Teddy Bear Themes for a Nursery

Use teddy bears to decorate your baby's room.

Teddy bears are one of the first toys given to a baby. Many children form an attachment with their first teddy bear and keep the toy for years to come. When planning your baby's nursery, a teddy bear-themed room allows you to surround your baby with that favorite first-time toy.

Bedding

Home stores and baby supply stores offer a number of bedding choices, ranging in different color options for boys, girls and gender neutral. Some are basic teddy bear patterns on the sheets, bumpers and comforters. Others have teddy bears taking part in different activities, such as playing football or dressed like ballerinas and dancing. If the bedding set you choose does not have a mobile with it, make one using dowel rods, ribbon and small stuffed teddy bears. Alternatively, look for an inexpensive mobile at a consignment shop and replace the existing hanging ornaments with small teddy bears.

Wall Treatments

Wall treatments add additional detail to the baby's room. A basic idea for the walls is to paint them a color that complements the baby bedding. However, if you are looking for detailed ideas, use a stencil to paint teddy bears on the wall. Or paint a mural of teddy bears. Have the bears playing baseball, having a tea party or even having a teddy bear picnic. Either freehand the mural or use an overhead projector to project an image on the wall and trace it with chalk. If you prefer not to paint, use a teddy bear border or wallpaper, or peel-and-stick decals.

Furniture

Add teddy bear touches to existing furniture to tie it in to the room. Use stencils and paints to add bears on the crib or back of the nursery rocker. When choosing paints, opt for non-toxic (volatile organic compound-free or VOC-free) paints to avoid problems with accidental ingestion if your baby chews on it. For dressers, replace drawer pulls with teddy bear-shaped pulls or paint bears on the existing ones.

Toys

Use teddy bear toys around the room to add finishing touches. Place teddy bears on shelves, on top of dressers and on the rocker. Another idea is to build a special bear, at a store like Build-A-Bear. When you place the heart inside the bear, add a special trinket for the baby, such as the identification bracelet from the hospital or a first lock of hair. Or look for bear-shaped, stuffed rocking horses and place one in the nursery. Be sure any bears the baby will actually play with and that are not just for decoration are baby-safe, with tags removed and no parts that baby can choke on.

References

• Baby Nursery Design: Teddy Bear Nursery Theme
• Unique Baby Gear Ideas: Teddy Bear Nursery Theme Ideas

Resources

• Build-A-Bear Workshop: Bears and Furry Friends