Department stores are filled with instant decorating ideas for baby’s rooms. Quilts, lamps, wall decorations and more are available in motifs ranging from Winnie the Pooh to Peter Rabbit to more up-to-date storybook, TV and movie characters.

Primary colors for babies’ rooms have always been popular, as have pastels. But going beyond these, you can explore a range of cute and original ideas you can adapt for your little one’s nursery.

Go Dotty

By starting with a roll of multi-colored polka-dot wallpaper, you can create an eye-catching room for baby. Applying the wallpaper to one windowless wall will make a bold statement. Then you can paint the remaining walls and woodwork the background color of the paper;,generally in a light, neutral tone of white, cream or light yellow. Check at office supply stores for large dot stickers; you can attach these to the front of a dresser you’ve painted a solid color to coordinate with the wallpaper. Choose linens — including the quilt, the rocker cushion and the curtains — that pick up one of the colors in the wallpaper. For wall decorations, paint six 14″-round cardboard or plywood circles to match various polka dots in the wallpaper; these will become balloons when you dangle bright-colored cords beneath them. Be sure to mount the balloons high enough so the child will not be able to reach the cords.

Insect Infestation

Bugs — the cute ones — can provide the inspiration for a baby’s room. You might start with small bug-themed area rugs; you can find these featuring a variety of insects, including ladybugs, dragonflies, bumblebees and caterpillars. Choose one for the floor and one or two to hang as wall decorations. For an alternate wall decoration you could make a giant caterpillar out of felt circles; consider using Eric Carle’s book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” as your inspiration. Hanging a shelf designed to display stuffed insects will provide another focal point. You can find all kinds of plush cuties, ranging from fantasy bugs to spiders. Choose an insect mobile to hang over the crib. And with all this riot of color, calm down with a white crib and dresser. Paint a rocker white and cover the cushion with a piece of insect-printed fabric. You might want to attach a few bumblebee or spider stickers to the back of the rocker.

City Skyline

Since babies first see black and white and enjoy looking at these contrasts, consider a city theme for your little one’s room. Using a clip art image as your guide, create a simple city skyline on one wall using black paint or markers. Alternate tall buildings featuring lots of windows with shorter ones. Place the crib across the room where baby will be able to gaze at the city. Find a plush yellow area rug and paint a wooden rocker yellow. Make a line of yellow taxicabs to hang on the wall; again using clip art images as models, simply cut out shapes from cardboard and paint them yellow with black wheels. You can readily find a variety of black-and-white baby bedding in simple prints, stripes and dots.