Life

There's Nothing Square About These 15 Modern Geometric Nursery Decor Ideas

by Katie Goldin

Designing a nursery with geometric or abstract elements can include a visually pleasing balance between soft, child-friendly textures, and the clean edges of a geometric aesthetic. Including a geometric design can be both enjoyable for adults, and visually engaging for children. I’ve collected 15 geometric nursery decor ideas that work well both aesthetically, and in terms of how baby-friendly they are.

Personally, I really enjoy the geometrical look. Uniting a room with similar geometric themes can allow you to mix different textures, and even layer different patterns, while still achieving a coherent look. There are a couple, basic artistic tools you can use when designing a geometric nursery: balance, which is pretty intuitive to learn, and complementary colors.

Balance refers to how an overall design “weighs.” According to the design publication Smashing Magazine, you can balance a design by, "arranging both positive elements and negative space." Imagine your design is on a canvas, and the more a design element draws your eyes, the more it weighs. You can play with the weights of these design elements until you find the balance to be pleasing. Remember that "balance" doesn't mean it has to be symmetrical: asymmetry can also be pleasing, and even dynamic.

Complementary colors sounds as if it refers to what colors “should” be put together, but rather it simply means colors that will “balance” each other. You can use color compliments to dynamically offset each other, or you can use other color groupings, such as monochromes, to guide your design. There's a really helpful color theme tool called Adobe Color, which allows you to play around with different color palettes. For more inspiration, here are some designs that include great examples of geometric and color balance.

1Pastel Abstract Shapes

This fun, playful design found on Sugar & Cloth owes its dynamism to the flowing placement of the wall shapes, and the asymmetry of the multi-colored designs on the wall shapes themselves. The excitement of the different patterns is calmed by the pastel hues, as well as the variety of textures (the natural wood showing through the art, the plant leaves, and the soft shag carpeting). Including these textures can make the difference between something that looks like an art exhibit, and a cozy room.

2Hints Of Shine In Geometrical Accents

This triangle mobile demonstrates the principle of softening sharp geometries with pastels, but it also incorporates luster differences within the paint, with the glittery gold accents. You can also use different types of shine, like pearlescence or metallic finishes to add a bit of visual interest to pastels. The photo composition also shows how geometrical designs can be coupled with soft textures, like paper pompoms (or more durably, soft fabrics).

3Geometric Earth Tones

Another way to add depth and warmth to geometric designs is by using a neutral or earth-toned palette, as exemplified by this nursery design found on Paper & Stitch. The overall boxy design of the room composed of vertical lines (found on the table, crib, wall art, and window) is offset nicely with neutral browns and tans to give it an organic feeling. The natural light, importantly, adds brightness to the room that compliments the more toned down colors.

4Blocky Toy Accents

If you're looking for a good accent, blocky, geometric toys (such as these blocks found on Handmade Charlotte) are a great addition to a nursery (especially to give visual stimulation to a more neutral toned room). And once your child is old enough, it of course makes for a good toy, and allows them to have a dynamic, changeable aspect to their decor.

5Organic Touches

Mysha Bolen, designer and blogger at remingtonavenue.com, created this adorable nursery. The vivid geometric designs are offset by the organic accents, such as the hanging driftwood mobile, the wood grain frame, and the soft quilted blankets. Softening geometric designs with more randomized, organic aspects can make a room cozier and more inviting, as well as more stimulating for your child.

6Compositional Balance

This artfully patterned nursery, showcased by Jen on her blog, Green Wedding Shoes, is a good example of compositional balance and symmetry with visual interest. The crib on the lower left is matched by the window on the upper right. The colorful interlocking triangle design on the wall of the upper left is counterbalanced by the plain white chair and ottoman, with a cute pillow and throw to break up the pure white. The direction of the chevron rug offers contrasting movement away from the balanced wall, allowing a symmetrical design to still look dynamic.

7Black & White With Colorful Accents

UrbanEpiphanyPrints

Scandi Nursery Printable Art, UrbanEpiphanyPrints, $19, Etsy.

Black and white patterns can be very cute, and you can break up the starkness of black and white with some pops of color, which can also add visual interest for you and your baby. These vibrant, geometric wall prints by a creator on Etsy work well to breath life into a black & white themed room.

8Patterned Textiles

You can still incorporate geometric designs in an otherwise soft aesthetic. Patterned textiles, especially those that differ in texture, can allow geometrical designs to look comfortable and mellow. In this example from the blog, The House That Lars Built, the bold slices of colors on the ottoman, the soft shag checker carpet, the asymmetrical block design on the basket, and the lines on the throw, all work together to create a depth of space and pattern.

9Converted Toy Wall Art

What I like about this idea of toys converted into wall art, showcased on Mod Podge Rocks, is that it transforms geometric wall art into something exciting and child-friendly. The repainted animals still fit with the modern design concept, but also add visual interest and fun that makes it appropriate for a nursery. The minty pastels mixed with brighter colors show how you can soften complementary colors so they don't look too harsh when placed adjacent to one another (green and red looks bold, whereas mint and hot pink looks softly cheerful).

10Pastel Patterns

Floralwallpaper

Pink Colorful Geometric Mountain Wall Mural, Floralwallpapr, $27, Etsy.

Speaking of pastels, they're a great way to keep a design from looking too busy. The wall art here, a design by an Etsy creator, could easily swallow up the whole room , but the mellow pastel colors softens the whole design, and allows it to blend into the background, giving more dimension and a feeling of open space in the room.

11Color Dots

This design idea of colorful dots, as featured on Paper & Stitch, is one of the simplest and cutest ways to introduce a geometrical design to your nursery. It's an easy DIY project, and will co with many different nursery themes. The teardrop lamp and circular rug compliments the dot pattern.

12Neutral Toned Mural

MakeUpWallDecor

Hand-painted Green Geometric Nursery Wallpaper, MakeUpWallDecor, $29, Etsy.

If you want a more minimalist room, you don't need to shy away from wall art. Neutral tones and geometric designs can still be minimalist, while giving the room more interest and dimension. This wall art example comes from a creator on Etsy, and has been photographed carefully to showcase how you can effectively use this kind of aesthetic: notice the natural grain on the wood flooring and furniture, which mixes in that random organic pattern that becomes important when incorporating large geometric designs.

13Tents And Triangles

Triangle Walls Decals, SouthCoastVinyl, $9, Etsy.

This adorable nursery design is tied together by triangle wall decals offered in a variety of colors. The pink floral play tent and cute tent pillows match the geometric wall pattern. There are also adorable shelf accents that are in fun shapes and colors. Mixing the geometric shapes with fun prints is a way to bring in more textural variety in a minimalist nursery design, and is sure to be exciting for your baby.