Kitting out a new nursery in preparation for the arrival of a new baby is so much fun that many interior designers specialise in just that area. The choice of designs for wall coverings, the delicious and subtle muted and pastel shades of paint for the woodwork and the range of rugs in traditional, novelty or wild and contemporary patterns is immense. If you are at that stage where you are considering how to arrange the baby’s furniture, or which one of the 28 colour schemes you will actually settle on, then you need to also consider the cot and cradle and how you want this to be decorated too. There are so many little bits and pieces that can be added to the basic cot and mattress, such as a bumper rail in a cute pattern, dangling mobile, play centre with buttons to press and things to turn and twist, for that little love that needs entertaining at 3 o’clock in the morning. Cushions, blankets, duvet covers and so much more are available for you. You need to make the baby’s cot or cradle as cosy and pleasing as possible. It will be the centre of your child’s world for quite some time and the tiny person will be spending many hours there, and not necessarily asleep. With so many gadgets and gizmos that are an absolute must, kitting out baby and the cot can eat into your savings. Making a baby gifts wish list and distributing it amongst your friends is a great way of ensuring that they focus on what is needed rather than what they think is just plain cute. They will have the added bonus of being invited round to visit you and your new baby and to see the lovely baby gifts in position in the nursery, and they will be happy in the knowledge that their baby gift is highly appreciated.

Baby blankets are a definite necessity and are both versatile and essential as part of your baby gifts wish list. A baby blanket can enhance a child’s bedroom for many years, right from birth, and will be used for all sorts of other purposes that you, as an adult, just do not have the imagination to think about. Who would have thought that a simple thing like a baby blanket could be converted into an explorer’s tent, the all important sail in a pirate ship, a picnic cloth, Red Riding Hood’s cloak or even a rocket launch pad? As a baby gift, a baby blanket will be gratefully received, even if the recipient already possesses several others, and a baby blanket which is personalised makes a truly individual baby gift. In a choice of pale blue or soft pink, the Handmade Kids’ Blanket is beautifully appliqued with multi -coloured lettering to spell out the new baby’s name and he or she will just love that aspect of it. The popularity of a baby blanket with the ever growing child, and the fact that they will be inseparable, means that it will get quite grubby on a regular basis, especially when it is sailing the high seas with the villains or running away from a stupid but hungry wolf in the woods, and so the fact that these fabulous baby gifts are machine washable is so important.

Once you have got baby off to sleep, and that is easier said than done, you do not want the rest of the family bounding about the place like giant kangaroos, so instead of having to remind them to keep the noise down so as not to disturb the little tiger, a great baby gift of a Personalised Nursery Sign slung elegantly on the outside of the nursery door will do the job for you. This really attractive and trendy baby gift consists of a rectangular piece of reclaimed wood with a distressed finish to the design which tells you to Shhh. This design is personalised with baby’s name and comes in blue or pink pastel shades. All trendy babies and their proud parents will love this baby gift to add to their stylish nursery.

It is never too early to get your young one saving for all those rainy days.

Every child needs a piggy bank and these days the designs are so varied that a sensible kid will probably have several scattered around his or her room.

So set the new baby on a practical path and give a baby gift of a Personalised Little Teddy Money Box. This pretty design is hand painted with cute coloured dots and can be personalised with the baby’s name, just in case there may be any confusion as to who’s dosh is in there.

Looking to the future, but not that far forward, this little baby will be growing and losing teeth like nobody’s business so a really lovely baby gift is a Personalised Tooth Fairy Cushion which can decorate baby’s cot or be hung from a cupboard door as decoration until its tooth pocket needs to be used to collect all of those baby teeth. That way, the Tooth Fairy will know exactly where to find them.

Many people would be asking right now, how could blanket chests be a versatile type of furniture? Don’t they just belong at the end of your bed for blanket and quilt storage? Great question. If we look back to Early America, blanket chests usually held a prominent place in the home. Many hope chests were given a place of honor in the front room with the family bible placed upon the top and family treasures placed inside. This actually worked out well since many styles of Early American hope chests were fairly tall.

Many homes now show off blanket chests in their living rooms and dens as coffee tables and end tables. Others place these stylish chests in their front entryways to be used as sideboards to give it the ‘welcome home’ look. Tall blanket chests have been used in the form of buffets in the dining room. A big favorite is to use these wood chests as extra cozy seating area in front of large windows. Of course, some people still insist on placing these extremely versatile chests at the end of their beds which does give them the storage and seating they desire in their bedrooms.

Americans are buying blanket chests now not only to enhance their decors but to also add a new tradition for their families. Many people had steered away from family ties and tradition in the last couple of decades. Family traditions had ceased to be important to some or just too time consuming for other families. Now people are trying to recapture what they have been missing. Family traditions are very important since they help to hold families together. Part of this transition has included obtaining heirlooms that can be passed down to future generations. Every grandparent would love to give a cherished item to each grandchild.

Blanket chests, also known as hope chests and dowry chests, have long held sentimental value for families.These wood chests were usually given to young girls to fill with household items necessary for their future home when they married.This made a lot of sense since sewing and crocheting items by hand was very time consuming. Many of these hope chests had the name of the person who received the chest and date of presentation. This shows that families emphasized the giving of hope chests a very important event in a young girl’s life.

Some lucky families have centuries old hope chests since the wood craftsmen knew how to construct long lasting furniture. Mortise and tenon or dovetail were normally the joinery styles of choice for these beautiful hardwood chests. Both joinery styles not only have wonderful design elements, but have proven to be much stronger methods for long lasting furniture than other construction types. Used in conjunction with glue, the joints of these joinery styles have been shown to be stronger than the wood used in the construction of these wonderful wooden chests. These joinery styles are much preferred over the use of nails and screws in the box construction of blanket chests since these hardware items have a tendency to eventually loosen and fall out. Sometimes heavy damage is caused in the process.

Blanket chests come in all furniture styles, but the ones that create a nice ambiance are those that replicate the antique blanket chests. German immigrants that moved to Pennsylvania, made hope chests that were handcrafted during the 18th and 19th Centuries which have beautiful styling and joinery. These blanket chests have been the favorite among collectors. Some chests had subtle outer design elements carved on the front sides which were usually floral designs. Other wood chests had elaborate,colorful designs which included flowers, people on horseback, hex designs meant to keep away bad spirits, hearts and stars.

The New England coastal area also boasted highly sought after blanket chests which replicated many of the styles of furniture made in Europe. The Queen Anne style, which was started in England, was probably the most favored. It was given a more stylish look in America. All along the New England coast, every major city had its own particular mode of Queen Anne furniture. Each city had its own foot style and preferred leg and design construction. Most furniture experts would agree that the Queen Anne Style was at its absolute best when made by American wood craftsmen.

With so many designs and heights of blanket chests to choose from, it is no wonder that Americans are really beginning to see that versatile blanket chests can be given great placement in nearly every room of their home to add warmth and to add depth to every decor style.