Preparing for your first baby is a time that’s full of anticipation and excitement, and there’s an awful lot to think about. Is your home ready for the new arrival? What can you do in the months leading up to the birth to make those first months as comfortable as possible? From home furniture that offers maximum comfort to effective child proofing, here are some top tips on preparing for the arrival of your first baby.

Carousel Designs

Focus on Themed Décor:

One of the most exciting parts of preparing for your new baby is decorating their room. Although you may not want to start painting or buying furniture until late on in the pregnancy, it’s a good idea to choose the room early on and begin de-cluttering. You can also think about colors and fabrics as well as a theme, if you want to have one. The room decorating process isn’t just a practical experience, it’s a chance to sit in the space where you and your baby will soon be spending time and reflect.

Hansen Architects

Wendi Young Design

Choose Comfy Furniture

As well as thinking about the furniture your new arrival will need in their room, it’s important to think about your own comfort. A rocking chair or nursing chair will make a huge difference and enable you to be comfortable during those night time hours of nursing. Think, too, about how comfy your mattress and bedding is. If you’ve been meaning to invest in more luxurious replacements then now is the time to do it. The sleep you do get will be really valuable, so you want it to be as blissful as possible.

Elizabeth Krial

NFK Furniture

Child Proof Your Home

There are a few things you can do in terms of child-proofing your home. Baby won’t be crawling for a while, but it’s still worth tending to loose electrical wires, plug holes and storage of any potential dangerous items now. You may also want to get a stair gate so it’s there when you need it. In the bathroom, you’ll need your baby bath chair. For peace of mind, you might want to set up baby monitors between bedrooms.

Thom Filicia

Bravo Interior Design

Stock Up the Kitchen 

Once baby arrives there will be little time to do much except getting to know your new arrival and tend to their needs. Stock up the freezer with meals so you can heat them in the microwave when needed. Buy your favorite snacks and make sure you look after yourself and still enjoy a treat from time to time.

Dave and JoieCaesar Stone

By preparing your home for baby early on you’ll have more time to relax and reflect in the run up to the birth. Decorating can add to the fun and excitement, and ensure maximum comfort in those first few months, too.

When it comes to decorating your home this spring, stay far away from the nude, white, and earthy tones seen in our dreary homes throughout the winter. Throw in something exciting – the brighter, bolder, and livelier the better!

The trend this season still features the grey pallet but with a twist! Use strong colours like Yellowcake (a bright yellow), Charlotte’s Locks (a deep orange hue) and Pelt (a luxurious matte purple) to give a zing of colour to your space.

To achieve this lively, trendy, yet subtle look, make sure you get the balance right. Simply add a small splash of colour to your home but don’t overuse it. Introducing too much color can overpower the neutral tones and create a completely new vibe within the house.

HGTV

Pick your main wall within the room and start introducing your color here first. This could be something in your space that has an eye-catching feature on it like the fireplace, flat screen TV, or the wall right behind your bed’s headboard. Hang up an exciting, colorful work of art, paint one wall your fave color, or reupholster your headboard to make sure everything stays on balance with your new feature wall.

Experiment with textures like vinyl matt, silk, and sheen like from Kent Blaxill’s range at Dulux Trade paints to make sure you get the perfect texture, feel, and ambience in your room. Whichever color you decide to choose, whether it is a pastel or a dark earth tone, make sure you get the correct shade and style for you. Choosing the exact color can be tough, so make sure to use a colour matching service, to mix the correct paints together to create your ideal color.

Of course, there are other ways of incorporating color into your home without getting out your painting equipment and masking tape. By simply adding a few accessories like rolling out a new rug, tossing some gorgeous pillows, or whipping out an psychedelic tablecloth, you’ll have the right flow of color into your home in no time.

Settling on one pattern for a room can be tuff, especially if you love to decorate your home with different colors, textures, and prints. From personal experience, I usually decorate with just about any color and pattern that I love, and it all seems to work out seamlessly. My trick to making all these colors and patterns work together in one space? Here’s how:

Stick to one color in different shades – Mix up multiple patterns but make sure to stick to the same color, but in different shades. Most patterns work together because they’re in similar colors. Pull out your swatches of colors and find patterns that match your existing wall color or upholstering. If it turns out hideous, try again till you get it just right.

Build up from one pattern – Use one bold pattern like a striking floor and build up from there using patterns such ad gingham, florals and toile, making sure to keep them in a neutral color like brown, khaki and beige.

Mix up Solids with Prints – Match the swatches of your existing patterns with solid colors to soften up the prints and help them blend in flawlessly. If you are using a couple of prints that seem overwhelming, mixing in a few solids can help tone them down. A gold damask wallpaper can work great with a beige upholstered sofa and white and gold striped curtains. Even a this velvet armchair from Fads is a great starting point to build up with various patterns and shades of purple. Use your imagination and mix up patterns with neutral blocks of color.

Use similar patterns – if you are a newbie at mixing and matching patterns, start off with similar patterns in related shades and smaller prints. White and blue floral wallpaper on walls can work great with white and blue pinstriped throw pillows. A smaller print doesn’t demand too much attention and is easier to match with patterns within the same color family.

Better Homes and Gardens Diedre Shaw Interiors Erica Bierman Ewing Cabinet Company  Margulis Interiors Michael J Lee Niche Interiors Nicole Norris Rikki SnyderTumblr