15 DIY Nursery Projects You Can Actually Do Yourself
Note: While these nursery photos are gorgeous, please know that it’s NOT safe to place stuffed animals, pillows, bumpers, or any loose items inside your infant’s sleep space until Baby is a year old. —Dr. Harvey Karp
The DIY nursery trend has officially become a thing, with parents everywhere trying to personalise and beautify their little one’s spaces. Plus, it is often more fun (and way more affordable) to tackle nursery projects on your own than to pay full price for the look you want. Watching lots of home improvement TV and having social media feeds full of cool blogger DIY ideas for the baby’s room has definitely helped fuel this phenomenon.
Of course, making things for babies is not a new concept by any means. For decades—even centuries—handmade baby booties, bedding, or wall art were among the most popular baby gifts to receive. It is just that these days, we have much better access to tutorials and lots of inspiration to flip through when curious about how to embark on a project.
Working on a clever or beautiful nursery hack in preparation for your baby’s arrival creates sweet memories—and offers a bonding opportunity. Expectant parents can put their artistic prowess to work or try something completely new with a cute DIY nursery idea like those on our list.
From accent walls to creative storage, beautiful art to revamped furniture, to lots of adorable accents of all kinds, these are some of our favourite DIY nursery hacks and decor ideas that you can actually pull off yourself.
DIY Bee Mobile
Photo: Instagram.com/katie.cirino
What is all the buzz about? These busy little felt wonders hanging above the cot from string or twine would be a lovely addition to your baby boy or girl’s DIY nursery!
DIY Nursery Cabinet Makeover
Photo: Instagram/ourlifeinrosegold
Need somewhere to store and display Baby’s clothes but short on closet space and not trying to spend hundreds on an armoire? Look at local antique shops, flea markets, Facebook Marketplace, and the clearance section at your local furniture shops for a dated or one-off cabinet or free-standing pantry, especially one with damaged doors!
Remove the doors with basic tools (power drill will do the trick) and paint to match your child’s room. Affix a tension rod inside for hanging tiny clothes. Use the top of the cabinet for storage and display of trinkets and memorabilia, and store accessories in the area below. As Baby grows, this handy cabinet can serve as a mini-closet for planning a week’s worth of outfits, or be used as a dress-up station in their room or playroom.
DIY Nursery Bow Storage
Photo & How-To: Kate L Photography
Creative bow storage is a must if you are having a baby girl. If bows get tossed in bins they will wrinkle and be forgotten; keep them on display in a cute and organised way and they will stay nice while also getting seen and worn frequently, which is the whole point of buying them!
There are tons of smart ways to store and display bows, like taking a large empty picture frame, stapling chicken wire across the back or hot-gluing rows of ribbon or fabric to create something to affix them to. But those hacks only work for clip-on bows and especially with a young baby, you want something that can keep headbands hung up nicely. This stunning bow storage area was created using a super-affordable rack and hook system from IKEA.
DIY Nursery Sponge-Painted Statement Walls
Photo & How-To: The Blooming Nest
Ditch the expensive wallpapering plan and have some real fun creating a funky, fun wall scene for your little one. Absolutely no artistic talent whatsoever and very little money is required to recreate this sponge technique while painting your baby’s walls. It is a great way to add visual interest in a monochrome or neutral baby room, but this nursery painting hack can be done in absolutely any colour scheme.
DIY Nursery Baby Card Collage
Photo & How-To: Veronika’s Blushing
Sentimental parents might be drawn to keep all those baby shower and new baby well wishes, but to be honest for a second here: Letting them sit in a box is not going to help you enjoy and remember this moment. Instead, consider turning those sweet baby cards into art for your little one’s nursery that you can look at every day.
DIY Nursery Memento Shadow Box
Photo & How-To: The Crazy Craft Lady
Baby’s take-home outfit, hospital bracelets, and other first bits are another adorable DIY nursery idea. Michael’s and Amazon sell affordable shadow boxes you can design and assemble yourself, using small pins or hot glue to secure the items inside.
Once Baby is a 'big kid' and wants this memento down off the walls, you can move it to your room, closet, or another space that will let you see and enjoy it often, remembering those newborn baby days.
DIY Nursery Rainbow Ombré Wall
Photo: Instagram/ourlifeinrosegold
This is another one of those 'artistic' nursery DIY ideas that anyone can pull off. You can do this in primary colours, jewel tones, vintage neutrals, or pastel as shown here. Purchase sample-size cans in five to six colours, or fewer if you would like to custom mix your orange, green, and purple.
Tape up the corners, edges, windows, and ceiling creases with painter’s tape, then use a pencil to lightly mark up where your colours should meet their blending points. Starting with yellow, paint section by section with your primaries. If you need two coats to cover, proceed with the other colours and then let it all dry. If you are only planning to do one coat of each, move quickly to the next step which is filling in your orange, green, and purple and blending the edges with a wet brush. Gorgeous! (See more rainbow nursery ideas!)
Easy DIY Nursery Wardrobe Shelf
Photo & How-To: Fresh Mommy Blog
Another cheap and easy DIY for the baby’s room is to create a hanging rack for those little clothes. This helps you keep special outfits on display, so you will not forget to put them on your baby before he outgrows them, and also serves as a solid spot for jackets, sweaters, and other bulky items that will not fit in the closet among the rest of his clothing later on.
DIY Nursery Acrylic Name Sign
Photo & How-To: Instagram/stanandwally
This simple DIY does double-duty: First, it is a beautiful way to announce your baby’s arrival and name while you are still in the hospital. Then, take it home and hang it on the wall or door of the nursery for an extra-sweet, personal detail that your baby will treasure for years to come.
IKEA Dresser DIY for the Nursery
Photo & How-To: Sarah Sherman Samuel
You do not have to spend thousands of dollars on nursery furniture to have something pretty and functional. If you have your sights set on a pricey dresser, please check out this super simple and gorgeous IKEA dresser hack for your baby’s room first!
DIY Nursery Flower Name Sign
Photo & How-To: Instagram/al3xisss_d
Bust out the hot glue gun and get comfy because this quick and easy DIY is one you can achieve in under an hour and it is going to look amazing in your baby girl’s room!
DIY Nursery Play Gym Hack
Photo & How-To: Live Well Travel Often Blog
If you have been lusting after those uber-stylish, neutral play gyms that are all the rage for babies right now, you are not alone. But many of them can cost a pretty penny—which may not be in your budget. We are all over this brilliant IKEA play gym hack that is simple enough for any parent to recreate using just a few inexpensive materials and will truly pop in your baby boy or girl’s room.
DIY Nursery Closet Built-Ins
Photo & More Information: Instagram/grovehomediy
Standard closets are typically designed for adults and luggage, not tiny humans whose items are significantly smaller than our own. Maximising closet space in the nursery can mean adding costly, custom built-ins and closet systems…or it could be as simple as disassembling old furniture, sourcing scrap wood, and doing it yourself. Check out this shining example!
Homemade 'Custom Curtains' for the Nursery
Photo & How-To: Blesser House
Beautiful curtains are one of those simple touches that really make a nursery pop. Not to mention, they are an easy way to invoke your colour scheme without going too themed, so they will be one of those items that grows with your child as their tastes change throughout the years ahead. But top baby brands charge a lot for curtains, and if you cannot find what is quite right for your look, or do not want to spend that much on them, this easy DIY could be the answer.
DIY Nursery Shiplap Walls
Photo & How-To: Remington Avenue
Shiplap gives such a cool, nostalgic-yet-modern touch to any space. (If you love shiplap, also check out our roundup of farmhouse nursery ideas!). But you do not have to hire the professionals if you would like to achieve this look in your baby’s room. There are plenty of DIY options including contact paper, painting the walls white and (slowly, carefully), free-drawing black lines in it… or adding true shiplap yourself. This photo and the tutorial linked will help you make that third option happen, if that’s what you are going for.
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