Nursery ideas by world: moon and stars, woodland, ocean

Decorating a nursery usually starts with a long list: cot, changing table, wardrobe, curtains. And then there is the question that lingers: how does it become a room that truly belongs to your little one?
Our answer is simple. Choose one world that feels most like you, one that speaks to you and makes you really happy.

Pick something from that world for three places in the room: on the wall, in the lamp and in the small styling details.
Below we work out three worlds for you: moon and stars, woodland and ocean.
Each world has its own lamp, wallpaper and wall stickers that belong together, all drawn by Hylkia de Jong.

How to build a world

Think in three layers, from big to small.

• The big wall: First, a lovely colour. Prefer light? Then choose a shade that doesn't feel too cold.
• Tip: When choosing from the colour cards in the shop, always go one shade lighter than you think. Once a large wall is painted, it often looks darker than expected...
• Choose a wallpaper circle above the cot or changing table, or a patterned wallpaper on one wall. This sets the mood of the room.
• Good light: a wall lamp next to the cot or changing table, plus a pendant lamp from the ceiling if you want more light in the room.
  A drawing by day; in the evening a hidden night scene appears, with always something new to discover.
• The details: wall stickers that bring the animals of the world to life. They are repositionable, so at first you can simply shift them until it feels right.

Good to know: all Hartendief wall lamps are 45 cm across, with a white 170 cm cord with an on/off switch and a small E14 fitting for a bulb of up to 30 watts. The pendant lamps are 30 cm wide and 23 cm high and come with a white 80 cm pendant cord. Wallpaper circles come in three sizes: mini (95 cm, self-adhesive), S (142.5 cm) and L (190 cm, non-woven wallpaper).

In short: plenty to choose from.

World 1: moon and stars

The calmest world for a nursery. Soft blues and greys, a sleeping moon and lots of stars. Works with white, sand-coloured and navy walls. So whether you go light or dark and cosy after all, this lamp fits in everywhere. And it shows: for years it has been our absolute bestseller.

• Lamp: the Sleepy Moon wall lamp. A smiling moon by day; switch on the light and Bear, Fox and the bunnies gaze up at a thousand stars. With a low-wattage bulb it doubles as a night light.
• Wall: for example the Sailing the Moon wallpaper circle, where Bear, Owl, Fox and Little Bear sail under the stars across a mirror-still sea. In mini (95 cm, self-adhesive), S (142.5 cm) or L (190 cm).
• Details: the Sailing the Moon wall decal (43 × 46 cm, with eight loose stars) above the changing table, and Glow in the Dark Starry Sky Stickers that glow soft green once the lamp goes off. Prefer warm and festive? Stars and Moon Gold is 45 golden stars and one moon on a single sheet.

Read more about moon lamps in Moon lamp for the nursery: what to look for.

World 2: woodland

Warm and cuddly: brown, green and a touch of colour from the robin or the campfire. The woodland world grows most easily from nursery to toddler room, because every animal has a character of its own to tell stories about. They become friends to chat with, to point at and name, and to discover.

• Lamp: the Sweet Dreams wall lamp: the moon closes her eyes, and with the light on the deer come to drink at the lake. Or the Summer Night wall lamp, where Fox and Badger listen to Squirrel reading a story and, in the evening, the fairies and fireflies appear. Prefer light from above? The Forest pendant lamp shows clean tree shapes by day; switch it on and Big Bear and Little Bear walk in a lantern parade with Fox, the mice and the hedgehogs to the campfire, to tell each other stories.
• Wall: the Forest Dreams wallpaper circle (190 cm): sleeping foxes with their noses in their tails, a dozing Miss Deer and bears dreaming of honey. Want a whole wall? Wonderful Woodland wallpaper comes in bark brown and snowflake white, in rolls of 48.5 cm by 5.5 metres. A patterned wallpaper for an all-over print effect.
• Details: let the woodland animals wander through the room with Little Fox, Hedgehog, Squirrel and Deer & Friends. Owl glides silently through the night with Little Fox and Rabbit on his wings.
  And the Bear (96 cm tall) holds the cord of the wall lamp and keeps watch over the room.

World 3: ocean

Rich and adventurous, in blue and turquoise and the thousand colours of the coral in the deep sea. The ocean world is beautifully sunny in a room with plenty of daylight, and in the evening it turns mysterious.

• Lamp: the Turtle Dream wall lamp. With the light on, Turtle and Polar Bear swim among Whale, Manta, lantern fish and Seal. For the ceiling there is the In the Deep pendant lamp: two whales dive to the bottom, where the deep-sea fish switch on their little lights. You only see them when the light goes on in the evening!
• Wall: the Ocean Dream wallpaper circle (190 cm) with Whale, Manta, Narwhal, Crab and the seahorses among the coral.
• Details: Riding the Whale, with Little Bear, Fox and Hedgehog riding through the waves. Otter & Friends (75 × 45 cm) from the picture book 'Whoosh...Splash!', with nine extra stars. And Turtle and Little Polar Bear: two separate stickers, so the little polar bear can float right on Turtle's back, but you can also stick him somewhere else if you like that better.

In which order?

1. The wall first. Wallpaper or a wallpaper circle is easiest to hang in an empty room. The S and L circles are non-woven wallpaper and go up with non-woven wallpaper paste; the mini version is self-adhesive sticker material and needs no paste. It can also be moved to a different spot a few times, so you can shift it until you have found the right place.
2. Then the lamp. A wall lamp hangs about 10 cm from the wall and is fixed with a screw or a hook; two hooks give extra hold against grabby little hands.
   Choose a spot above the cot or next to the changing table, with a safe socket within 170 cm.
3. The stickers last. Apply them from the bottom up and smooth out any air bubbles. They are repositionable, so the first spot need not be the last. On a textured wall they hold less well; apply them to a smooth panel instead. Once they have been in the same spot for a few weeks, they bond a little more firmly to the wall. The best way to remove them then is to warm them gently with a hairdryer.

The moment it is all about

By day the room is light and cheerful. But the best moment comes in the evening. Bath, pyjamas, feed, and then the main light goes off and the wall lamp comes on. In the moon the stars appear, in the woodland the animals head for the campfire, in the ocean the lantern fish switch on their lights. For your baby it is still a soft glow. For you it is the best moment of the day. And a year from now a little finger will point at Fox, and the stories begin. Goodnight Bear, goodnight Whale...

“Naming the animals together and telling what they are doing or planning is a wonderful moment for young children. It teaches them new words, feeds their imagination and makes bedtime a safe, cosy moment. Did you know that a baby's brain grows more in its first 1000 days than at any other time in life? That is essential for language development. Chatting together in the language of your heart: that is what matters.”

Frequently asked questions

Which world suits a nursery best?

All three. Moon and stars is the calmest, woodland the warmest, ocean the freshest. Look at the colour of the wall and the light in the room, and choose the world that makes you happy. Let your imagination run free.

Can I combine worlds?

Yes. Hylkia's animals wander through every world: Bear sails in the moon, sleeps in the forest and rides on Whale's back. Pick one world for the big wall and a wall lamp; stickers from another world almost always fit in.

How big should a wallpaper circle above the cot be?

The mini (95 cm) suits a crib or a narrow dresser, S (142.5 cm) is a lovely size above a cot, L (190 cm) fills the whole wall behind the bed.

Does a dark wall work in a nursery?

Absolutely. On navy or deep green the watercolour drawings stand out even more, and in the evening the light of the wall lamp falls warmly across the wall and the stars.

Can I move the stickers later?

Yes. The wall stickers are printed on repositionable vinyl. Peel them off gently and apply them again, for example when the cot becomes a bed.

See all the worlds together in nursery wallpaper, wall stickers, wall lamps and all nursery lamps.