Reach for the Stars! Solar System for Kids Ceiling

by Amy
(IN USA)

Planets - Solar System Ceiling Light Chandelier Fixture

My husband is an aerospace engineer, or as we like to joke, a “rocket scientist,” so a space themed nursery felt especially meaningful for our family. We both loved the idea of creating a room that could introduce our children to his love of rockets, planets and the solar system while they were still little.

We started with the solar system theme, but I knew I did not want the room to fall into the usual blue and yellow color scheme. We already had quite a bit of blue throughout our home, so I wanted this room to have a different personality. If you are planning something similar, there are more ideas for combining planets, stars and rockets on the space themed nursery ideas page.

The color palette really came together after I found a rug at American Blinds and Wallpaper. It had large yellow stars mixed with greens, purples and blues. It was much funkier than most of the baby and nursery rugs I had seen, which was exactly what I wanted.

We pulled one of the greens from the rug for the walls and used yellow as the main accent color. I chose a deeper green for the curtains so there would be enough contrast to keep the room from looking too sweet or predictable.

I also found quilt fabric at Joann that had a yellow background covered with tiny white stars. We used it to make a French memory board with star shaped buttons, green elastic tape and the yellow star fabric. It became another easy way to repeat the star theme without covering every surface in planets.

The sheets and blankets on the beds are yellow, while all of the furniture is white. Keeping the larger furniture pieces simple helped the brighter colors and space decorations stand out.

As the kids got older, we added more details instead of trying to finish the entire theme at once. One addition was an IKEA mobile with a ringed planet, a rocket and clear plastic stars. We also added Moon in My Room and Solar System in My Room, along with glow in the dark stars on the ceiling.

Lighting can become part of the theme too. A fixture like this solar system ceiling light would carry the planet theme overhead without taking up any floor or wall space.

The room itself is fairly small, so it was difficult to photograph everything at once. Most of the space themed details are visible in the picture, although the rug is outside the frame. In a small nursery or children's room, I think choosing a few strong theme pieces works much better than trying to fill every available spot.

From Jan:

I love how this room uses green, yellow, purple and blue instead of relying on the more expected navy space nursery palette. The planets, stars and rocket details make the theme obvious, but the white furniture and simple bedding keep everything from competing with one another.

For more ways to build this look, see the space themed nursery ideas, browse outer space bedding, or explore more moon and stars nursery ideas.

Thanks so much for sharing your room with other DIY decorators visiting Unique Baby Gear Ideas.