Baby's room - how to decorate?

[Mombino]

Hi. I'm currently 17 weeks and will be starting to put baby's room together soon. Gradually, of course, but I'm single and don't have help so I want to get everything done before I get too big and tired to do anything!

I'd love to go pinterest crazy and create my dream nursery with newly painted walls and borders and all that jazz, but I'm stuck in rented accommodation where I can't redecorate AT ALL. I'm also stuck with all the furniture in the room as there's nowhere to move it to (it belongs to the landlord, not me, so I can't sell it), so turning the room into a baby's den will be a little challenging. We'll be living in this house at least until baby is 16 or 17 months old.

The room as it currently is: walls that I believe started off a yellowy-beige colour but are now faded and a bit gross. The carpet is thin and a dark red colour. There's a single bed, armchair, wardrobe, desk, shelf, drawer unit, bedside table and two windows, both with really old yellow curtains.

So, those of you who like to decorate - how would you transform this room? I have a little bit of money to play with, nothing massive but not a shoestring either. I will be finding out the baby's gender next week so gender-specific ideas are welcome, it doesn't have to be all white and cream. This is my first child so I know nothing - impart to me your wisdom!

Thanks in advance and many to anyone who replies

we've used wall stickers (ones that can peel off easily) and went for a woodland theme

there are lots of cheap options out there www.wayfair.co.uk/Walplus-Childrens-Nursery-Alphabet-Animal-and-Tree-Wall-Sticker-FOUS9760-L7116-K~FOUS9760.html?refid=GX66574651223-FOUS9760&device=c&ptid=135915577223

We also got a really cute lampshade with a diffuser so it's not too bright and some animal cushions

Have fun!

Wall stickers are brilliant, cheap, and remove without damage. A rug on the floor (if you can get a washable to deal with puke/poo, so much the better). Coordinate a throw with the armchair and the curtains. Personally can't stand gender decorated baby rooms, but there are some great sea/animal/nature/etc themes out there.

Can you repaint in the same neutral colour to freshen it up? I rent and we repaint every once in a while to keep it looking nice and clean.

And could you buy/make new curtains? I've replaced ours and just boxed up the originals to be rehung when we move on. I could spend hours looking at fabrics, I bet you could find something really beautiful to replace the old ones.

We aren't decorating or furnishing a room for our baby as it's a tiny spare room with just enough space for a double bed, and if we get rid of it there will be no where for grandparents to stay and we'll get no visitors or support as they live far away! When we lived in a rented house we had some awful light fittings and lamps left by the owner. We bagged them up in black sacks and stored them in the loft for the remainder of the tenancy. So if you have attic space and you really dislike some of the furniture you could do that?

Oh I'd still go Pinterest crazy - buy some beautiful prints from etsy and frame them and hang on the wall. Pom-poms from the ceiling, maybe a bit of bunting, and a cute rug on the floor.
I'm rather jealous, we don't have a spare room, baby will be in with us till its 2 then prob in with his/her brothers until we can afford a bigger house

Wall stickers! We've done nothing with DSs room aside from painting the walls yellow and putting stickers up. The curtains, light fittings, carpet etc is as it was when the room was an office. He's now three....!

Pale green and a tree sticker on one wall (beige carpet). Plain and simple. Wardrobe (white) housing drawers (white). Chair (leaf pattern on white). Cot (white). Just need a bookcase!

What about wall stickers on canvas? You could hold them up with 3m?

Are you keen on crafting? I've gone for themes in my DSs' rooms - am lucky to be able to do colour too but it would work without. One is up in the sky with papier mâché clouds and glow in the dark stars and a yellow paper lightshade to look like the sun. The other is woodland with animal wall stickers and animal heads (look at Fiona Walker for inspiration) on the walls. There's still loads you can do (and I totally sympathise on the crap carpet front, IKEA is good for cheap bright rugs).

I'd just repaint it a pale colour and make or buy some new curtains for it. Lots of lovely throws, cushions, lampshape etc

Bare in mind that your baby doesn't need a room, so don't put pressure on yourself if you don't need to.

Seriously don't worry about baby's room, I know it seems like everyone decorates the moment they get a positive test but there is honestly no rush (and a lot of it is Internet boasting)

Is it worth asking your landlord if you could repaint? Maybe pick the colour first so you could show them (obviously don't pick anything too crazy).
DH used to rent out his old flat and had a tenant who repainted without asking when it said in the tenancy they weren't allowed. TBH he would have been ok with it if it'd been a light colour (they picked hot pink) as landlords expect to have to re-magnolia between tenants. In fact he was told he couldn't claim towards it with the deposit for exactly that reason not that it made a difference, they caused so much damage to the property it cost 4 times what their deposit covered to correct anyway.
If they say no, I think you've got to work the colour scheme around the carpet as it's such a strong colour but as PPs said go accessory-mad. No reason why you can't change the curtains and put them back up when you leave. Canvases would make a lovely addition provided your landlord isn't as precious about holes in the walls as they are about paint

You know I would set it up as a dressing room/ playroom for you both, as baby should stay in your room at least 6 months. As your alone it will probably be easier to just leave them sleeping in your room 18 months until your planned move

So use that room for clothes/ toys etc

Make the single bed comfy with cushions like a day bed. As baby grows you can use as a cosy area to read with them. Have a basket or books at wall end.

Add changing mat on top of drawer set and basket to keep essentials in like nappies/ wipes etc

Get to ikea or online. They sell great drawer dividers so you can separate different type clothes up easier in drawers

Print some pictures you like big and frame for walls

Paint fresh white if allowed ( should be as neutral and making better), will go with carpet.

Can use to storage all extra nappies/ lather clothing in the spare drawers/ wardrobe. And move stuff from living room or your room to make more space if possible

Thank you so much for all your amazing replies!! I'm definitely going to look into those vinyl wall stickers, I didn't know such a thing existed and they sound amazing.

I've decided on a Winnie the Pooh theme for the room so I'll get some relevant wall stickers, a giant rug to cover the hideous carpet, some new curtains, a lampshade, nightlight etc etc. Ahh so much I can do!

Now, if only baby would uncross his/her legs during a scan so I can find out what I'm having, that'd be most helpful...

Getting a rug big enough to cover a large swathe of the floor is a great and I would speak to the landlord about repainting it in a colour you both like and that they wouldn't make you change were you to move out(make sure they add it as a clause to the contract). We're renting too so will be using co-ordinate bedding, curtains and pictures to create a theme.

They grow up so quickly and will have their own tastes in a few years so easily removable stickers are a must.