The key to a beautiful nursery is to stick to a color palette and keep things peacefully simple. It can be easy to go overboard (HA – what a great pun!) on a nautical nursery and overwhelm the room with lighthouses, boats, animals, stripes, ropes, and everything ocean related. This is not what you want. Think clean lines and sweet, comfortable pieces. Choose your accents wisely. A few staples all nurseries should have: A place to store clothing: A good closet setup or a dresser. A place for baby to sleep (even if it goes unused for the first 2 years): You can do a crib, a sweetly laid out floor bed, or even full mattress that baby will use as he grows. A great chair: You will spend so many hours in this chair. Really, really, really make sure you love it. It will be passed from child to child. You will feed your baby, rock your baby, probably fall asleep yourself in it. Storage for books and toys: For a nautical nursery, I would lean more toward a vintage chest to hold toys, or wooden box crates for books. You can always stick with book shelves and a toy box too. These items will be the base of the room. Make sure to choose colors or stains that will fit with the paint and overall look you are going for, but remember that you may redo the room down the line and furniture is not a cheap thing to replace. Try to stick with pieces that can be used throughout the years (and be handed down to future siblings). That, or choose pieces easy to paint over and refurbish into something new down the line.

Ideas for Statement Nautical Nurseries:

Paint: A neutral wall color allows more wiggle room with fun statement art or pieces, making sure to use long window curtains to tie the colors together.

Source Keep the walls simple and go all out on the ceiling: (If this is your ceiling, let us know so we can give you credit!)

Artwork or Wall Art: This is a must. You need something sophisticated, yet childlike for the walls.

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Creative Rope Use: Whether it is functional, as a curtain tie, or decorative on a mirror, ship wheel, or wrapped around a trash can or laundry basket, rope screams “nautical.”

Project Nursery Bedding: You will want multiple sheet sets as back up, but this is an area you will have to be picky in. Bumpers and pillows and such are not safe to have in the crib, as they increase the risk of SIDS. So stick with just a crib skirt and sheet. You can find or make a complimentary quilt to hang on your chair for when baby is older too. Vintage map sheets, anchors, stripes, whales, any will do!

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Mobile: You can easily DIY a mobile that would be equally as cute, and more special made-from-mom sentiment as any of these.

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Rug: Rugs seem to tie a room together; giving it that final touch. A great “knot” rug is a simple way to pull the theme together without overpowering the room. Simple stripes would work too.

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Books: The options are endless, but be sure to stock up on ocean themed books to have laying around.

Momentos and Decorations: These are the pieces you have on a shelf or sitting in the chair. They are so cute, that you eye them each time you walk into the room. If you can find pieces that have sentimental value, that’s icing on the cake. This whale from My Baby's Heartbeat Bear records your baby’s heart beat in utero and will save it for a lifetime. Plus, it is the softest and cutest accent piece!

Add a touch of the ocean to a coat hanger:

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