Pimp my crib

Nursery walls needn’t be covered with tacky teddies – a baby’s bedroom can be just as stylish as the rest of your home. Check out these gorgeous schemes for cool kiddies…

We love this funky Penguin Classics themed nursery, belonging to Ideal Home‘s Interior’s Editor, Heather Young. Grey walls, white painted floorboards and vintage accessories combine to create a stunning scheme that’s child-friendly but visually fabulous. The wall art looks designer, but Heather made it all herself by stretching Penguin tea towels (available from John Lewis) onto inexpensive artist canvases. She cut tea towels into three to sew co-ordinating cushions, and framed vintage Penguin books for the finishing touch. Cheap and chic!

I also like this House to Home all-white bedroom, where the colourful toys, books and clutter are turned into a fantastic feature wall display. Check out the cool cots, too:

The Laura Ashley sea-gull wallpaper in this blue boy’s nursery gives the room a soft, dreamy, nautical feel:

A restful white scheme can be brightened up with cute wall stickers and an eye-catching Union Jack flag rug. Style statement!

I love the pretty fabric-lined glass-fronted drawers, the stylish letters, and the amazing Eames-style rocker chair in this lovely room:

It just goes to show that nurseries can be nice. And you could easily adapt all the schemes shown here as your child grows older, so there’ll be less decorating to do in the future than if you plaster the walls with fairies, teddies etc now, which will (one day!) be considered ‘babyish’ by your little ones! – Ellie