Nursery Trends

To help new and expectant parents design their baby’s nursery, long considered one of the most exciting baby-planning experiences, Babies“R”Us revealed seven predominant trends in fashionable nursery furniture and bedding.  The four furniture trends – Regal for the Reasonable, Delicious Color, The Organized Infant and Room to Grow – and three bedding trends – Bedding goes Green… and Brown… and Pink, A Bold Palette and “P” is for Pattern – will help parents design dream nurseries.

“While every parent wants their baby’s room to be special and full of love, ongoing conversations with moms and dads who visit Babies“R”Us stores from California to New York have revealed similar style and color preferences in the furniture and bedding they want for nurseries,” said Cari Shapiro, Vice President, Divisional Merchandise Manager.

The following are predominant trends in nursery décor identified by Babies“R”Us, accompanied by some of the best examples of the furniture and bedding collections representative of these themes.

2008 Furniture Trends 

Furniture Trend #1:  Regal for the Reasonable

Today’s parents want the best for their baby.  When it comes to selecting furniture, affordable luxury is now easily achievable, enabling parents to furnish nurseries with regal furniture at reasonable prices.  Featuring clean lines, two-tone coloring and a convenient drop-side rail, the fun and stylish Scandi by Babi Italia®, available exclusively at Babies“R”Us, is a truly modern yet modestly priced furniture collection.  The savings the Scandi affords, in comparison to similar higher-end versions, will pay for almost one year’s worth of diapers.  The Monaco Collection by Simmons® is a metal crib similar to those found in exclusive boutiques but for less than half the cost.  Its convertible crib and changing table in an antique white finish have a classic unisex design that complements traditional and vintage nursery décor. 

Furniture Trend #2:  Delicious Color

The most in-vogue colors for nursery furniture mirror those found on this year’s contemporary home décor wood furniture pieces.  The chic finishes for today’s fashionable nursery furniture have come a long way from traditional oak and natural nursery furniture collections.  They have transformed into vibrant, mouthwatering shades of dark brown and deep red, as found in Babi Italia®’s Eastside collection in Cherry, the Americana collection by Jardine Baby® in Coffee and the Tampa collection in Espresso by Baby Cache®, and shades of pure, heavenly white, such as the Southampton collection by Bassettbaby® in Vanilla.

Furniture Trend #3:  The Organized Infant

Parents say they need extra storage when bringing up baby, and Babies“R”Us provides it.  With countless shower gifts, special items from loved ones and hand-me-downs, babies have enough clothes to rival a supermodel.  To help parents make the most of space in the nursery when closets, dressers and shelves are filled to capacity, cribs now offer unique storage solutions, too.  Similar to a trundle bed, cribs with shelf space or drawers underneath can help keep an infant’s wardrobe organized.  Carter’s®, widely regarded by moms as a trusted brand for baby, has launched its premier nursery furniture collection exclusively in Babies“R”Us stores.  Its Classic Sleigh collection features generous storage space on the shelf at the base of the crib for piling clothes, blankets, booties, or storage baskets.  And the drawer beneath the regal yet reasonable Scandi by Babi Italia® can ease the crunch on jam-packed dresser drawers.

Furniture Trend #4: Room to Grow

Function and practicality are among the most important considerations for parents when choosing furniture for a nursery.  By selecting furniture pieces that can perform double, even triple, duty, the furniture will grow as the baby grows.  Convertible cribs are an increasingly popular one-time investment - the high headboards and sturdy design enable conversion from a crib to a toddler bed.  Lifetime convertible cribs, on the other hand, can truly last a lifetime by converting into a full bed for an older child.  Combination furniture pieces, such as a dresser that doubles as a changing table when outfitted with a changing pad, can serve a new purpose in the room after baby grows out of diapers. 

Key examples of furniture collections that exemplify this Room to Grow trend include the Manhattan by Baby Cache®, a versatile furniture collection that complements both traditional tastes and modern sensibility with its updated take on the beauty and sophistication of the sleigh bed.  The second of its two premier nursery furniture collections, the all-white Casual collection by Carter’s®, has a clean, modern look and features a Lifetime crib with unique angles to create both a beautiful nursery and stunning bedroom for an older child.  Simplicity For Children™’s Signature Ellis collection in cedar blends contemporary style and function to create nursery pieces that offer long-lasting value and use as both a crib and day bed.  All these collections are available exclusively at Babies“R”Us.

2008 BEDDING TRENDS

Bedding Trend #1:  Bedding goes Green… and Brown… and Pink

Organic bedding, once available only in earth tones, is now vibrant with rich and lively color.  Thanks to natural and eco-friendly dyes to deepen the shades of naturally occurring greens and browns, as well as create less neutral colors like pinks, organic bedding is now colorful.  Exclusive to Babies“R”Us, the Bunny Meadow Nursery Collection by Kids Line™ in sage and brown features images from nature, including bunnies on a grassy field, while its raspberry and brown Butterfly Meadow Nursery Collection features a meadow of flowers. 

Bedding Trend #2:  A Bold Palette

Nursery bedding colors are all grown up.  The lighter, soothing shades of pink, violet, sage and blue are deepening.  Just as bold colors have moved into home décor, stimulating and stylish dark browns, camels, rich raspberries and sage greens are crawling into today’s modern and contemporary nurseries.  The darker palette for baby bedding complements the dark furniture finishes and extends the color scheme of the home into the baby’s room.  The A La Mode Nursery Collection by CoCaLo™ Baby presents a bold color combination of raspberry, sage and brown in an array of floral prints and stripes to create a contemporary and elegant nursery for little girls.  Dark shades of blue, green and tan in Baby Martex®’s Pro Flyer Nursery Collection help launch little boys’ dreams to new heights.  The jungle animal-themed Baby Cocoa Nursery Collection by Lambs & Ivy®, featuring dark browns, tans and greens, makes a baby’s nursery a lively and inviting place to play and sleep.

Bedding Trend #3:  “P” is for Pattern

Similar to the patterns in home décor fabrics, nursery bedding collections are embracing simple and stylish patterns with clean lines.  The most popular patterns for the baby’s room – floral, plaids and geometric shapes – are mixed and matched to create unique and distinctive designs to satisfy the modern and contemporary tastes of today’s parents.  Mod Pod’s Pop Star and Pop Daisy Nursery Collections, featuring patterns of stars and daisies, respectively, along with circles and stripes, offer a bold statement for a fresh take on traditional nursery décor and are both exclusively available at Babies“R”Us.  The Alphabet Soup Nursery Collection by CoCaLo™ Baby, which blends whimsical animals, letters and numbers with colorful and vibrant polka dots, stripes and plaids, creates a chic environment for baby. 

Babies“R”Us is the nation’s premier baby products retailer and specialty store chain and a leader in the juvenile industry.  Since opening its first store in Westbury, NY in early 1996, the company has grown to 260 locations nationwide.  Babies“R”Us features a wide selection of products for newborns and infants, including cribs and furniture, car seats, strollers, formula, diapers, health and beauty aids, bedding, clothing for preemies through size 48 months, toys, and plenty of gift ideas in store and online at www.Babiesrus.com.