Decorating a Baby Room: Dos and Donts

Now that my husband and I are having our first baby, we're dealing with the issue of how to decorate the baby's room. There's also the baby shower and baby furniture and in the midst of all this - it seems like - is also the overall plan of remodeling the rest of the house. Whew! So here are a few pointers on what you should and shouldn't do to decorate the baby's room:

1. Keep in mind the overall plan at all times - It's easy to get carried away with the decorating, especially if - like us - you know the baby's gender. I have seen some houses on the market recently as REOs where the parents obviously got a little carried away with the paint. The room stuck out as a sore thumb. So if you have plans of moving soon, choose a paint that complements the color scheme of the rest of the house. Once the baby gets in there, it's very hard to paint again.

2. If you do decide to put in light fixtures, store the originals in a safe place - I'm sure babies love the carnival fan. You know, the kind with all the crayola colors on the ceiling. Same for the light fixtures that look like teddy bears or ducks or whatever. But keep in mind that your future buyers might not appreciate them as much. Now, there are buyers who like baby rooms, but you will be limiting the pool, not a good idea in this market. So retain the originals, and switch them out when the house goes on the market.

3. Above all, try to stay classic - Classic colors never go out of style. Try to get help and choose these instead of the traditional pink and blue for baby. That way, when it comes time to move and put the house on the market, you're not apologizing for your baby.

And he or she will be happy where Mom and Dad are happy. Promise. Regardless of the paint in the room.