New parents expecting twins face a unique set of challenges. One of the most exciting parts of expectant parenthood is designing a twin nursery. With twins, nursery themes and colors may be more difficult choices. Will you have room for extra twins’ nursery furniture in this space? With a few twin nursery ideas and a little bit of planning, decorating a nursery for twins can be just as easy as decorating for one baby.

Some parents wonder whether they should set up two separate nurseries for twins. They reason that if one baby cries, she won’t wake up the other baby. However, having one twin nursery allows you to have a central hub for feeding and changing the babies.

Twins Nursery: Furniture

Buying furniture is the most challenging aspect of designing a nursery for twins. First of all, you won’t need two of everything. When purchasing twins’ nursery furniture, one glider, changing table and dresser is enough. You likely won’t be feeding or changing both twins at the same time, so two gliders or changing tables may be overkill. And since infant clothes are so small, one dresser combined with a closet or armoire should provide ample storage space in a nursery for twins.

You will need two bassinets or cradles, and eventually you’ll need two cribs in a twin nursery. When the babies are small, they can share a crib. As they get bigger, though, each baby will need his own sleeping space in a nursery for twins.

If you’re short on space, make the cribs your first priority. You can always use a closet to store clothing, eliminating the need for a separate dresser. You may also be able to get by without purchasing a changing table — although with two sets of diapers to change, a changing table may be a welcome addition. Look into combination twins nursery furniture, such as dressers with a changing-table top, for added functionality in a small room.

Twins Nursery: Themes

If you are expecting twins, nursery themes abound. When designing a nursery for twins, nursery themes may help the nursery reflect the upcoming duo that will soon live in the room. Some of these twin nursery ideas include:

• Dr. Seuss™ Thing One and Thing Two, from The Cat in the Hat™
• Jack and Jill
• Noah’s ark
• Puppies and kittens
• Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum from Alice in Wonderland®.

Other Twin Nursery Ideas

However, you don’t have to use a nursery theme specifically geared toward twins. You can decorate the nursery using two coordinating colors, or use any of the nursery themes designed for single babies. An added benefit of using a basic design is that it will still serve your children well as they grow older. Once they start maturing and developing their own distinct personalities, they might not find twins nursery themes as cute as you did when you were designing your twin nursery.