Nerding Up the Nursery: How to Prepare Your New Little Geek’s Room

If you’re anything like I was when we were expecting our first child, you demand geekiness from the get-go. And, unfortunately, if you’re thinking room decor, you’re really on your own. Nursery designers seem to think all room ought to be either, a) fraught with frills and flowers, or b) an homage to sports and trucks. Aside from the occasional astronomy theme, nothing remotely reflects the kind of environment I wanted my kid exposed to.

Thankfully, he was born in the Internet age, and with relatively little work on our part, we were able to incorporate a whole lotta geek in his room with very little cash.

Look around your house. This doesn’t even require a computer. We found a great poster of Middle-earth that used to hang in our office, but now lives proudly in our kiddo’s room. The colors are toned down and really go with anything.

Maps of all types work great for kids of either gender. A quick trip to a print shop and you can likely pick up a unique work of cartography—older maps of your own city or town are great for this—and integrate it into the decor of the room (if there is a cohesive theme, that is… who says there needs to be?)

Other cool house items: signs (we had one for Topsail Island, a favorite spot for the family’s yearly vacation), tiles, works of art, paintings, etc. And you’d be surprised how awesome a comic book looks, framed and on the wall.

Make a mobile: You’ve probably heard by now that newborn babies respond best to high-contrast pictures.  Instead of coughing up your money to get some trendy Pottery Barn version, make your own. Jan Andrea has an amazing do it yourself mobile project with printables, and it’s completely free to use. Our son loved this for the first five months of his life, and the only cost was the ink. We used recycled cardboard to back it and leftover yarn from my wife’s stash.

Hit the jump for more on decorating your geek-in-development’s room.

Heed the Call of Cthulhu: It’s in the details, really. Our gift to our son was a stuffed Cthulhu doll which happily sat and devoured the souls of his other plush toys, metaphorically speaking, until our lab mix got a hold of him (we have since dubbed our dog the Destroyer of the Destroyer of Worlds). Still, the geeklet loved his wee Cthulhu, so thankfully we were gifted a suitable replacement: a talking murloc.

Make a coat of arms: If you happen to be descended from nobles, or even not so nobles, chances are there’s a coat of arms out there for you. Do a little genealogy research and print out your motto, or the coat of arms. This can easily be turned into a project, too, like a mural. Then you have an excuse for using that overhead projector you picked up, too. (I also think the periodic table of elements would make a rad mural, but that’s just me). Don’t have a coat of arms? Create one yourself.

Over the moon: Our son was obsessed with the moon from the first time he saw it. After he destroyed every other nightlight, we found the National Geographic Moon in My Room. Complete with 12 phases of the moon, we put it on at night and he watches it until he falls asleep. Comforting, cute, and definitely a great geek detail.

All in the translation: So your significant other wants to go girly? Try the medieval princess approach. Husband wants to go for cars and trucks? You can always go for a touch of steampunk or dieselpunk instead. Sports fan? The Chudley Cannons were good enough for Ron Weasley and they’re probably good enough for your kid.

Remember, the most important part of decorating your baby’s room is that you make it fun. Being a geek is about identity, and though we can’t force our kids into it by osmosis, we can share bits of our interests with the hope that it inspire them throughout their lives.

Photo by mileena

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