To determine the most popular current trends for nurseries, Dulux Simply Refresh analysed the top posts on Instagram across several hashtags relating to nurseries such as #NurseryFurniture and #NurseryDecor.
In addition to this, Dulux also looked at more than 40 celebrity accounts to record any trend patterns when it came to furniture, colours and themes.
Creative Director at Dulux, Marianne Shillingford, also offers her insight on why these trends are so popular as well as giving some handy DIY tips on how to achieve your ultimate nursery dream for you and your newborn.
Key findings:
- White furniture is the top trend for nurseries, followed by rattan furniture and the use of plants.
- White is the most popular colour for nurseries, followed by grey and pink.
- Animals is the top nursery theme trend, with giraffes being the most popular animal to use.
- Rainbows and stars are also highly liked themes for your little one’s room.
- Zoë Sugg, Stacy Solomon and Sophie Hinchcliffe are the UK’s top celebrity mums to follow for the best nursery interior inspo.
The Top 10 Trends for Nurseries: White furniture tops the list
The most common nursery trend is the use of white furniture, which appears in 31% of all posts. White furniture adds an air of versatility to any room; it goes with most colours whether they might be complimentary lighter shades or darker more contrasting shades.
Marianne says: “White furniture for a nursery is so popular because it simply goes with everything you have and adds a lovely shot of optimistic freshness to what is often the smallest room. Grey is also a versatile ‘neutral’ colour as are pale natural woods but sometimes it’s on the furniture that you want to have a bit of fun and if you paint it, you can repaint to suit different styles as they get older. Try painting a small storage unit in a stronger colour that cheers you up – and makes you feel like a kid again whenever you see it.”
| Rank | Trend | % seen in top posts |
| 1 | White furniture | 31% |
| 2 | Rattan | 27% |
| 3 | Plants | 25% |
| 4 | Print wallpaper | 23% |
| 5 | Woven rug | 15% |
| 6 | Feature wall | 15% |
| 7 | Mobiles | 15% |
| 8 | Two-tone | 13% |
| 9 | Panelling | 12% |
| 10 | Canopy | 12% |
The Top 10 Nursery Colours: White is the most popular colour
White is strong again when it comes to nursery colours. It’s a gender-neutral colour that goes with anything, so it only makes sense that 65% of all posts would include it. White adds brightness to darker rooms and can give the illusion of space to smaller rooms, it’s also been shown to have a positive impact on mood as it invokes feelings of peace and tranquillity. Try pairing white walls with natural wooden furniture and neutral accessories to complete your nursery space.
| Rank | Colour | % seen in top posts |
| 1 | White | 65% |
| 2 | Grey | 27% |
| 3 | Pink | 19% |
| 4 | Green | 15% |
| 5 | Blue | 13% |
| 6 | Brown | 6% |
| 7 | Yellow | 4% |
| 8 | Gold | 3% |
| 9 | Orange | 2% |
| 10 | Purple | 1% |
The Top 10 Nursery Themes: Animals is the number one trend
We have been described as a nation of animal lovers, so it should come as no surprise that animals feature heavily in many popular nursery designs. 55% of the posts we checked included animals, and within the animal category there are some favourites that show up again and again.
Giraffes are the most popular animal to use, followed by rabbits and elephants. See the full ranking below.
1. Giraffes.
2. Rabbits.
3. Elephants.
4. Bears.
5. Lions.
6. Tigers.
7. Foxes.
8. Monkeys.
9. Birds.
10. Unicorns.
Other big themes for nurseries include rainbows and stars.
| Rank | Theme | % seen in top posts |
| 1 | Animals | 55% |
| 2 | Rainbow | 15% |
| 3 | Stars | 13% |
| 4 | Flowers | 10% |
| 5 | Clouds | 8% |
| 6 | Trees | 7% |
| 7 | Sun | 6% |
| 8 | Rocket | 2% |
| 9 | Moon | 2% |
| 10 | Shells | 2% |
Celebrity inspiration: Zoë Sugg, Stacy Solomon and Mrs Hinch are the UK’s top celebrity mums to follow for the best nursery interior inspo.
Samantha Faiers’s tree-house bunk bed (with a slide attached), Jen Metcalfe’s tent bed with dinosaur mural and Stacey Solomon’s flower wall feature prove that celebs never do anything by halves. Some of the top accounts to follow include:
Zoë rose to fame as her YouTube alias, Zoella, where she amassed over 10 million subscribers, she has since become a big name in beauty products and released her own range of homeware products. As a new mum many of her posts have centred around her preparing for the baby, including a beautiful bright and happy nursery room makeover.
Stacy has become a huge personality on Instagram and after buying a house with her fiancé, Joe Swash, has been a fantastic source of home décor inspiration. Known for her “Tap to Tidy” videos, and later a book of the same name, Stacy has recently given birth to a new baby and spent the last few months creating one of the most extra nurseries you’ll lay your eyes on. She is due to host a new series, Sort Your Life Out, starting soon on the BBC.
Sophie rose to fame as an influencer for her cleaning tips and tricks and has since written three bestselling books on the topic as well as her memoir last year. A friend of Stacy Solomon, she recently gave birth to her second child and her Instagram posts featuring her family life over the last few months have been a huge source of home décor inspiration.
Further information can be found here: https://www.dulux.co.uk/en/articles/nurseries-of-instagram who commissioned the research
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