Neutral Nursery Suggestions

SSCmomma

Opinions please.  This is the bedding we chose for our gender neutral nursery.  I want it to have a tranquil, underwater feel but I'm not sure if blue walls, etc will make it too "boy".  What color walls would you go with based on the crib quilt?  We could probably do a chair rail in the room to do two colors but there are no professional painting/carpetry skills in this house so that would be about as fancy as we could manage.  I have had no luck finding a wallpaper or border that works with it either (The border that matches the set is not available from what I can find).  If you want to see the rest of the bedding set it's the "Beautiful Sea World Animals" set by Geenny.  Thanks in advance.

bebejp

I would do a light mint. Also I'd be careful about matching the paint to this bedding set. As the baby grows into a child the bedding will probably change and you don't want to be stuck with walls specific to a particular set. I think the lightest mint color you can find could match many sets and is neutral.

Valm999

White or very light grey?

nikkitaplin

I would do grey or a light tan, light grey...something like that.  If you do white or off white or some kind of cream you would be open to so many possibilities of changing in the future without worrying about re painting then dress up the 'plain' walls with pictures....just an idea.  I wanted a neutral nursery because I was expecting to have it painted before we found out what we were having so we are doing grey walls with a navy stripe on the walls (one stripe in the middle) then accent with a darker pink if it was a girl and I wanted lime-ish green for a boy but my husband wanted yellow so that's where we are at with our room...good luck deciding!!!

llambrose

I would do the lighter greenish blue color from the quilt

ruemorgan

I would do a light grey

cinderella4282

I just painted DD's room light blue to match a butterfly bedding set. 

Light, tranquil blue I think can go both ways. You can add additional colors with frames and wall art once little one arrives.

DD spent her first two years in a green and tan room with airplanes for a gender neutral nursery.

SSCmomma

Thanks all!

JCWhitey

You're the one who's probably going to be sitting in that room looking at the walls and decorations the most.  Your baby isn't going to care for a few years and by then you can re-do it to their liking.  For now, decorate it in a way that you can tolerate looking at for the next year or two.

I did a football theme for my Team Green baby.  The BJ Raji Fathead made late night feedings way more tolerable.  We chatted.

wintersong139

Our baby has a turqoise/mint/grey thing going on in its crib. We chose it intentionally to be neutral so that we can reuse things. I love it--the pastels are more "baby" than "boy."

Neesey

I painted a Starry Night mural in the baby room and the other walls are light blue. We are team green and this will work for either. I love the under he sea theme. Very cute!

jennypolkadots

We are team green so I know what it's like to plan a gender neutral nursery!

I think the bedding is adorable! The paint color will depend on the amount of light the room gets. Look at Sherwin Williams Sea Salt and Spare White. That is a light aqua palette that is very gender neutral. I actually have Sea Salt in my living room and all of our hall ways, and spare bedrooms and nursery in Spare white. It is not a white at all, it is a very pale blueish gray. My bedroom is Comfort Gray on the same chip and it all flows so nicely and is so pretty. I always get the colors mixed in Behr paint plus primer from Home Depot in eggshell finish. 

Consider doing spare white with a coral accent somewhere. A mirror painted a color similar to Martha Stewart "Punch" would be really great for the ocean vibe. What seems to work well for gender neutral is to balance items. If you pick something with polka dots (usually seen as feminine) maybe choose to have navy blue polka dots. Or add in a more masculine element. I personally don't believe that colors are inherently masculine or feminine and think nurseries should be designed to be a space that the parent's love to be. The baby won't care a bit.

Unless you are really experienced with woodwork I wouldn't attempt a chair rail. A room also looks really weird with a chair rail and no crown molding and it is harder than it looks to get just right. You'll need tools that you probably don't have like a miter saw, laser level, nail gun, etc. We have these and my husband has installed many built ins and things in our home - it is just not easy if you aren't experienced. And if you are pregnant you don't need to inhale saw dust or chemicals so now may not be the time for a reno. 

jennypolkadots

Oh also you can get any color (even sherwin williams colors) mixed in the test pots at home depot. Just make sure they look the color up in their system and do not let them just scan the paint chip. Try several colors before committing becuase seriously you have no idea until it's on the walls and you see it in all lighting conditions. Tone is so important.

Also, Behr paint (and many others) is no-VOC and safe for you to paint with while pregnant. Olympic sold at Lowes is actually the safest. Just ventilate well either way. You might be a total DIYer and know all of this but I wasn't sure so wanted to share