This nursery uses natural colours and materials and steers clear of bright clutter. Robert O'Byrnereports
AS A RULE babies aren't known for their refined aesthetic sensibility. You won't find the average three-month old petulantly complaining of the bedlinen's low thread-count, grumbling about the cot's poor construction or criticising teddy's weak approximation to a real live bear. At that age, the greatest, if not only, subjects of interest are regular feedings, naps and changes of nappy. Anything else is supplementary.
Which isn't to say babies are either unaware of, or not susceptible to, their immediate surroundings. Settle them into a well-decorated room and even if unable to name that Farrow & Ball paint, they'll display their appreciation of an attractive room by being cheerful and at peace.
Proof of this is provided by Richard and Tara O'Halloran's exceptionally good-humoured little son Benjamin. Born last January and as yet somewhat restricted in the selection of vocabulary at his disposal, nevertheless he gives every sign of being delighted with the smart nursery fitted out for him by his parents.
It helps that Tara used to be a Montessori teacher and is now a painter; in other words, years of managing crèches allied to a keen appreciation of all matters visual have equipped her with an excellent understanding of how to create the right ambience for a baby. "I wanted to keep it all very calm and relaxing," she remarks of Benjamin's nursery, an ambition that has been fully realised.
Some parents, especially after the birth of a first child, are inclined to become over-excited on the decorating front, running friezes around the top of walls already covered in a paper that tells the story of Peter Rabbit, heaping the crib with so many soft toys and lace-trimmed pillows there's scarcely space for baby, and covering every surface with a surfeit of photographs that chronicle every moment in the poor little mite's existence.
Fortunately Benjamin doesn't have to contend with that kind of design nightmare because his nursery has been decorated in a style that's functional but not spare, restful but not bland.
To begin with, the walls are painted a light buttermilk and left largely bare of ornament other than a set of three small pictures that spell out the name BEN - painted by Tara.
Likewise the carpet is a neutral oatmeal that helps to make the room feel extra cosy and warm. There's a bed that's too big for Benjamin just now but presumably he'll graduate to it in time. For the moment he has a choice of options when choosing where to sleep. He might, for example, decide to lay his head in an appealingly old-fashioned woven Moses basket that has a retractable hood and sits on a fold-away stand; his parents find this all fits conveniently into the back of a car.
On the other hand, Benjamin might prefer to snuggle down inside a pram-like crib that has a traditional wooden frame painted white and with big solid wheels. This came from Richard's sister Rosalind who's the mother of three children and lives in Geneva.
She was also the source of the nursery's cot, a proper traditional one - again in wood - that offers Benjamin the opportunity to be distracted by the battery-operated mobile suspended above it. Just beyond lies a painted locker on top of which is a basket filled with moisturising cream, disinfectant and the like, while to one side of the window stands a charming, and very comfortable, rocking chair with cane seat and back. Like every other item of furniture in the room it's made from natural materials: moulded plastic is notable by its absence here. That's deliberate says Tara, her Montessori training coming to the fore. She has avoided bright, garish colours as well: many of the room's accessories being in a shade of aqua green because "we weren't sure if it was going to be a boy or a girl".
The blue gingham photograph frames on the windowsill were a present after Benjamin's birth. The handle of a small fitted wardrobe hangs a white cotton nappy dispenser. It's typical of the approach Tara has taken to arranging Benjamin's nursery, being practical and attractive and enviably neat. Everything either she or her son might require to keep him content is within easy reach and there's absolutely no unnecessary clutter.
Benjamin doesn't spend all his time here of course; he gets to keep his mother company while she's painting downstairs and the presence of toys indicates he's not unfamiliar with the livingroom and kitchen either. But the nursery is very much his territory and while he might eventually want to have some say in its redecoration, for the moment he gives every impression of being delighted with the place.
Nursery essentials
1 Congratulations, you've had a baby. Now rein in your enthusiasm and remember the nursery's going to be occupied by baby, not you. If you need an outlet for your creative impulses, redecorate your own bedroom
2 Think practical. During the early months your baby is going to spend a lot of time asleep, so make sure the cot/crib/basket is comfortable. And provide a decent chair for yourself; there's only so long you'll want to perch on the edge
3 Yes, of course you're keen to stimulate your child's brain but you don't have to confuse it. Avoid over-crowding the poor thing with too many distractions like toys that insist on playing the theme music from Star Wars every time they're so much as touched
4 Opt for a warm, neutral and hard-wearing backdrop. Walls covered with illustrations of Pooh and his chums will quickly irritate, especially if baby is having a bad night and you're left looking at Eyore for hours
5 For everything from the cot to the carpet try to fit out the room using natural materials
6 Like baby bear's porridge, make sure the nursery is not too hot and not too cold
