Pat-A-Cake, Pat-A-Cake, Painter’s Can: Choosing Colours for the Nursery

Oh baby, congratulations on the bundle of joy on the way! Aside from picking out the perfect name (no pressure), choosing how to paint your newborn’s nursery is one of the biggest decisions to be made before their arrival.

As the two of you will be spending a lot of time together in the nursery, you’ll want to choose gentle colours that work like a lullaby: they should evoke cozy feelings of comfort and calm and will cradle them right to sleep.

Interestingly, infants don’t see in colour at first – their lens on the world is a monochromatic blur. As they develop, they focus on contrasting colours (which is why they’re so fascinated by patterns) and by six months, their vision is close to 20/20. Although no baby has ever confirmed this in babble-speak, experts believe little ones prefer pastels as well as highly-saturated colours.

When choosing what to paint the nursery, you’ll also want to consider:

• Decor: Take colour cues from the nursery’s darling bedding, cute curtains or adorable area rug. It’s much easier to choose the textiles first and then build a colour scheme, rather than paint the nursery and then try to find furnishings and accents that match.
• Transitions: The nursery will likely transition to a bedroom as baby grows from an infant to a toddler and beyond. With a neutral palette, you can easily update and personalize the room’s theme by swapping out accents as your kiddo’s interests evolve.
• Finish: For walls prone to tiny fingerprints and other unmentionable incidents (once they hit the Terrible Twos, you’ll totally get it), you want a paint finish that is easy to clean. Eggshell or satin finishes are durable, stain resistant and hide surface flaws.
• VOCs: Your home is your family’s safe space. Breathe easier about indoor air quality with a product that is certified asthma and allergy friendly, and has zero VOCs and zero emissions.

Uh, we probably won’t be able to make it to the baby shower, so consider the following list of our favourite Benjamin Moore colours our gift for your nursery: