10 Best Gender-Neutral Nursery Themes

Most parents today choose to find out the sex of their unborn babies some time about midway through pregnancy, during a simple ultrasound to check the baby's growth and development. However, some parents choose to forgo ultrasounds altogether for a variety of reasons, or have the ultrasound but specifically ask not to be told the baby's sex. Still other parents might know the baby's sex but still opt for a gender-neutral nursery because of aesthetic preferences or a desire to avoid stereotypes. If you're wanting to avoid the explosion of pink or blue, here are the 10 best gender-neutral nursery themes.

1. Ocean Life Nursery Theme

A coral reef themed nursery can be beautiful, colorful, and visually striking, and it doesn't immediately register as a "boy's nursery" or "girl's nursery." Choose from either realistic or cartoon-style critters. You can also take this in another uncommon direction by decorating the nursery with whales, dolphins, or orcas!

2. Farmyard Nursery Theme

This might strike some parents-to-be as too boyish to be called "gender-neutral," but don't jump to conclusions too quickly! There are many ways to use baby or cartoonish farm animals, especially with soft pastel colors, so that this cute nursery theme looks sweet, gentle, and appropriate for either a boy or a girl.

3. Hey Diddle Diddle

This (and other nursery rhymes) can make a wonderful gender-neutral theme for a baby's room. There are several companies that make pre-made wall art, blankets, and mobiles featuring those familiar characters like the dish and the spoon and the cat with the fiddle. Have fun with it!

4. Stars, Moon, and Planets

You can take this in one of two directions: soft, subdued, friendly celestial images of smiling moons and and stars, or a more realistic and adventurous theme with rocket ships and more realistic images. This nursery theme includes a full and diverse color palette with lots of yellows, golds, whites, and blues.

5. Teddy Bears

Boy or girl, every little kid loves teddy bears! The best part of this gender-neutral nursery theme is that it can be done in almost any color scheme: bright primary colors; pastel oranges and yellows; sage and brown; or any color combined with white and grey.

6. Rainforest

Rainforest and jungle-themed nurseries may be among the most popular gender-neutral options. And why shouldn't they be? Rainforests are beautiful and can feature lots of fun animal-related decorations, from monkeys and toucans to tigers and hippos. Vivid, bright colors or subdued shades of green can both look great.

7. Forest Friends

Forest animals don't have to come from an exotic jungle to make a baby's room come alive! Many parents are now opting to decorate nurseries with familiar critters from temperate forests, like bears, raccoons, bunnies, deer, and songbirds. Add some cute mushroom- and tree-themed accessories and you've got an adorable gender-neutral nursery!

8. Rubber Duckies

Those squeaky bathtime pals are such an icon of childhood that almost no new-baby collection could be considered truly complete without them! Rubber ducks can be a great gender-neutral nursery theme because they aren't associated strongly with boys or girls, and, better still, they can match almost any color scheme (including gender-neutral pairings like greys, greens, red, black, and white).

9. Beautiful Sky 
There's so much more to this classical, soothing theme than just blue! Turn your new baby's room into a celestial paradise with clouds, suns, rainbows, hot-air balloons, and perhaps raindrops! Even though this theme is predominantly blue in color, it looks completely appropriate for a girl when everything's set up.

10. Lambs

This cute, fleecy theme can be taken in any of several different directions. You can base it on a nursery rhyme like "Mary had a Little Lamb" or "Lambs Eat Ivy" or "Baa Baa Black Sheep," or you can integrate it as part of a farmyard or meadow theme. There are many different ways to doll this up, dress it down, or switch it around to fit your interests and stylistic preferences.

It's not hard at all to come up with fun, creative, and adorable ways to decorate a nursery without resorting to stereotypical "boy" or "girl" nursery themes. Whether you're skipping the ultrasound, choosing not to hear what's seen on it, or simply opting to avoid gender-based stereotypes, these nursery themes are an excellent way to get started with your little one's room.