Arranging the baby's room

Arranging the newborn's room is a great pleasure for the future parents. I recommend that you start the project before all the baby accessories (nappies, clothes, cosmetics, etc) take up your finances. You should also paint and lacquer the baby's room early enought, so that the smells evaporate properly before the baby is born.

Before birth

During the first months, our baby slept in a cot placed in out bedroom. Later on, we moved the cot to the room we had arranged for the baby before he was born. It's up to you whether your baby will sleep in your room or in his own room. Spending time with the child together and helping each other out bring partners together, but there are couples who want to preserve intimacy. However, I don't recommend the solution where one of you sleeps with the child, for a longer period, while the other parent sleeps in another room. It causes the parents to become distant and often leads to a marital crisis. If you live in a house with more than one storey, arrange the nursery on the same floor as your bedroom.

Choosing furniture and wall colours

Wood flooring is most suitable for a nursery. It's cosy and warm. I don't recommend covering the nursery floor with cold tiles. I also suggest that you forget about rugs and fitted carpets - they collect dust which can cause allergy. Before you decorate the room with bears, flowers, bow ties and cute baby furniture, remember that the baby grows up fast. I bought children's furniture from a collection which enabled completing the nursery with matching pieces of furniture. I painted the nursery walls with calm pastel colours, and decorated them with stick-on appliques. This way I didn't have to repaint the room after two years. If you're thinking about intense colours, take into account that in the long term aggressive red or orange colour can be tiring and irritating for the baby to look at. The advantage of light colours is also that they create a gentle light, which is great for all kinds of manual games, especially drawing and painting.
When it comes to furniture, you will definitely need: a cot, dresser or changing unit and wardrobe for clothes and other things. Fix the furniture to the walls, so the crawling toddler won't knock the shelf or dresser down on himself. A dresser is more comfortable than the cot-top changer because you can also put all necessary accessories needed for nappy changing, such as baby cosmetics and nappies, to the dresser. A nappy bin placed by the dresser will also come in handy. If you want, you can buy a swinging crib instead of a cot for the baby's first months. It will remind him of the swinging in the mum's womb. However, you will have to move the baby to a bigger bed later, anyway. Many shops also offer moses baskets, which can be easily moved from one place to another. The basket is less spacious than a cot or crib, like in the mum's womb, which makes the baby feel warm, safe and cosy. If you decide to buy a cot, you should definitely buy a new mattress. If either you or your spouse is allergic, pick a mattress made of polyurethane foam (mattress made of coconut fibres or other natural material can cause allergy). The cot should have a movable side, or rails that can be taken off one by one. Remember not to put the cot by the window, where the child is exposed to draught and hot radiator. You can also install a shelf for the baby's first toys and books. Thanks to the shelf, the room will have a childlike atmosphere.
You will also need a comfortable armchair in which you can feed your baby.

Lighting
Lighting in the nursery should consist of both, a ceiling light and a table lamp, which allows you to change the nappy and feed your baby without turning the ceiling light on. If you want to turn on the ceiling light, first switch on the table lamp as babies don't like sudden changes in lighting or bright light (don't use high-wattage bulbs).
Install blinds in the nursery. They will enable the baby to take a nap despite sunshine. I don't recommend hanging canopies over the cot as it only collects dust.