new mom and baby need.

• Use ladybug or butterfly stickers to embellish a plain picture frame, lampshade or other decor. This is an inexpensive way to create a matching accessory.

References

• Pregnancy Today; The Baby's Nursery Part One; Donna Smith