Right up there on the excitement scale with creating your list of baby names is pondering the endless possibilities for making your baby’s room special. Some expectant parents even learn the gender of their baby ahead of time just so they can get an early start on decorating! Making a big deal out of the baby’s room is part of the fun of parenthood (although you can certainly be low-key if you wish). From a fantasy room that clearly stands apart to a subdued space that blends with the décor in your house, your baby’s nursery can be anything you want.

A logical place to start in designing your baby’s room is with the crib bedding, blanket, and crib skirt. Then choose paint or wallpaper and other accessories, such as the fabric for your rocking chair, based on those colors and patterns. It’s often much easier to start with the crib linens and then paint or wallpaper. But as you know from our report on Cribs, to guard against suffocation, we recommend keeping your baby’s crib simple—just a tight fitted sheet, and maybe a crib skirt/dust ruffle for a touch of style. If you want to use a bumper, make sure it’s thin, firm, securely tied and meshy, not puffy or padded. If you insist on using them, remove bumpers as soon as your baby can pull up to a standing position, so he can't use them as a stepping stool to climb out of the crib. Instead of blankets or quilts, we recommend dressing your baby in a one-piece bunting. If you use a blanket, keep it at waist height and tuck ends firmly under the sides and bottom of the mattress.

A fitted sheet and a crib skirt aren’t much to work with, but they can get your creative juices flowing. Colors and styles of fitted crib sheets and crib dust ruffles run the gamut—from bears, boats, barnyard animals, and bunnies, to prints, checks, florals, toile, and stripes in bold and muted tones. Consider coordinating them with the window treatments. Besides conventional fabrics like 100 percent traditional cotton, you’ll find fitted sheets in soft, organic cotton, cotton fleece, flannel, and T-shirtish cotton knit.

Though they often come in sets or “collections,” crib linens are also sold individually, though you may have to look for these separates. And if anything but a “fully loaded” crib (with luxurious, cushy bumpers and so on) leaves you feeling decoratively deprived, think of how you’ll rest easier knowing your baby is sleeping in a safe place.


WHAT’S AVAILABLE

Major brands of crib sheets and dust ruffles, and retailers that sell them separately (not part of a set), are, in alphabetical order: American Baby Company (www.ababycompany.com), Amy Coe (www.amycoe.com), Babylicious (www.babylicious.ca), Baby Martex (www.martex.com), Baby Style (www.babystyle.com), Carter’s (www.carters.com), Clouds and Stars (www.cloudsandstars.com), Halo (www.halosleep.com), Kidsline (www.kidslineinc.com), The Land of Nod (www.landofnod.com), Laura Ashley (www.lauraashley.com), Pottery Barn Kids (www.potterybarnkids.com), and Shabby Chic (www.shabbychic.com). Prices for fitted crib sheets range from $5.99 to $70. Prices for crib dust ruffles range from $16 to $120.


RECOMMENDATIONS

Whether you decorate your baby’s room lavishly or simply, make safety your main concern. Ignore those inviting retail nursery displays and buy your linens separately—the crib skirt/dust ruffle and the fitted sheet, rather than an entire collection. Purchase tightly fitting sheets, then recheck the fit after each laundering, since washing can cause shrinking or weaken the elastic. Check for loose threads that could catch a baby’s head or neck. Launder sheets twice before the first use to remove any chemical residue from the fabric-treatment process and to ensure correct fit. Consider using a mild liquid or powder laundry detergent, such as Dreft, a specially formulated laundry detergent for infants and toddlers. Remember, bare is best. Follow our suggestions for Safer sleeping, such as putting your baby to bed on her back.