Looking for show-stopper IKEA nursery ideas to make your baby’s bedroom both practical and beautiful?
When it comes to designing your baby’s nursery, you’ll want to maximise space because those tiny babies come with a whole lot of stuff for some reason.
While IKEA has a specific range of products it recommends for nurseries and children’s bedrooms, you’ll also find inspiration from other rooms in the IKEA catalogue.
By getting a bit creative with shelves, boxes and baskets, you can create a gorgeous nursery that keeps everything organised for you and your baby.
From a nappy changing station, to toy storage and clothes storage, here are some fantastic IKEA nursery ideas.
Before we get to it, don’t forget to check out my post about my own children’s pastel bedrooms which has loads of images to inspire you.
IKEA nursery hacks
When it comes to your baby’s nursery, there’s not really anything that you can’t use IKEA products to help you organise baby’s things!
There are some gorgeous images in this post showing how fellow mamas have hacked IKEA products to keep their baby things pretty and organised.
But before we get to that, here’s an idea of the type of products you can use to store key baby items.
- Baby toys – Use shelving units which come with matching boxes and containers that fit the spaces perfectly. The IKEA Kallax range – which features square shelves – is brilliant for baby toys. You can get it in smaller versions with four shelves or huge units that can fill an entire wall.
- Clothes – Drawer units are best for baby clothes, as hanging them up is just a bit of a waste of space in a wardrobe. Store your baby clothes upright so that they are easy to find. There are tips on using the KonMari folding method to keep baby clothes neat on this post.
- Books – The IKEA Kallax is also brilliant for storing books. But you can be clever by using other types of shelves for books, such as the IKEA spice rack shelves. There are some fab uses of them in the pictures below.
- Baby changing – You don’t have to buy a specific baby changing unit. Simply adapt the top of a chest of drawers from IKEA. Place a changing mat with raised sides on the top to prevent baby rolling off. Then to store baby changing toiletries such as wipes and cream you can pop a shelf on the wall next to it.
- Sentimental baby items – Use pretty boxes with lids to keep sentimental items such as your baby’s hospital cuffs safe.
What baby items should I get at IKEA
IKEA has a long list of products that are specifically made for baby and child bedrooms.
That includes their beds and cribs, toy storage, high chair, night lights, changing tables, baby baths and feeding items, such as cups and plates.
It is entirely possible to kit out baby with almost everything they need for their nursery in IKEA – the only things you won’t find there are books, a bouncy chair (not a baby essential but I found mine incredibly useful) and a play mat.
The baby essentials for the nursery that you can find in IKEA include:
- Crib
- Toy storage
- Book storage
- Changing station – either a standalone unit or use one of the hacks described further down in this post.
- Night light
- Bedding
- Towels
- Rug
- Soft toys
- Baby monitor
If you are going to buy large items of furniture for baby’s nursery then always follow the instructions that come with the product telling you how to fix it to the wall for safety. Babies become mobile very fast and you want to eliminate any tipping hazards in their bedroom.
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Stunning IKEA nursery inspiration
Let’s take a look at some specific pieces of IKEA furniture you could use or repurpose for baby’s nursery.
We’ve also got some gorgeous ideas for how to style your IKEA furniture to create a beautiful room for baby.
1. Moveable changing station
IKEA furniture can be used to keep essential items such as diapers and wipes, plus changes of clothes, organised and within reach.
You’ll be using the nappy changing station every single day, multiple times a day, so it needs to be well stocked, conveniently close to the actual changing mat and be easy to keep organised.
Depending on the kind of space you have in your baby’s room, you can put together something that is both practical and so organised it would make Marie Kondo proud.
I love this idea from Wendy Correen to use the Raskog trolley as a changing cart. Use one shelf for nappies, another for moisturisers and creams and another for wipes. You could also pop spare changes of clothes on there for all of the inevitable nappy leaks!
The Raskog holds loads of stuff, so you won’t have to restock it every single day. You can also add small pots to the side of the cart, where you could pop nappy cream, hair brushes and nail clippers.
Glitter Inc added extra storage space to her IKEA changing station cart by using baskets attached to the sides. The finished item looks so great, and holds so much stuff!
Because the Raskog is on wheels, you can change location quickly as and when you need it.
2. Drawer unit changing table
Take this classic drawer unit and pop a changing mat on top, and you’ve got yourself a changing table plus loads of handy storage!
Save the top drawer for the essential changing items such as nappies, wipes, and cream.
Then keep clothes in the remaining areas so that you always have a spare set of clothes handy for those nappy explosions!
A wicker basket changing mat is a lovely way to change any drawer unit into a changing station.
3. Changing station on the move
If you don’t have space for an entire unit such as the trolley, I highly recommend one of the many boxes and basket IKEA has to offer.
You could try this roomy box, which has handles and is extremely sturdy. The white colour means it will look neat in any room. The VARIERA basket comes in various sizes and looks great against any theme.
And I just love this RISATORP metal basket with the handle, it comes in a few different colours but this pretty pale green is gorgeous.
The handle means you can carry it from room-to-room depending on where you are in the house with your baby.
4. Changing station spice rack shelf
If you are really tight on space, pick up one or two of the IKEA BEKVAM spice rack shelves.
Put it on the wall right next to your changing mat and pop nappies, cream and wipes in there, handy for when you need to grab them.
5. Kallax toy storage
The KALLAX cube storage range comes in lots of different configurations. You could buy just one unit, or buy several and get creative with how you fit them together.
Use the colourful storage boxes that fit onto the Kallax shelves to keep toys organised in categories. You can also use some of the Kallax shelves just to display pictures or stuffed toys.
I love the idea of adding a cushion seat to the top of a Kallax unit so that when your child is older they can climb on top and use it as a bench. There are various creators on Etsy who sell this kind of thing, or you can have a go at trying to do it yourself with this tutorial from Kate Decorates.
You can change the look of your Kallax unit by adding legs of your choice with this DIY hack! There’s a full tutorial on Where the Smiles Have Been.
I love how she’s used colourful storage boxes to make this a fun piece of furniture for a baby’s bedroom!
Plus with Kallax you can use the cubes for different things, so baby’s toys and books are organised by categories.
6. Pull out tray
I spotted this idea in a branch of IKEA and was blown away. So simple and cheap but so many potential uses!
Get an IVAR shelf, 83x50cm, then add RILL castors to the bottom of the shelf so that it’s on wheels.
What you end up with is a low tray on wheels that you can hide under a sofa or cot. You could put puzzles, toys, changing station supplies or anything else you need handy but tucked away neatly.
Such a cheap but very effective way to use space wisely! You could spray paint the shelf a pretty colour, or simple white, if you want to make it look even nicer.
7. IKEA Trofast toy or clothes storage
The TROFAST has many uses, but it’s great as a place to store medium and small toys.
You can buy small or deep plastic drawers that fit to the unit. The deep drawers, as shown in this photo, are perfect for dumping toys in when tidying away at the end of a busy day of playing.
8. Flisat nursery book storage
You’ll collect books like mad during the early years with a baby, so plenty of storage is a must.
You can use one of IKEA’s large book shelves, or go for something a little smaller, or more creative.
This cute little Flisat unit will hold books at your child’s level so they can pick out what they want, once they’re big enough to crawl. It’s easy to customise in a colour of your choice too with simple spray paint.
9. IKEA nursery picture shelf
Picture display shelves don’t have to hold pictures! Use several of these picture shelves and line them up low to the ground so that your child can pick out the books themselves when they’re a little older.
Try the Mosslanda picture shelves.
10. Coffee table toy storage hack
Take a simple IKEA coffee table and transform it into something beautiful and practical like this mama did!
You can use this to store toys, books, tummy time blankets and more in baby’s room.
11. Bamboo book box
Turn this bamboo storage box, called the BULLIG, into a cute book bin with legs with this handy tutorial.
12. IKEA Trofast with drawers
Baby clothes are tiny, and yet you may find you accumulate rather a lot of them thanks to generous gifts from friends and family.
Some items you may want to put on show, as they actually make beautiful decorations for the baby’s room, however when it comes to storing clothes follow the KonMari method of folding and find some handy drawers or boxes to keep everything stored in categories.
These small drawers that slot into the TROFAST unit are ideal for baby clothes.
The SKUBB boxes are great for separating everything out and keep drawers tidy.
13. Spice rack shelves as hanging racks
If you turn the shelves upside down then you get a shelf to pop decorative items on and a railing to hang the cute baby clothes up!
This gorgeous neutral nursery was styled by Winter Daisy. I just love how she’s used the spice rack shelves for books and for clothes!
14. Nursing chair
Did your eyes water at the sight of the cost of actual nursing chairs? Do not reach for your credit card until you have checked out the IKEA Poang chair!
It’s so comfortable, comes in various fabric colours so it can match your nursery colour scheme and it’s such great value!
The Poang is also a great size, and you can transfer it to your living room or elsewhere in the house when you no longer need it in the baby’s room. It works in any room!
IKEA nursery DIY ideas
You can add some gorgeous touches to the room without breaking the bank thanks to the low cost of IKEA furniture.
Most IKEA items can be painted – you may need to do some sanding or check you have the right paint before you get started.
By painting IKEA furniture, or even adding different drawer handles, you can really transform pieces to fit in with your nursery colour scheme and theme.
Try getting some picture frames and popping in your baby’s first hand and footprint using some child-friendly finger-paint and card.
You can also use these lovely spice racks to create shelves for treasured items and pictures.
Whether you spray paint them a colour that suits your baby’s bedroom decor like The DIY Nuts did, or leave them looking natural, they provide a pretty and functional addition to baby’s room!
When it comes to versatility, the IKEA FINTORP range is pretty impressive. You can get a range of baskets and buckets to hang on this minimalist railing which you can use for pictures, pens, pencils, nappies or keepsakes.
Final thoughts
I hope you’ve found these IKEA nursery ideas useful! If you need more help with getting ready for baby then check out the baby essentials checklist and the list of things to do before baby arrives.
