Decorating a room for IT

It takes some serious will power to pass up the chance at knowing your baby's gender before go time.  An impressive level of self control that I'm not sure I possess.  There is also the choice of learning the baby's gender, but keeping it a secret from everyone else - coworkers, friends, families...everyone.  But, I imagine that at some point you or your partner in crime will spill the beans to a random person on the subway or a standout friendly waiter.  I would.  Finally, there is the choice of one half of the couple learning the gender and the other half holding out for the surprise.  I would be incapable of this - incapable of not telling my husband after even the slightest of pressure and incapable of not mercilessly harassing him to reveal the scoop.  

Keeping the baby's gender a surprise means decorating a gender neutral nursery.  But gender neutral doesn't have to mean boring and yellow.  You don't have to name your future mini muffin Pat and you don't have to decorate his or her room with yellow walls, yellow bedding and yellow accessories.  Green is a great unisex color with a range of shades.  Or what about neutral tones for the neutral room - browns and creams and tans will create a warm and cozy vibe.  Or don't worry about choosing a color, though it may go against your nursery decorating instincts, and try a theme.

Most major decorating items (sheets, bedding, blankets, furniture, etc.) come off the good old registry.  Thus, the motif will probably be dictated by the options offered at the stores where you register.  Keeping that in mind, the following are some small ideas to add to what you get from the baby shower.  

ANIMAL THEME

You can pick a specific animal (owls are a big baby trend for the moment) or an animal theme like the jungle or a farm or the ocean.  I love elephants, hence the below ideas.

This elephant parade mobile is handcrafted by Lollipop Moon (Etsy.com).  It comes in several colors and there are also other animal choices.  Other than the elephants, I'm particularly fond of the trendy owls.  So cute.

This is a piece of wrapping paper from Paper-source.com.  For only $2.50 you have easy, inexpensive, great nursery art.  Frame the entire piece as a poster.  Or, cut a bunch of 5"x5" squares, each focusing on a different animal, and frame it as a art collection.  Fancy.

While the giraffe and elephant knob collection are made feminine with pink, you can choose a more neutral color palate.  They come with the hardware and are ready to add originality to your baby furniture. These are hand-painted drawer knobs (below) by Sweet Mix Creations.

Finally, check out chiccheapnursery.com for advice from true nursery design experts.  I get completely overwhelmed on design websites, so if you're that way then be prepared for sensory overload.  But the "inspiration boards" (I think this is what they are called) are in fact inspiring.  Go straight to the "accessories" category on the left side of the homepage to view the beauty in more manageable doses.