Why you shouldn’t ignore the ceiling in your baby’s nursery

“I’m thinking about decorating the ceiling in my baby’s bedroom but I’m not sure where to start. Any ideas?”

According to an AkzoNobel survey, over 70% of parents see colour and aesthetics as a key priority when decorating their baby’s nursery.

Babies spend a great deal of their time staring up at the ceiling before they learn to roll and crawl, so why not give them something interesting to look at?

Painting the ceiling is a great opportunity to think outside the box and have some fun with your decorating, but it’s also a great way to create a stimulating environment for your little one without having to sacrifice your own style elsewhere in the nursery.

Here are five ceiling decorating ideas that will capture your baby’s imagination:

Playful stencils

Stencils are an affordable and easy way to brighten up a nursery ceiling. You can also use them to work a bold accent colour into your scheme without overpowering the room.

Take your pick from the hundreds of stencil designs available online – objects that belong in the sky, such as planes, birds and hot air balloons are a fun and fitting choice.

Choose a bright paint for the stencil colour and set it off against a lighter background. Vivid orange on pale blue or white is sure to catch your baby’s eye.

Which paints?

10RR 39/263
30GG 83/075

Dreamy clouds

For a subtle scheme with a whimsical feel, why not recreate a summer sky on your nursery ceiling?

The pale blue backdrop creates a soothing effect and sits well with practically any colour, leaving you free to paint your walls however you please.

Finish the look with fluffy white clouds, either stencilled or daubed on with a sponge.

Which paints?

70GY 73/124
70GY 83/060

Starry sky

If stargazing is more your thing, you can just as easily copy the sky at night.

For the background, choose a rich shade of blue – nothing too dark or the room may start to feel a bit gloomy.

Then you can either stencil on your stars or, for extra night-time sparkle, put up glow-in-the-dark stars or twinkly fibre optic ceiling lights.

Which paints?

10BB 17/269
90BG 72/063

Stimulating stripes

Young babies are fascinated by high-contrast patterns, which makes stripes the perfect choice for a nursery room ceiling.

If you’re feeling bold, go for a circus tent theme in red and white. If you’d prefer a more soothing feel, try aqua and white – just make sure the aqua is vibrant enough for your little one to make it out against the white background.

For an on-trend alternative to stripes, why not try chevrons instead?

Which paints?

56GG 64/258

Mobile magic

Babies become more and more fascinated by movement as they develop, so hanging a mobile from the ceiling above their crib is a quick and easy way to grab their attention.

Find a mobile in eye-catching primary colours then tone them down by painting the ceiling above in a restful, neutral tone such as pale grey.

Which paints?

10BB 73/039

Top tip

If you don’t want to decorate the entire ceiling, you can achieve a similar effect by painting the coving or a single stripe around the top of your nursery in a contrasting colour. Make sure your baby’s crib is close enough to the wall that they can see the stripe.