If you are planning a nursery it is a very special time in your life. You want your bundle of joy to have everything and you want everything to be perfect. In this space you can let your inner child out and be creative and have fun.

Colors - The color palette depends on your decision of knowing the sex baby before or after the birth. You will first have to decide whether you will be finding out the gender of your unborn child. If it is a girl, pinks and yellows would be a great choice; if it is a boy you would go with blues and greens. If you will not be finding out yellows, purples, and mint greens would be a safe way to go. You will want to keep in mind the life span of the room. You probably want to choose colors and furniture that can grow with your child, and still make them happy at age 5.

Lighting - Focus on lighting you can control. Installing a dimmer switch will be a great idea. When you go in the room in the middle of the night to find an ocean of tears you will not want to turn on a super bright overhead light, which will only wake your bundle of joy up even more. You will want low, soothing light to keep the baby as peaceful as possible. A floor lamp with a dimmer will be nice to have tucked in the corner by your rocker. This will add a nice soothing glow when its time to rock baby to sleep.

Accessories - Focus on accents to define gender. For example, yellow walls, deep mahogany furniture, and white eyelet bedding would not lean towards a specific gender. Then when your beautiful baby girl arrives you can accent with pink anything from letters that spell her name on the wall to garbage cans. Bedding, curtains, and your changing table pad can all match and have a theme. There are endless possibilities when shopping for accessories for a nursery.

Furniture - This may be the largest purchase in this room. Safety trumps everything! Make sure you are choosing a well respected manufacturer and there are no recalls. You will want to have a crib, changing table, rocker and possibly an armoire. You can mix and match pieces but most stores these days sell matching sets. The furniture can be any shade of wood from mahogany to white. You will want to choose a shade that goes with the rest of your décor.

Remember this is a very special time for you and your loved ones. Have fun and be creative.