Design a Beautiful Nursery With These Paint Colour Ideas & Inspiration
Whether you want soft and serene or bright and playful, the perfect nursery paint can help set the tone. Here’s everything you need to know plus tips on the best baby-safe paint to use.
How Baby's Perceive Colour
When planning your nursery colour scheme, it helps to understand how babies perceive colour — and how that changes over time.
✔ Newborns’ vision is still developing, so they can't see colours clearly right away. At birth, they mostly see in black, white, and shades of grey.
✔ Around 3 to 4 months , babies begin to process and recognise colours — especially high-contrast primary shades like red, blue, yellow, and green.
✔ By 6 months, most babies can see the full colour spectrum, and begin to focus on and react to colours more consistently.
Because of this, it makes sense to choose a calm, neutral backdrop — think soft greys, warm whites, gentle pastels, or earthy tones. This allows room for the bright pops of colour that naturally come from toys, books, and accessories, which will stimulate your baby’s senses as they grow.
💡 Remember: You're designing for both baby and grown-ups — so choose a palette that feels restful, joyful, and right for your space.
Nursery Paint That’s Safe for Baby (and You!)
When painting a nursery, safety should be just as important as style. Babies spend a lot of time in their rooms — sleeping, playing, and exploring — so it’s worth choosing products that are safe, durable, and designed with little ones in mind.
At Pat McDonnell Paints, we recommend two standout products from Ralston, a trusted brand known for high-quality, eco-conscious paint:
For Walls: Ralston ExtraTex Clean
This premium emulsion is ideal for nursery walls thanks to its:
✅ VOC-free, low-odour & non-toxic formula
✅ Washable, stain-resistant finish — perfect for messy hands and unexpected spills
✅ Beautiful colour options with excellent coverage
✅ Hard-wearing durability to withstand everyday life
🛒 Explore Ralston ExtraTex Clean in-store or online – and create a nursery that’s both beautiful and baby-ready.
For Trim, Doors & Furniture: Ralston Aqua Series
The Ralston Aqua range is a water-based trim paint that's ideally suited to nurseries:
✅ Cots, shelving, skirting boards, doors, and more
✅ Low odour and quick drying
✅ Available in both satin and gloss finishes
🛒 Explore the Ralston Aqua series in-store or online.
Choosing Colours for Your Baby’s Nursery
When decorating nurseries, we have found that neutrals are a popular choice with our customers. And it’s easy to understand their appeal. Neutral colour schemes allow you to create a classic base upon which you can build colour and add personality as the child ages.
“Generally speaking, I would advise parents to use soft, warm neutral tones while their child is younger so as not to overstimulate them at bedtime. But as they get older, don't be afraid to use colour through patterns, feature walls or even stencils.” – Nicole Masterson, Colour Consultant in our Rathfarnham store
Some popular neutral colours for nurseries include Lowland, Batch Loaf and Spring's Call by Colourtrend. For a more feminine look, you could try Powder Colour by Dulux Heritage or Calamine from Farrow & Ball. Bluey-greens such as Green Oxide by Dulux Heritage and Teresa's Green by Farrow & Ball are a timeless choice for boy's rooms.
Creative Nursery Painting Ideas
Want to do something a bit different? Here are some brilliant (and doable!) design ideas from our community:
1. Two-Tone
Want to add interest without overwhelming the room? A two-tone wall is a clever way to introduce colour while maintaining a calm, balanced feel.
Here’s how to make a two-tone wall work in your nursery:
1. Start by deciding on how you will divide the colours. For a classic look, you can install a dado rail or wall panelling. Alternatively, you can achieve a more modern aesthetic by simply using good-quality masking tape, such as Deltec to split the colours with a clean, crisp line.
2. Next, you will need to choose your split point. Halfway up the wall gives a classic look; go closer to the ceiling for a modern, cocooned effect.
3. In addition to painting the walls, we recommend also painting the trim, woodwork and ceiling to tie the whole scheme together.
In terms of colour schemes, there are a few options to choose from. You can pair a neutral with a bolder colour for soft contrast. You can also combine two tones of the same colour family for a serene, layered effect. Adventurous colour lovers can bring together contrasting shades for a fun and playful mood.
💡 Not sure what colours to combine? Our in-store colour consultants can help you create a palette that’s cohesive, calming, and baby-friendly.
In this beautiful example, one of our customers paired Ralston Jaipur (a soft pink) with Ralston Simplicity (a warm white neutral) for a soothing, feminine look. With help from our Rathfarnham colour consultant Anna, they created a space that feels fresh, gentle, and full of personality.
2. Wallpaper
Wallpaper is making a big comeback — and the nursery is the perfect place to have some fun with it. Whether you go bold and whimsical or soft and dreamy, wallpaper can instantly set the tone for a unique and joyful space.
Here’s how to make wallpaper work in your nursery:
🖼️ Choose a playful pattern or colourful mural to make a statement.
🎯 Use it on a single wall (ideally one that’s less likely to see mess or splashes) — it creates a focal point and is easier to maintain.
📚 Browse our wallpaper books in-store for fresh inspiration and exclusive designs. Click here to find your nearest branch of Pat McDonnell Paints.
🧼 Keep in mind that wallpaper is a bit higher maintenance than paint and can be trickier to clean, especially in high-traffic areas.
💡 Ask our Colour Consultants to help you colour-match your wallpaper to paints, so you can create a beautifully coordinated scheme across the whole room.
Pro Styling Tip: Pick a wallpaper that includes a few colours or shapes you love — then echo those elements throughout the space using cushions, throws, prints, mobiles, or toys. It’s a great way to create a cohesive theme without it feeling too matchy-matchy.
3. Colourful Trim/Furniture
Don’t want to paint the whole room? No problem! Painting smaller elements is a clever and budget-friendly way to inject personality into your nursery — with minimal time or mess. Some examples of items you can paint include cots and changing tables, shelves and book ledges, skirting boards and doors, picture frames, pegs, or wall hooks.
Why we love this idea:
🎨 Instant colour pop without committing to painting all the walls
💸 Budget-friendly – perfect for upcycling second-hand or hand-me-down furniture
⏱️ Quick and easy – great for parents on a time crunch
🪑 Works beautifully with a neutral backdrop, allowing painted elements to really shine
💡 Use Ralston Aqua for these projects — it’s water-based, low-odour, and certified toy-safe, making it ideal for furniture and trim in children’s rooms.
4. Stripes
Stripes are a fun, versatile way to bring energy and personality into a nursery — and the best part? They’re much easier (and more affordable) than wallpaper. Whether you go bold or subtle, painted stripes can add structure, style, and a touch of playfulness to your baby’s room. All you need is a steady hand, some high-quality masking tape (we recommend Deltec), and a little imagination. Here are some ideas on ways to & use stripes in the nursery:
🎯 Create a feature wall behind the crib or changing station
📐 Add visual height with vertical stripes that extend up onto the ceiling
🪵 Combine with panelling: use stripes above and a solid colour below for a modern twist
☁️ Ceiling-only stripes can add interest without overwhelming the walls — great for newborns lying on their backs!
In terms of colour palettes, there are a few ways you can go. You can pair a colour with a neutral for soft contrast. Lighter and darker shades of the same colour will allow you to achieve a stylish tone-on-tone look. Opt for a high contrast palette (i.e. colours on opposite ends of the colour wheel) for a bolder, more graphic style.
5. Colour Drench
Looking to create a nursery that feels calm, cosy, and ultra-stylish? Colour drenching might be the perfect fit. This trending technique involves painting everything — walls, ceiling, skirting, trim, shelving, even furniture — in the same colour for a bold, immersive effect.
Colour drenching creates a cocooning effect - ideal for sleep and quiet time. It also provides a subtle backdrop against which furniture, lighting, and décor can really pop without creating visual clutter. Finally, colour drenching works beautifully with both soft tones (like sage, blush or stone) and bolder, playful shades
Not only does colour drenching look stunning, but it also makes painting easier than you’d think. There's no need to worry about clean tape lines, cutting in, or matching edges. What's more, there are fewer masking and prep steps — just roll it all on and let the colour do the work. And any small drips or overlaps are easily hidden within the same shade.
💡 Product Tip: Try Farrow & Ball Dead Flat — a beautifully modern, ultra-matte finish that works across walls, woodwork and metal, giving you seamless coverage with character and depth.
Our expert colour consultants are here to help! Visit your nearest Pat McDonnell Paints store for friendly advice and baby-safe product recommendations. Want help choosing the right finish? Our colour consultants can help you create a coordinated look that’s safe, stylish, and nursery-ready.
Have a question? Why not call into your local branch of Pat McDonnell Paints and speak with one of our experts! Fast & free delivery on all orders.