Design Inspo: 23 Amazing Gender-Neutral Nurseries

“This nursery is my happy place,” this mom-to-be says of the space she’s designed for her child. “The second I walk into this little bedroom I feel so much peace and light. Like baby’s little spirit is already here.”

A gray palette is a great backdrop for any gender-neutral nursery. Add a pop of color and some bold, graphic accents and you’ve got yourself a stunning baby room.

The contrast of bright white and bursting colors is sure to capture baby’s attention—and some animal decor will steal baby’s heart.

A fun way to give a neutral nursery more pep is to incorporate graphic wallpapers and wall decals—they can help define the space and add energetic prints to the mix.

“I’m a planner, so I wanted to get a head start on the nursery before the gender was revealed. I also knew that I wasn’t a fan of an everything-pink or everything-blue nursery. It’s just so predictable, so I decided gender neutral was the way to go,” this expectant mom says. “My first item I bought was the giraffe at just 5 weeks pregnant. It was one of those things that you see and just HAVE to have immediately! So the theme was surrounded around my impulsive purchase and everything fell into place after that.”

Clean, sleek lines and a gray-and-white color scheme lend a contemporary vibe and make for one cool gender-neutral nursery.  

There are plenty of design tricks for creating a small nursery room fit for a girl or boy. Vertical elements, like a ladder and floor-to-ceiling beading, help draw the eye up, and light, neutral colors keep the space feeling airy and non-gender specific.

A gender-neutral nursery with black and white decor won’t just win over every adult who walks in—it’ll be super eye-catching for your newborn (who in the beginning will see black and white and high-contrast colors best).

“We wanted a gender-neutral room that didn’t necessarily look like a baby’s room—rather, an extension of the rest of our home’s aesthetic,” the mom-to-be says. “When we went to Rome for our honeymoon, we picked up a colorful Italian alphabet poster knowing we would one day hang it on the wall of our nursery. It’s the little details like this that slowly started to make this room come together. We also used several pieces we already owned to help the room feel less juvenile. By doing this, we now have pieces that can grow with the baby as this room transitions into a ‘big kid’ room.”

Soft, textured rugs paired with a pastel painted pattern wall is a perfect gender-neutral look for baby’s room.

Designing a gender-neutral nursery doesn’t mean you have to shy away from color! If you’re after a bright, fun baby’s room, a richly colored crib is just the statement piece you need.

Natural woods and a flash of greenery stand out in this Southwest-inspired nursery. “The rug was the first piece sourced for the space and provided the inspiration for the whole room,” this mama says. “I love nurseries that are a bit outside of the norm, and this one with its earthy, boho vibe is no different.”

“My husband and I believe in breaking gender stereotypes, so we chose not to find out the sex of our baby beforehand,” this expectant mom says. “Most of the gender-neutral nursery inspiration out there is black and white, but I knew I wanted to create a colorful and stimulating room full of whimsy and make-believe. I pulled colors from three art prints by a fave artist, Cat Lee, added a hand drawn ‘wallpaper’ to one accent wall and filled the room with treasures from our travels, my thrifting adventures and from my own childhood. This is my favorite room in the house.”

This deep teal green is a gorgeous color for a gender-neutral nursery—but what makes it really pop is that crisp white crib. Swoon.

“I’ve always wanted to wait until the birth to find out the gender of our children, so creating a gender-neutral nursery was an easy decision,” this mom-to-be explains. “We were inspired by our dog who looks like a fox and went with a woodland theme. I really wanted an accent wall, which to this day is my favorite part of the nursery. It’s a very colorful, inviting room that I think either gender would enjoy!”

“The space was designed based off the light, bright style we have throughout our home,” this mama says. “We only purchased pieces that spoke to my heart that fit within our vision of woven textures, pale woods, whites, cremes, animals and greenery.”

The day after baby was born, these parents had close-up photos taken in the hospital to hang above the crib—perfect for personalizing this gender-neutral nursery.

When your gender-neutral nursery has an all black-and-white palette, you’ve got ample room with play with pattern. Whether it’s your rug, crib sheet, changing pad or throw pillows—or all of the above—why not go big with bold, geometric prints?

“The crib sheet really started my entire vision for this room,” this mama explains. “I loved the vibrancy of the orange against the green and decided we should choose a bold, gender-neutral color for the walls to really make it pop.”

Proof that an all-gray color scheme can still have tons of character. What little boy or girl wouldn’t love those cute, cuddly creatures?

With beautiful, natural woods and sweet woodland creatures, who wouldn’t want to camp out in this gender-neutral nursery?

“We didn’t find out the baby’s sex before she was born, so I wanted a neutral space,” this mom says. “We usually see grey or yellow for gender-neutral spaces and I wanted to do something different. This room shows that navy blue isn’t just for boys!”

“The entire space was based on black and off-white, but we wanted to keep the overall feel light and airy with lots of natural wood touches,” this mama-to-be explains. “Stars always feel fitting for a kids room. This space is set up to be a dreamy place to sleep but also a perfect place to play.”

Updated July 2018

Plus, more from The Bump:

The Ultimate Nursery Decorating Checklist

12 Adorable DIY Nursery Decor Crafts

11 Hacks for Designing a Small Nursery