A nursery is more than just the place where a baby take naps and has their diapers changed. A nursery is the first room in which a baby learns how to focus there eyes, learn how to listen to voices, and to feel the rhythm of day and night. Window treatments play a major role in each of these aspects of the nursery.
Window treatments control the amount of light that enters the nursery, they muffle the sound that enters the nursery, they provide control over the temperature in the nursery, and they help to establish the overall mood of that nursery. If the window treatments is selected incorrectly, nurseries will struggle with naps for many months. If they are chosen correctly, however, the nursery will work in a parent’s favor instead of against them.
Parents wish for their nursery to be calm, safe, and to feature their family in some way. At the same time, they dont wish for the nursery to be transformed into a project that is never complete. The good news for parents is that there are ways to beautify the nursery without investing in a huge amount of money or hiring an interior decorator.
A few new treatments for the nurserys windows can resolve a few common headaches with nurseries. The following strategies has been proven to work for numerous parents of newborns and toddlers, and they target each of those common nursery headaches with a solution that allows each parent to still decorate the nursery in a way that is pleasing to the eye every single day that the baby spends in their crib. Blackout curtains are the single most effective window treatment in creating sleep schedules that are predictable and consistent.
Top Window Treatment Ideas for Your Nursery
1. Blackout Curtains
A manufacturer makes blackout curtains with fabric that has a dense lining and is incredibly tight woven so that nearly 100% of the light that enters the nursery is blocked. This is essential to creating sleep schedules that are consistent with the baby’s circadian rhythm. Blackout curtains should have enough space on both sides of the window to ensure that the fabric clears the window during the daytime.
This way, the nursery will be bright and cheerful when the baby is awake, but will be dark and cozy during nap and bedtime hours. Additionally, blackout curtains with rod pockets or grommets provide for better sealing of the curtains against the wall. Parents can test blackout curtains in the parents nursery prior to purchase of the fabric.
Holding the curtain sample up to the window at approximately noon will reveal how much light passes through the fabric. This will help to avoid buying blackout curtains that appear to be dense in the store yet allow for too much light into the nursery after installation of the curtains.
2. Roman Shades
Roman shades can offer the same benefits to the nursery as blackout curtains provide for the nursery, as well as offer a different look for the nursery. The pleats of the Roman shades will free up space within the nursery and eliminate potential hazards within the nursery caused by dangling cords from the blinds. Roman shades with blackout liners and weighted bottoms will allow the shades to hang in an even manner. Additionally, cordless shades can be beneficial to the nursery.
Any dangling cords pose a safety risk in a nursery. Other benefits of choosing Roman shades include the ability for the shades to work well in nurseries that are small in size and have wide windows.
3. Sheer Curtains
Sheer curtains can be added beneath the Roman shades to provide for filtered light in the nursery during the daytime while still allowing the nursery to darken at bedtime. Sheer voiles can be layered underneath the heavier drapes to provide the best of both worlds. During the daytime, the sheer fabric of the voiles will allow for the nursery to remain bright and cozy for the baby but with a glow that is light on the eyes of the newborn. At bedtime, however, the outer layer of fabric can be drawn to provide darkness to the nursery.
The sheer fabric should be selected to ensure that it does not sag when washed repeatedly; spit-up and diapers will land on the nursery windows! Additionally, using sheer voiles underneath the nursery drapes will help to muffle the sounds that enter the nursery.
4. Cellular Shades
Cellular shades, or honeycomb shades, can be extremely helpful for nurseries due to their ability to retain or regulate the temperature within the nursery. The unique construction of cellular shades allows for the retention of heat, or cold air, within the blinds. Winter shades will prevent cold air from the windows from entering the nursery, while the shades in the summer will prevent the nursery from becoming too hot. Cellular shades in nurseries should be of the top-down, bottom-up style so that the parents can lower the blinds to reduce glare from bright light sources in the nursery while the baby is awake, yet still allow the toddler to view the outside world from the crib.
Additionally, the light-filtering shades will reduce glare from bright lights in the nursery during the daytime while allowing the nursery to remain a cozy spot for the baby to sleep. Cellular shades are ideal for nurseries, regardless of how young the child is, because even a few degrees of change in temperature can disrupt the sleep of a baby; the shades work without visible bulk to the nursery.
5. Motorized Blinds
Motorized blinds are an additional treatment that can be added to nurseries for assistance in sleeping babies. Not only will the motorized blinds assist in closing the shades to assist in the sleeping of the baby, they are also useful in parents who must rock their sleeping baby while also manually closing the shades. Motorized blinds come in battery-operated and hardwired versions. These blinds can be controlled from various locations in the nursery and can be set to automatically open and close at predetermined times during the day.
These versions reduce the danger of cords within the nursery and are a safety advantage for babies in their crib. Additionally, parents will use motorized shades every day in nurseries while manual shades will remain untouched.
6. Calming Colors and Patterns
Color and pattern are other elements to consider when outfitting a nursery. Colors that are selected include muted tones, such as sage green, warm gray, and pale butter yellow. These colors is calming and safe for the baby. Additionally, they will not strain a baby’s vision.
High-contrast patterns behind the crib should be avoided because they can be a distraction for a baby who is attempting to fall asleep. However, a bold pattern on a nursery window treatment can become the point of interest in the nursery and tie all of the decorative elements together. Large patterns will not distract from the baby’s sleep yet will stand out in the room. Additionally, the color should be selected to be pleasing in both daylight and at 3 a.m. During the night. Some fabrics may appear serene during viewing in the store but take on a different look under warm lights. Testing fabric samples at different times of the day will prevent expensive purchases of blinds or shades that do not meet a baby’s sleep needs.
7. Valances
Valances often come with the outdated valance styles that may detract from the sleep in the nursery. A simple, tailored valance can work to hide the hardware on the blinds and add softness to the top of the nursery nursery window treatment. Valances should be short enough that they do not interfere with the light into the nursery while deep enough to appear substantial in the room. The current trend in valances are for box pleats or inverted pleats in solid linen or cotton fabrics. Valances allow for decorative elements at the top of the nursery while the shades provide light control in the nursery. This is the best solution for nurseries with interesting architectural details around the windows. Additionally, valances will allow for coverage of interesting design elements with the curtains without losing those features in the nursery.
8. Sound Dampening Fabric
Sound-dampening fabric can be added to the nursery behind the window treatment of choice. The sound-dampening fabric is almost invisible when viewed from the nursery. Yet it can reduce the noise from outside the nursery by as much as 10 decibels. 10 decibels of noise can reduce traffic noise or the noise of lawnmowers in the neighborhood during nap time for the baby. Additionally, the sound-dampening fabric will extend the life of the outer fabric of the blinds by protecting it from the sun damage.
When it comes to treatment of nursery windows, parents should consider that the nursery has a job to do. It should help the sleeping and waking of the child, as well as grow with them from a bassinet to a big kid bed. Each of the solutions mentioned will allow the nursery to fulfill these roles while still preserving the features of the nursery that please the parent.
When the light is correct and the temperature in the nursery is even, the nursery will no longer fight with the baby and will work with them when they enter the nursery. Parents will see this benefit each day and will be repaid in their future, well-rested self.
