Gender Neutral Baby Nursery & Bedroom Ideas

Your child’s bedroom is a space for them to relax, rest, and explore their creativity, personality and style; so when designing their room, you want to give them the freedom to discover all ends of their personality without limiting them to gender codes!

It’s important for children to be in touch with both their masculine side and their feminine side, and the way you style their room should help them develop their own personal style by offering a little bit of both.

Boys can love pink, girls can love blue, and creating the perfect gender-neutral baby nursery means letting go of any restrictions or expectations and instead focusing on creating a balanced, happy space for your child.

While bedding and décor can change over time, you don’t necessarily want to be repainting their walls every time they’ve got a new favourite colour. Ideally, you want a look that they can enjoy from early childhood into their teens and beyond. The bedroom they grow up in will be a cherished place for the rest of their lives, so creating a space they can truly adore is important.

So, let’s explore some of the best colours for gender-neutral bedrooms, neutral nursery ideas, how and where to use them, and what to pair them with!

Reds & Oranges

Red is a lively colour loved by boys and girls alike, so it’s a great addition to a gender-neutral bedroom, when it’s not overdone! Red can bring so much warmth to any room, but bright red walls might be a tad too garish, especially for a neutral baby nursery where lighter tones work best.

Your child needs an environment that, while fun and exciting, should create a calming space for rest. One reason why some kids struggle to get to sleep is because their bedroom is too messy and overstimulating – they need a bit of peace to get to sleep with ease. So, while bright colours are more than welcome in a little one’s bedroom, going too far with it might get in the way of their sleep hygiene.

If you’re keen on red walls, go for more muted or pastel tones rather than a bolder red – or if you go for bright red, limit to just one wall or section. Darker reds like maroon and burgundy will offer a more calming, regal look; while pinker reds, salmon, peach and more orange tones will be more inviting than bright, saturated red walls.

Having said that, red works wonders in décor and as accented details on children’s furniture. For a neutral look, red pairs best with blue, yellow, orange, or pink. Darker reds work great alongside greys, white and navy blue for a more sophisticated teenager’s room.

Greens

Green can give any child’s bedroom a more natural atmosphere, and it’s a great companion for so many different colours. Pale green and light pink makes for whimsical combination, light green and yellow creates a calm, summery vibe, green and blue is a great pairing for outdoorsy children, while bright green and orange will bring a little extra zest to their room.

A brighter green inspires a playful, active environment. It may be too loud to cover the entire room, but would be terrific as a feature wall or for bedding and décor in a lighter gender-neutral bedroom.

Pale green can create the illusion of space in a smaller room, and is complemented wonderfully by natural light. Light greens are perfect if your child loves the outdoors and you’re designing a room packed with nature-inspired décor. Pair light green walls with colourful wall stickers like a scratchable world map and cute animal prints, add a snuggly orange rug and go for taupe wooden furnishing for the ultimate earthy kid’s room.

If you want to tone it down – go for duck egg. Duck egg is a more muted cyan colour that creates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. It’s elegant without becoming dull or lifeless, and pairs wonderfully with so many other colours. Whether you go for duck egg walls with antique white furnishings for a calming look, or energise it with bolder, brighter décor, duck egg is a versatile choice for a gender-neutral bedroom that they’ll never grow out of. If you’re looking for neutral colours for baby rooms, duck egg is a soothing, timeless choice!

Yellows

Yellow brightens up a room and creates an airier, happy atmosphere. Yellows work year-round because they can heighten the joy of summer, and hide the gloominess of winter.

Bright yellows are so energising, while muted yellows offer a cuter, enchanting look. Yellows can be paired beautifully with all sorts of looks and styles. It can be more feminine when styled with deep purples and light pinks, or you can bring some vivid contrast to the room by pairing it with primary colours. Like light greens, lighter yellows are great for opening up a room and making it look and feel bigger and more spacious.

One of our favourite combos for a gender-neutral bedroom is light yellow and baby blue. Typically, light yellows lean feminine while blue is known as a boy’s colour – but pairing them together creates a balanced look for kids to explore all sides of their personality. The same can be said for pairing light pinks and blues together.

Pairing muted tones works great in neutral baby rooms and bedrooms for toddlers and young children, and as they get older, you can start to bring in some bolder colours in their décor.

Blues

Blues are always a great, versatile choice for any bedroom. Blues can work so well with so many themes – whether you go for a nautical look, a space-inspired room for a budding astronaut, or perhaps a Frozen-themed room for an Elsa-in-the-making; blue is a brilliant backdrop that works with just about any look or style.

Bold, bright blues will brighten up a darker bedroom and inspire creativity. Baby blue is perfect for little ones when paired with other muted tones, and works just as well as they get older by bringing in some darker décor to contrast. Like baby blue, sky blue creates a relaxing, calm atmosphere to doze off in. Go for sea blue for future captains, or blue and white stripes for the classic sailor look!

Dark blues and navy offer a more sophisticated style, completely transforming the feel of a room with a touch of luxury – great for older kids and teens. Dark blues work better as a feature wall or for furniture and décor against lighter walls. A Prussian blue furniture set paired with eggshell white walls and brighter blue and red décor makes for a charming, mature look for a growing boy’s bedroom.

Blue and purple is another great combo for a gender-neutral bedroom!

Pinks & Purples

Pink is perfect for any bright and bubbly kid. Whether you have a boy or a girl, pink is a delightful, playful colour that will bring joy to their bedroom. Meanwhile, purple is the ultimate gender-neutral colour as it blends pink and blue together!

Pink, orange and red together create a vibrant atmosphere, and offer striking contrast if you have darker grey furniture in the room. Deep purple and orange together offer that stunning summer sunrise look; an energetic combination that can be styled to suit boys and girls alike.

Adding pink details to a predominantly blue room is a great way to bring a touch of femininity without strictly going ‘girly’. Pink and blue are a fantastic team for a gender-neutral bedroom, offering the best of both worlds and allowing them to express their ‘boyishness’ and ‘girliness’ in equal measures.

Whites & Greys

Of course, if you’d prefer to keep the walls simple and adaptable and let the décor do the talking, white walls are always an elegant choice. Having said that, classic white might feel a tad lifeless or cold – so while the differences may at first seem subtle, it’s important to pick the perfect white to help keep the room vibrant and welcoming.

Eggshell white or creams offer a more characterful, warming look for walls. Antique white works wonderfully on wooden children’s furniture, offering a more elegant style, while silk white offers a cleaner look to contrast with patterned wallpaper or bright colours.

 

Looking for more inspiration for your child’s nursery? Check out our must-have furniture for a nursery article.

author

About the author

Séve

Séverine, or Séve for short, is a French national that moved to the UK from 27 years ago! She has 2 “just-about” grown-up children and has been working for the children’s furniture industry for over 20 years!
When someone asks her what she does for a living, she says: “I sell the best bunk bed in the UK”! And she can do it well with such a wealth of experience! She likes nothing more than a beautiful, sturdy piece of children’s furniture that will last a life-time! When she is not busy helping her community and village charities, Séve loves nothing more than to create some French-Anglo dishes for her friends and family! She has even been known to feed over 100 guests at charity event runs!