The pitter-patter of a baby’s footsteps and his gurgles— these are sure to delight anyone. The entry of a little one in the family is a much celebrated event, and now, couples want to leave no stone unturned. Building a nursery or converting a personal space into a room for a baby is hugely popular in the city and designers are exploring their creative options with the same.

Sangeeta Singh, a freelance designer who devotes a lot of time to designing rooms for newborns and young children, says, “The demand has really gone up in the last five years or so. Many couples are delaying children but when they do get down to starting a family, they want to make sure that the little one’s arrival is special.” The key is to keep it alluring and simple— light pastel shades like blue, pale yellow, pink, limes, fuchsia, lavender work wonderfully as basic colour themes of nurseries. “The colour selection mainly depends on the gender of the baby,” adds Sangeeta.

Some of the most popular components include bunk beds, low tables and chairs, colourful cartoons, vinyl stickers of farm animals, semi-transparent curtains and bedspreads. “It has become easier for us to ideate for such spaces now because there are so many stores which have great merchandise for kids,” says Sangeeta. Going by popular demand, she has designed sandpits, penthouses and even beds designed like cars. These can be easily accommodated in independent homes due to availability of space. In apartments, the trick is to make use of whatever little space there is to create magical little getaways for the little ones.

One needs to understand that there are certain rules one has to play by, before designers can play with the space given to them. She admits that it is highly challenging to work within these parameters and produce a child-friendly environment. “We understand that a child will be spending his formative years in that space so it needs to be designed with a lot of foresight.”

Taking a cue or two from our Western counterparts, the trends surrounding infant care are also slowly changing. Sangeeta says, “Earlier, we would have everything passed on from our mothers like cribs, baby clothes and even feeding bottles. Now, parents want to make sure that everything their baby has is brand new and exclusive.”