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How to Design a Monochromatic Nursery (p.s. B+W isn’t your only option!)

There are so many color trends when it comes to nursery design, but one that doesn’t get talked about a whole lot is the monochromatic color scheme. Nurseries don’t have to be full of tons of color—they can be neutral, or even mostly a single color. Monochromatic design might sound a bit scary, but it doesn’t have to be! Here are my tips for designing a monochromatic nursery.

Choose your color wisely. Since the whole space will be predominantly the same color, make sure you really love that color and can see yourself continuing to like it down the road. Keep in mind, it doesn’t have to necessarily be a bold color—it can be something light and soft, or even neutral or white.

Neutral White Boho Nursery
White Modern Boho Nursery by BrianneNicoleBrown

Use a variety of shades. If your chosen color is blue, for example, you can play around with all different types of blues, from baby blue to navy blue. This will give the space depth and interest while still falling into the monochromatic category.

Monochromatic Blue Nursery - Tiffani Theissen's Nursery
Tiffani Thiessen choose blue to highlight for her nursery.

Make use of architectural elements. In the nursery below, the walls, built-ins and molding are all painted the same color. This is a great way to achieve a monochromatic look even if the rest of the room has other colors or textures.

Green Nursery with Molding
Wit & Delight Nursery by Kate Arends

Layer in pattern and texture. If a space is going to have similar colors, it’s important to add contrast and interest with lots of texture. Try using a velvet glider, patterned rug and a furry throw pillow for dimension. Same goes with pattern—try using your preferred hue in different ways!

Tan Monochromatic Nursery
Palmer’s Nursery by CatherineJalia
Blue Monochromatic Nursery with Nautical Theme
This nursery by Emily Alexander has lots of blue in different patterns and textures.

Go semi-monochromatic. If you like the idea of a monochromatic space but don’t want to fully commit, you can always add in a few hints of other colors here and there. The play space below is almost all neutral grays, but there are tiny pops of pastels in the artwork and accessories which help bring it to life. Plants may also be in your nursery, which can add dimension and color as well.

Monochromatic Playroom with Built-in Shelves
Sophisticated Playroom by Amber Nicole Design

Keep in mind that any nursery, even one that’s fully monochromatic, will be filled with toys, clothes and books which will add color and pattern to the space. Unless you plan on keeping everything hidden away in drawers or the closet, you can plan on having some color just from those items.