When To Start Planning Twin Nursery Decor?
Most expecting parents prefer to start planning their nursery by the end of the first trimester. Moreover, when two babies are on your way, it is never too early to begin with the process. All the major planning and designing work should be done within the second trimester. It is at this point you will be energetic enough to do the bulk of your nursery prep work.
The major nursery decor must never be left for the third trimester for three reasons:
- Your big baby bump might exhaust you too quickly, leaving all the work for your partner to manage alone.
- Moreover, you will not be able to get fully involved in the nursery designing process.
- Most importantly, once you are in the third trimester, your babies might even decide up to show earlier than you expect.
Here is a rough twin nursery timeline for you to get started with the overall plan:
Week 14 to 16: Decide The Budget
Although you don’t need double the budget as that of having one baby, you definitely need a slightly higher budget. While there are many double-duty furniture pieces and dual baby gear options for you to choose from, there are some things you cannot simply manage in a single pack. The cribs, clothing, feeding supplies, diapers and toiletries, etc. are a few to be named.
Week 17 to 18: Select The Theme
Although deciding on the theme doesn’t have to be too complicated, there are still many factors involved. From choosing the color palette to the major furniture items and decor pieces, there’s a lot you’ve got to consider.
Week 19 Onwards: Create Your Twin Registry List
Creating the baby registry list becomes even more hectic and thoughtful with twins. Although you don’t need double the registry items as compared to parents who are expecting a singleton, determining the right items while figuring out your needs and wants is quite difficult.
Ideally, you should dedicate two weeks to sort out the major items on your registry list to be able to understand the main things you have to buy. However, you can even take slightly longer and add the second stuff to the list as late as the 27th week or before you send out the baby shower invitations.
Week 21 Onwards: Babyproof Your Home & Make The Required Repairs
If your apartment needs some major repairs to accommodate two new members in the family, get started with the work as soon as possible. Sometimes refurbishment and construction work might take longer than you expect, especially if you prefer doing it all by yourself without any professional help. However, if no major repairs are intended, you’ve still got enough to do to babyproof your home, especially the nursery before the essential furniture items start piling up in your home.
Week 21 to 23: Purchase The Essential Items
While many parents choose to even add the most essential items like the crib to their registry list, many prefer to buy it themselves to get more involved in the baby preps and start the decor. After all, the main setup of the nursery is dependent on the positioning of the crib. With twins, you’ve got to figure out even more geometry out of the room to make the cribs look great at their specified places.
- Start by looking for the must-have items for twins both online and offline.
- Compare the prices and deeply understand the pros and cons of the models or items you are considering.
- Consider other aspects such as the color complementation of the items you are buying with your selected nursery theme.
- Make the purchase as soon as possible – without any rush or uninformed decision though to get started with the main decoration and set up process.
Week 24 Onwards: Start The Nursery Setup
By this time, most of your main furniture items should arrive – even if you bought them online and the room must also be ready to be furnished.
- Start assembling the cribs, storage chests, shelves and other essential furniture items you may have bought.
- Position everything well keeping symmetry and safety in mind.
- Paint and decorate the accent wall as desired.
- Weatherstrip the windows and doors to maintain optimum temperature and moisture in the nursery.
Week 28 Onwards: Add The Optional Decor Pieces
All in all, it might take a maximum of four weeks for you to fully set up the nursery including painting the walls, optimizing most of the available space for storage, positioning the major furniture pieces and doing all the drilling and fixtures to add shelves or other things you might require.
Now comes even the more exciting part of adding the final touches, picking up statement pieces to enhance the decor and the overall theme and pull up all the loose ends to be ready to welcome your baby anytime soon. Don’t worry! It’s not too early! You will find yourself busy with tiny details till the last moment of your pregnancy.
Week 30 Onwards: Baby Shower & Resting Time
When you are expecting twins, there has to be double the exhaustion and a larger baby bump to carry. Hence, you must take appropriate rest and not be involved in any hectic work by this time. Organize the baby shower, click loads and loads of maternity pictures and rest enough!
Twin Nursery Checklist: Essential Items You Need To Purchase
After dealing with countless emotions once they get the news that it’s actually two bundles of joy they are expecting, the first thought most parents have is “We need to purchase double of everything now!”. However, you don’t necessarily need to double your budget too to welcome your twin babies into this world.
With a surplus of parenting information and too many choices, many parents are of the viewpoint that it is getting expensive to raise a child these days. However, this is not completely true, especially for the twins baby furniture!
Preparing for twins without doubling up everything or having an extravagantly high budget is completely possible once you know what you essentially need for both your little munchkins.
Here is a list of essential things you need for your twin babies. Depending upon your preference, you can choose to either purchase them, borrow them, or add them to your registry list – however applicable. Also, we have just given you an inspiration of the quantities you may require and you may adjust them as per your preferences and requirement.
Clothing
- Homecoming outfits – 1 per baby (newborn size)
- Onesies – 6 pairs for each
- T-shirts and pyjamas – 5 pairs for each
- Footed pyjamas – 2 pairs each
- Leggings – 2 pairs each
- Night suits – 3 sets per baby
- Zip-up sweaters – 1 per baby if the weather is normal and 3 to 4 per baby if it is cold
- Jackets – 3 per baby if the weather is cold
- Bibs – 6 per baby
- Mittens – 3 to 4 pairs for each
- Socks – 3 to 4 pairs for each
- Warm caps – 2 per baby
- Sun hats – 1 per baby
Feeding
- Feeding bottles and silicone nipples – 2 for each
- Infant formula
- Bottle cleaning brush
- Pacifier – 2 for each
- Burp cloths – 1 for each
Nursing Supplies
- Nipple cream
- Nursing bras
Diapers & Toiletries
- Unscented baby wipes – 1 travel pack and 1 full pack
- Diapers – 1 medium-sized pack of newborn size (you might purchase the larger pack depending upon the weight of the babies later on)
- Diaper rash cream
- Reusable cloth nappies – 3 each (if you prefer, you can buy more later)
- Baby safe talcum powder
- Baby massage oil
- Baby hair oil
- Soft-bristle hair brushes – 2
- Baby lotion
- Baby-safe sunscreen
- Baby-safe mosquito repellent
- Cotton swabs and Q-tips
- Baby-safe laundry detergent and stain fighter
- Baby nail clippers
Bathing
- Baby bathtub – 1
- Bath towels – 1 medium-sized and 1 large for each
- Hooded towels – 2 for each
- Cotton washcloths – 3 for each
- Baby safe shampoo
- Shampoo rinse cup
- Fragrance-free baby soap or body wash
Furniture & Essential Accessories
- Bassinet and/or pack n play – 1 for each
- Crib – 1 for each
- Nursing chair – 1
- Diaper changing table – 1
- Changing mat – 1
- Storage cabinet and drawers – the larger the better but must be perfectly sized to fit in the nursery without making it look too crowded
- Laundry hamper – 1
- Nursery waste bin
- Blackout curtains
- Nightlight
- Hangers
Bedding & Sleep Accessories – Purchase Only As and When Required
- Crib mattresses
- Crib fitted sheets
- Waterproof crib mattress cover
- Sleepsacks – 1 per baby
- Swaddle blankets
- Fleece blankets – At least 1 per baby
- Warm blankets – At least 1 per baby
Baby Gears & Travel Items
- Twin car seat
- Baby carriers – 2
- Large diaper bag for twins
- Twin stroller or convertible pram
Playtime
- Stuffed toys or lovies – 2
- Bouncer, rocker or swing – optional but really helpful to have (if you cannot accommodate two in your home, one works fine too – especially when you need to pick one baby up and put the other one down)
- Rattles
Health
- First aid kit
- Baby ear syringe
- Saline nasal drops
- Nasal aspirator
- Thermometer
Some Non-Essential Random Equipment That Might Come In Handy
- Humidifier
- White noise machine – we don’t rave about it though (your smartphone can do the same job too)
- Baby monitor – especially if your twins won’t share the room with you and will sleep in their private nursery
- Swimsuits – 1 set for each; probably after three months of age
- Diaper pail – if you prefer it
How To Stay Prepared For Twins?
As soon as you know about the twin pregnancy, it is completely normal to be overwhelmed with a lot of thoughts, emotions and questions. However, many expecting mommies start panicking and getting anxious – which isn’t the best thing someone should experience during such a beautiful time!
Hence, here are a few things that will help you stay prepared to welcome your babies soon!
1. Don’t Ignore The Importance Of Following The Nursery Timeline
Although you don’t have to stick to very strict dates for starting nursery preps, it is always a wise idea to follow the basic timeline outlined above. With a well-curated timeline, planning and preparing for your twins becomes a lot easier.
2. Accept Any Hand-Me-Downs
It is completely okay to reuse baby essentials, especially when you have so many more expenses planned ahead. Just make sure you check whether the model you are about to reuse still meets the safety standards as set forth by the JPMA, ASTM and CPSC, and hasn’t been recalled on their official websites.
3. Print The Essentials Checklist
Although the checklist shared by us might not have a few things that you consider essential, it is still detailed enough to give you the right start to purchase or add them to your registry list. Print the checklist or capture screenshots and customize it if required.
Best Nursery Colors For Boy/Girl Twins
Selecting the color palette for a single baby nursery is difficult enough. With twins, it needs even more consideration.
If you are expecting both your twins to be girls, here are a few colors to consider:
- Pastels, especially pink, purple and peach
- Deep shades well-combined with white such as navy, berry and teal
- Aqua blue with bold yellow
- Muted aqua with ivory
- Berry pink with light gray or cream
For both twin boys, you can consider the following colors for the nursery setup. Don’t worry! Our color palette is not just limited to blues!
- Mint green with pale yellow
- Pastel blue with turquoise – if you prefer one light and one dark shade
- Pastel blue with peach – if you want to keep both colors subtle but one cool and one warm
- Navy blue and silver gray
- Classic red and aqua – especially for a winter baby
- Teal and tangerine
- Rustic brown and off-white
- Black and white
Choosing nursery colors is the most difficult when you are expecting mixed gender twins. Hence here are the best colors to consider for mixed gender twins or if you want a gender-neutral nursery set up even with an all-boys or girls duo.
- Neutral colors such as greige, ivory, and silver combined with earthy hues
- White with dark brown
- Monochromatic
- Black and white
- Gray and white
- Rustic brown and off-white
- Yellow and green
- Earthy orange and white
How To Choose Nursery Colors For Boy/Girl Twins?
Selecting the nursery color combinations shared above might look intimidating but you don’t have to stress about it too much. Here’s how you can select the right nursery colors:
- Depending upon what gender your twins have, select the top few shades to consider
- Determine what color group you want to stay in – whether you like lights or darks more
- If you are more inclined towards earthy hues, switch to neutral colors
- Pick the color combination that you like the most
- If you are confused between two to three color combinations, choose the one that matches the rest of your home the most
How To Choose The Right Twins Baby Furniture?
Selecting the right twins baby furniture is highly important to make the nursery look well-designed without burning a hole in your pocket. Here are our top tips to choose the best twin baby beds and other furniture items for the nursery:
- Purchase two standard sized cribs and make sure to select the colors that complement the nursery theme well
- It is better if all the essential nursery furniture along with the baby bed for twins have the same color tones
- Look for versatile furniture that offers more space because, with twins, storage is never enough
- For example, choose cribs that have storage shelves beneath or buy a diaper changing table that combines drawers as well as storage shelves
Awe-Inspiring Twin Nursery Themes To Try In 2023
Before you start looking for twin nursery themes to get started, take a few moments to determine your personal style and design preferences. Are you more inclined towards traditional decor or prefer being unconventional chic or experimental?
Are you a minimalist or love the bohemian and carefree design approach? What does the rest of your home look like? Do you want the nursery color palette to be completely different or match the interior of your home? What about the gender of your babies?
Choosing a nursery theme and overall room layout is difficult enough for one baby. With twins, the trouble is double! If you are confused about selecting from the best twin nursery themes to accommodate your tiny tots, these theme inspirations will help to get your creative juices flowing and design a perfect nursery for twins.
Nursery Themes For Twin Baby Girls
Here are some of our most favorite twin baby girl nursery themes to consider:
1. Princess Themed Nursery
For a real-girly nursery, there’s nothing better than a princess themed dreamy nursery. Don’t forget to top off the cribs with a crown canopy! You can DIY it too!
Image Courtesy: Mama @ohmelohmy via Instagram
Product Featured: Evolur Aurora 5-in-1 Convertible Crib
2. Unicorn Themed Nursery
For parents who are bored of the traditional pinky vibes for anything girly, a unicorn-themed nursery seems just right!
Image Courtesy: Mama @mary_d0lly via Instagram
Product Featured: Evolur Aurora 5-in-1 Convertible Crib
3. Classic Floral Themed Nursery
If you want a feminine but not too pink-purplish nursery theme, you cannot go wrong with a floral theme. All you need is a statement floral wall and add some faux or baby-safe floral plants to decorate the room.
Nursery Themes For Twin Baby Boys
If you are expecting both your twins to be boys, here are some of our most favorite twin baby boys nursery themes to consider:
1. Zoo Themed Nursery
What’s better than planning a zoo-themed nursery with some cute animals around?
Image Courtesy: Mama @neisayamilet via Instagram
Product Featured: Evolur Stellar Bassinet & Bedside Sleeper
2. Space Themed Nursery
Another cool idea to give wings to your little boys, turn your twin nursery into the universe accentuated by some space-related signature pieces.
Image Courtesy: The Spruce
3. Car Themed Nursery
You can also consider a car-themed nursery for your baby boys if the space or zoo theme seems difficult to accomplish.
Image Courtesy: Pinterest
Gender Neutral Nursery Themes For Mix Gender Twin
For parents who don’t support gender stereotypes or are expecting mix gender twins, here are some of our top nursery ideas:
1. Vintage Themed Nursery
Really easy to accomplish with no bold colors, basic shades, and still a classic vibe! The vintage-themed nursery is an even better choice for parents who are using hand-me-down cribs or old furniture!
2. Whimsical Nursery
For parents who want to make the nursery look really colorful without sticking to any specific color palette, the Aurora nursery incorporating all vibrant colors is just the right choice.
Image Courtesy: Mama @downsouthstreet via Instagram
Product Featured: Evolur Aurora 5-in-1 Convertible Crib
3. Plant Themed Nursery
A nursery inspired by plants can never go wrong! You can easily choose wood-finish furniture without any expensive statement pieces. Here are some of the best plants for baby nursery, just in case you’re interested. You can also opt for a cactus-themed nursery.
Important Things To Keep In Mind While Setting Up A Whimsical Twin Nursery: Make Way For Twins!
Here are a few important things we and many experienced twin parents have to share with you before you proceed with your twin nursery décor. If you take this advice seriously, we are sure you will end up with a classic and highly functional nursery for your tiny tots.
1. Don’t Double Everything
Never be tempted to buy two of everything. While you cannot share some essentials, you cannot double up everything. After all, you don’t have four hands. Do you? Moreover, what’s better than teaching your twin babies to be patient for their turn and learn to share at a young age?
2. Crib Placement
In a nursery for twins, the crib placement plays a huge role in making room for more storage without making it look too crowded. Ensure the crib placement is done in such a way that it neither hinders your kids’ safety nor the room’s overall layout. The baby bed for twins must be positioned opposite or adjacent to each other with at least one foot of difference for you to navigate through at night and avoid your twins from climbing into each other’s crib.
- Place the crib away from the window to keep your infant safe against overheating from direct sunlight.
- Moreover, when cribs are positioned near the windows, babies are at a high risk of falling down while attempting to climb out.
- If not even the worst, your baby might pull down the blind cords, curtains, or try reaching out as soon as they are slightly older.
3. Maximize The Storage
We’ve already said that and we cannot stress it enough! With two babies, you are going to require a lot more room for personal belongings. So, look for dead spaces, try to incorporate smart storage solutions wherever possible, and consider adding storage shelves on the wall for extra dimension and maximized storage.
4. Keep It Simple
It is best to stick to a minimalist approach while designing a twin nursery. After all, with two babies and two cribs, the room also has enough going on inside. Don’t go overboard with the decoration and keep the accessories as simple as possible. If you are tempted towards bold colors and busy patterns, only choose them if you have a large nursery. It is better to keep small nurseries plain, light-colored and simple.
Frequently Asked Questions About Twin Nursery Ideas For Small Rooms/Small Nursery For Twins
Have some questions related to twin nursery décor and twin nursery themes on your mind? Here are our answers to some of the most commonly asked questions asked by parents wanting to set up a classic nursery for twins.
Should twins sleep in the same crib?
No. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests having each of your twins sleep in their own crib – at least for the first six months of their lives as they are at high risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). However, once your tiny tots are older, they can share the same toddler bed if you follow all the recommended sleep safety guidelines for twins.
Some people are of the viewpoint that it is safe to let twins sleep close to each other in the same crib as soon as they’re tightly swaddled, we don’t recommend that. Your precious babies are not worth taking any risks. Crib sharing must specifically never be considered for babies who are born prematurely or at low birth weight.
- Putting twins in the same crib can disturb one child if the other one wakes up.
- Moreover, the body temperatures can quickly rise when twins share the same cot making it too hot for them or even putting them at risk for breathing difficulties, suffocation, strangulation or entrapment.
- After all, the width of a standard size crib is designed to accommodate one growing baby but with twins, the space for each one soon starts getting smaller and restricted further increasing the risks of SIDS.
Do you need two changing tables for twins?
No. You don’t need two changing tables for twin babies. After all, your twins will not always soil their diapers at the same time. And even if they do, one still has to wait a minute until you finish changing the diaper for one of them. However, it is better to look for a double-duty diaper changing table that offers slightly more storage than the conventional ones to be able to stack more diapers and some more belongings.
What do twins sleep in when newborns?
Even if newborn, twins should be put to sleep in separate cribs to stay completely safe and comfortable throughout the night. While some people would label “co-bedding twins” as completely safe, it is quite risky and can expose your bubs to chances of overheating and even SIDS, especially if they are not sharing the room with you.
How do you sleep train twins babies?
Setting up your twins’ sleep schedule can be double the hard work but with consistent bedtime routines, cozy before-bed feeding, dim lights, a balanced environment with optimum moisture and temperature levels, and no harsh noises, your twins can be sleep trained gradually.
The Key Takeaway
Designing a nursery for twins is not extremely different from designing it for one baby except for some extra focus on the positioning of two cribs, overall symmetry, and a fair design. Moreover, preparing a twin nursery should mean double the fun and excitement and not double the stress.
With the perfect guidance on how and when to get started, everything can soon begin to fall in place bit by bit. Your main attention should be on fetching out more and more easy to access storage and multi-functional twins baby furniture to easily manage both your bundles of joy without any hassles.
If you are expecting an all-girls or boys squad, you might find countless twin nursery decor ideas everywhere around on the internet. But if mix-gender twins are on your way, the twin nursery themes can still be exciting with a little more brainstorming.
Remember, a twin nursery doesn’t have to be way too spacious or expensive. It just needs to be put together really well. We hope you found this step by step twin nursery guide useful to get started! Which of these ideas intrigue you the most? Feel free to share your thoughts (and recommendations) with us in the comments below!
