Updated October 30, 2026
A good toddler room keeps what still works from the nursery, then makes the room safe and easy for a small, curious person to reach: anchor the furniture, bring their books and toys down low, and move anything breakable up high. Most of the time the wall art can stay, and when the room needs more, you add to the set you already have instead of starting again.
That saves a lot of money and a lot of weekends.
The move usually sneaks up on you. One week the nursery works. The next, every book on the bottom shelf is on the floor and the dresser drawers have become a staircase. Parents often tell me they think the whole room has to go. It almost never does. Most of the changes happen at knee height, and the wall is the part that can stay.
Below is my checklist for moving from a nursery to a toddler room, which nursery prints carry over, and how to grow a set you already own. Then come 14 toddler room ideas: six by theme, four for a little girl's room and four for the rest of the room. Toddler boys have a post of their own: Toddler boy room ideas.
Jump to a section:
- What changes when a nursery becomes a toddler room?
- Which nursery prints still work in a toddler room?
- How do you add to a nursery set instead of starting again?
- Toddler room ideas by theme
- Toddler girl room ideas
- What about a toddler boy room?
- Toddler room ideas for the rest of the room
- What size art works in a toddler room?
- Where should art hang in a toddler room?
- Questions parents ask
What changes when a nursery becomes a toddler room?
I walk through the same seven steps every time, in this order.
- Kneel in the doorway. Look at the room from about two feet up. Everything you can touch from there, your toddler can touch too, and that's where most of the work is.
- Anchor every dresser and bookcase to the wall. Drawers look a lot like stairs to a toddler (CPSC).
- Bring their things down low. Books, a few toys, their shoes and a hamper they can reach. Once a toddler can get things out and put them back, the room starts working for them.
- Send everything else up high. Lamps, anything breakable and anything in a tube or a bottle goes above their reach or behind a closed door. Framed art stays on the wall with proper hardware and kid-safe plexi.
- Decide on the bed. A converted crib, a low toddler bed, a floor bed or a twin. Choose what suits your child and your room, and plan the wall above it as if the bed will stay for years.
- Check the art over the bed. If prints hang over the crib or the new bed, they need proper hardware, never tape or one small nail, and the framed version with kid-safe plexi, not glass.
- Let them choose one thing. A pillow, a lamp, one new print. It gives them a corner of the room that's theirs.
If the bed swap is the big change in your house, my post on growing a nursery into a big-girl room shows how one move can carry a whole room.
Which nursery prints still work in a toddler room?
Almost everything on the wall can stay. Toddlers don't outgrow a picture; they start using it. Once they're pointing and naming, a print turns into a game: where's the bear, where's the moon, how many cubs are there?
The pieces that carry over best have a little story in them. Storybook bears, bunnies, foxes and ducks look as right at one as they do at five. Moons and night skies still earn their place, because bedtime matters as much at three as it did at three months. And quiet landscapes, like mountains, meadows and the sea, don't belong to any age.
Two I'd never take down
A gentle bear telling stories to two cubs under a watchful moon, and a fox and a bear sitting side by side in the snow, watching a full moon. The second is one of our best sellers. Both have the kind of detail a three-year-old will ask about at bedtime.
The pieces I'd move on are small prints that looked right over a crib and now look lost over a bed, and art so pale it disappears once the toys arrive. Move them to a hallway or a shelf. Nothing has to go in a box.
If the nursery had dinosaurs or cars, you're already halfway there. Those themes carry straight into the toddler years, usually with more enthusiasm than before. My dinosaur nursery post and car-themed nursery post have the prints for both.
How do you add to a nursery set instead of starting again?
Order more prints from the same look, in the same size and frame finish you chose the first time, and hang them as one bigger group. I like this part of a toddler room best, because it costs less than a new theme and usually looks better.
- Find the name of the set. It's on your order and on the listing.
- Choose the same size as before. Matching sizes keep the frames in line and the gaps even.
- Choose the same frame finish. Natural oak next to natural oak reads as one piece. Natural oak next to walnut reads as two shopping trips.
- Hang old and new together. Two prints over the crib can become four over the bed, or stay put while a new pair goes over the reading corner.
Our choose-your-own gallery sets are built for this. Many of them let you pick any 1, 2, 3, 4 or 6 prints from one look, and every print in a gallery has the same size and the same finish. Autumn Folk Animal Friends has 20 designs in a folk-art style, from a hedgehog hugging a big red apple to a raccoon and a badger having tea on a tree stump, all in rust, olive and mustard. Start with two in the nursery and you still have 18 to choose from later.
Soft Pastel Animal Friends works the same way, with 13 watercolor-style designs, most of them pairs, like a fox cub nuzzling a bunny, in pale blue, sage, sand and blush.
Toddler room ideas by theme
1. Big, simple animals toddler room idea
One bold shape per print is the easiest art for a child who's learning words. They can name it from across the room.
Our Bold Color Animals set has 14 designs: a brown bear, a curled-up red fox, a bright green frog, a blue bull and more, each one a big, simple shape in a single strong color with thick outlines and a chunky crayon-style texture. For a calmer wall, Winking Apple Animals has six soft grey and taupe animals on cream, each one winking and holding a red apple. The sloth is my favorite.
Colors: brick red, mustard and teal (bold), or dove grey, cream and apple red (calm)
Pairs well with: farm (idea 4) and music (idea 5).
2. Puppy and kitten toddler room idea
Plenty of two-year-olds would trade every toy they own for a dog. A wall of puppies is the next best thing.
Golden retriever families with their puppies in meadows full of flowers, from a dog leaping for a ball to a family asleep under a shady tree. A fluffy ginger tabby kitten batting a ball of blue yarn, or sitting on a stack of pastel books. And nine dog portraits in a detailed colored-pencil look, including a corgi peeking in upside down. The golden retrievers are a best seller, and the upside-down corgi is the one I'd hang where guests will see it.
Colors: sunny yellow, ginger and meadow green
Pairs well with: rainy days (idea 3) and night sky (idea 6).
3. Rainy day and puddle toddler room idea
Nothing beats a wet day when you're two and own a pair of boots.
Two kittens sailing an upturned red umbrella across a grey-blue sea, and two fox cubs riding a red paper boat. A yellow duckling with a brown bow, sheltering under a big leaf in the rain, inside a scalloped sage gingham oval. And a lion cub striding straight through a muddy puddle, ears up, completely unbothered by the splash. Put the lion cub by the door where the rain boots live.
Colors: slate blue, poppy red and butter yellow
Pairs well with: puppies and kittens (idea 2) and farm (idea 4).
4. Farm toddler room idea
Animal sounds are a big part of the toddler years, and the barnyard has the best ones.
Our Countryside Farm Animals set has ten quiet country scenes in a watercolor style, from a white horse grazing among wildflowers to a mother duck leading her ducklings down a reedy river, with hens, geese, sheep, cows and a donkey along the way. Add a shaggy highland calf lying in tall golden grass, and a curly-haired little boy riding a smiling sheep through a meadow of red and white flowers. I'd hang that one where your toddler can see it from bed.
Colors: meadow green, golden ochre and cream
Pairs well with: big, simple animals (idea 1) and rainy days (idea 3).
More farm prints are in our farm nursery decor collection.
5. Music toddler room idea
Every toddler owns at least one drum, even if it's a pot and a wooden spoon.
A cheerful orange octopus drums under the sea among coral and little fish. An elephant, a giraffe and a monkey play trumpet, harmonica and snare drum on a little wooden stage under bunting. And a brown bear on a log plays a double bass while a tiny mouse sits on it with a trumpet of its own. The octopus is a best seller and the brightest of the three. The bear and his mouse are the quietest, in soft browns and cream.
Colors: honey brown, soft terracotta and sea blue
Pairs well with: big, simple animals (idea 1) and night sky (idea 6).
6. Night sky toddler room idea
Bedtime can turn into a negotiation at two. I like at least one wall that quietly says "time to sleep."
Creamy white cats and kittens with glowing orange butterflies under deep navy skies, including a kitten looking at its reflection in a pond. Penguins in snowy scenes under a starry sky, from one sliding belly first down a slope to a parent and chick under hanging stars. And whales swimming under a pale gold moon among seaweed, coral and bubbles. The cat set is one of our best sellers, and it glows without being bright.
Colors: deep navy, pale gold and snow white
Pairs well with: puppies and kittens (idea 2) and music (idea 5).
Toddler girl room ideas
Pink is welcome here, but it's one option, not a rule. These four looks suit a little girl now and still suit her at five. When the crib goes and a real bed comes in, my big-girl room post picks up the story.
7. Fairy toddler room idea
A wall of little winged friends has room to grow: the same set works at two and at seven.
Our Mushroom Garden Fairies set has 17 little fairy designs in a watercolor style, mostly on teal and green, from a fairy dancing on a lily pond to two fairies sharing a honeycomb on toadstools. Add a glowing fairy riding a white bunny through wildflowers under a starlit sky, and a little pixie swinging high under the stars among butterflies. Both singles are best sellers.
Colors: teal, lavender and soft pink
Pairs well with: bunnies (idea 9) and night sky (idea 6).
See more in our fairy nursery decor collection.
8. Mermaid toddler room idea
If bath time is the best part of your toddler's day, bring the sea into the bedroom too.
Our Pastel Mermaid Friends set has 13 designs in an oil-painting style, from a lavender-haired mermaid swimming with little fish to a mermaid asleep on a lily pad, in seafoam, lavender and blush on warm cream. A little mermaid curled up asleep in an open pink clamshell is a best seller. So is our Lilac and Teal Mermaids set, with long black hair and lilac tails, one holding a glowing pearl. Two sleeping mermaids on one wall is a hint at bedtime that I'm happy to give.
Colors: seafoam, lavender and blush
Pairs well with: fairies (idea 7) and ballet (idea 10).
9. Bunny toddler room idea
Rabbits are the gentlest choice in this list, and they come in more moods than you'd think.
Pairs of white rabbits in a sunlit mossy forest full of ferns, from two curled up asleep in a hollow log to two standing tall to watch a butterfly. Rabbits and hares inside a cream oval framed by roses and thistles, in a fine sepia sketch style. And for a girl who wants it bright, nine forest animals on hot pink with purple, yellow and blue wildflowers, a leaping white rabbit among them.
Colors: moss green, parchment cream and hot pink (pick two)
Pairs well with: fairies (idea 7) and rainy days (idea 3).
10. Ballet toddler room idea
Twirling starts early. A room with dancers on the wall just makes it official.
Our Pastel Ballerina set has five watercolor-style designs, from a ballerina on a rose-covered swing to one dipping her toe in a pond while a bunny looks on. Three little dancers in dusty rose, cream and sage tutus with butterflies drifting between them. And a little dancer fast asleep against a swan under a crescent moon, which is about as honest a picture of a two-year-old after a busy day as I've seen. The last two are best sellers.
Colors: blush, sage and sky blue
Pairs well with: mermaids (idea 8) and bunnies (idea 9).
For more, browse our girls' wall art collection.
What about a toddler boy room?
A little boy's room follows the same three rules: keep what works, make it safe, and add to the wall. Most of the ideas above suit boys just as well, especially the big, simple animals, the farm and the night sky.
The themes I'm asked about most for boys are diggers, fire trucks, trains, dinosaurs and space. Each one can be loud or calm, and for a bedroom I lean calm. I've put ten of them, with the prints for each, in Toddler boy room ideas. To browse on your own, start with our boys' wall art collection.
Toddler room ideas for the rest of the room
Art is my job, but a few small changes below the art matter just as much.
11. A book ledge at their height
Toddlers judge a story by its cover. A narrow ledge or a low rack with covers facing out lets them pick on their own, and it puts color at their eye level without a single frame. Keep it for books only. Framed art belongs higher up.
12. A reading corner with one print above it
A floor cushion and a basket of books are most of what you need. Hang one picture over them on proper hardware, in the plexi version. Choose something with a story in it, like the farm or night sky ideas above, and you'll find yourself reading the picture as often as the book.
13. Low open shelves with fewer toys
Less on display means less on the floor at bedtime. I'd keep a handful on low open shelves and swap the rest from a closet every couple of weeks. Old toys feel new again, and the room stays calm enough to sleep in.
14. A spot for their own drawings
A corkboard or a wire with clips at a toddler's eye level says the work counts too. Hang it on a different wall from your framed art, so the two don't compete, and change it as often as they make something new.
What size art works in a toddler room?
Match the art to the bed or dresser underneath it, not to the size of the wall. I aim for the print, or the group of prints, to cover about two-thirds of the width of the furniture below.
Three setups work in most toddler rooms:
- One large print over the bed or dresser. It's the calmest look.
- A row of three matching prints over a toddler bed or a long dresser, with 2 to 3 inches between frames, so they read as one piece.
- A pair over the reading corner or a low shelf.
In a set, choose the same size for every print, so the frames line up and the gaps stay even. Some of our prints are upright and some are landscape, and each listing shows the sizes that print comes in. If two favorites come in different shapes, hang them with their centers on one level and keep the gaps the same.
Not sure about a size? Cut paper to the sizes you're weighing and tape it to the wall for a day. It's the quickest way to see what fits.
Our frames come in natural oak, walnut, white and black, each with kid-safe plexi or real glass. In a toddler room I'd choose plexi for every frame, not only the one over the bed. Toys get thrown.
Where should art hang in a toddler room?
In a toddler room I center wall art about 48 inches from the floor, the same height I use in the nursery, and it can stay there as your child grows. The 57 inches you'll often read is meant for grown-up rooms, where people stand (Architectural Digest). Over a toddler bed, choose the framed version with kid-safe plexi.
Over a crib or a bed, hang art securely with proper hardware, never tape or one small nail, and choose the framed version with kid-safe plexi, not glass. Keep framed art off low ledges and shelves a climber can get to. And anchor dressers and bookcases to the wall (CPSC).
Toddler room questions parents ask
When should a nursery become a toddler room?
There's no set birthday. I'd make the change when your child starts using the room differently: walking to the shelf, pulling out books, opening drawers, getting ready for a bed. The checklist at the top of this post is the order I'd do it in.
Do I need to redecorate to turn a nursery into a toddler room?
No. Most of the work happens below knee height: anchoring furniture, moving things down low or up high, and choosing the bed. The wall usually stays. If it needs more, add prints from the set you already have, in the same size and frame.
What is a good theme for a toddler room?
Something your child can point at and name. Big, simple animals, puppies, the farm, music and the night sky all work, and they still work at five. If your toddler already has a favorite thing, that's your theme.
How do I make a toddler room safe?
Anchor dressers and bookcases, keep breakables out of reach, and hang any art over the crib or toddler bed on proper hardware with kid-safe plexi. Then look at the room from your toddler's height every few months. They grow, and so does their reach.
How many prints should go on a toddler room wall?
One large piece or a matching row of three over the bed is plenty. Add a pair over the reading corner if you have one. Keep every print in a group the same size, and aim for the group to cover about two-thirds of the furniture below it.
Will toddler room art still work in a kids' room?
Storybook animals, landscapes and night skies usually make the jump without a problem. My Kids' room ideas: how to design a kids' room post shows how to plan the next step, so the wall keeps growing with them.
Shop toddler room art
More prints like the ones in this post are in our toddler wall art collection, and every choose-your-own set is in our gallery wall sets. If you're still at the nursery stage, my Nursery ideas: the complete guide covers the room from scratch.
Start with the wall you already have. Then kneel in the doorway and look at the rest.