With a new arrival, new parents have a lot to think about. Big things like how to get the new arrival to sleep at night. Little things like how to keep a fashionable home fashionable with the havoc that a new baby can bring. Here are some tips that might help everyone sleep at night.

1. Make the Nursery Conducive to Sleep.

We don’t claim to be experts on sleep training, but don’t overlook the importance of how you prepare the nursery itself. Keeping baby’s room dark and as quiet as possible is important, particularly since little ones are likely to nap during daylight hours for several years. Blackout linings for nursery windows are helpful and will also muffle outside noise. Calico offers many cordless fabric shades as well as Hunter Douglas shades that can operate with a smart speaker, a smart phone or a remote control. All Hunter Douglas shades have room darkening and blackout options available. Even wood shutters from Hunter Douglas provide excellent insulation against both sound and heat or cold.

Jen Pinkston from The Effortless Chic worked with Calico to make these drapes for her daughter Parker's room—and they're obviously a big success! — Jen Pinkston from **The Effortless Chic** worked with Calico to make these drapes for her daughter Parker's room—and they're obviously a big success!

Hunter Douglas Parkland Classics hardwood blinds are elegant by themselves or pair beautifully with window treatments. — Hunter Douglas **Parkland Classics** hardwood blinds are elegant by themselves or pair beautifully with window treatments.

2. If Your Window Coverings Have Cords, Replace Them.

If you have moved into a home with older corded window blinds, shades or draperies, you should replace them to protect children and pets. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, working with the Window Covering Manufacturers Association, adopted new standards for corded window treatments in 2010, and all Calico custom shades and blinds meet these new standards. Calico recommends that only window coverings with no cords should be used in homes with infants and young children.

In addition, to enhance safety, move all cribs, beds, furniture and toys away from windows, preferably to another wall. Click on the link above for more tips on childproofing a room.

Emily Henderson chose draperies in a neutral linen with playful pink fringe for her daughter’s nursery. — **Emily Henderson** chose draperies in a neutral linen with playful pink fringe for her daughter’s nursery.

3. Invest In a Comfortable Chair.

Spending time with your baby in a comfortable chair—whether feeding, rocking or reading—is one of the pleasures of parenthood, but what chair should it be? Some new parents go old school with a comfortable club chair and ottoman combo or a stylish recliner (yes, they do exist—see Calico chairs Belmont, Bennett, Carson and Fargo). If you have a sentimental streak, you might consider reupholstering your mother’s chair, if it’s still around, or recovering a glider or rocking chair. Calico offers high-quality furniture plus an online tool, C360, to visualize how a frame would look in the fabric of your choice.

A well-loved piece of furniture is like a member of the family – reupholstery can restore and refresh it beautifully for generations to come. — A well-loved piece of furniture is like a member of the family – **reupholstery** can restore and refresh it beautifully for generations to come.

A reupholstered chair and ottoman in a bright stripe create the perfect reading spot.

4. Discover Stain-resistant Fabrics.

Babies like messes. Everything is an experiment and learning only comes with tasting and touching everything that comes their way. A lot of new parents hope to mold their child into a neatnik right from the beginning, but you’ll be fighting a losing battle; put the dangerous and precious stuff away, and go with the flow when your child smears baby food in their hair or knocks their dinner to the floor. A couple of strategies that may help: couple productive activity (like actually getting food in their mouths) with the play, so that both of you get what you want. Give babies chances to explore their senses of touch and taste at times and in locations where it disrupts the home environment as little as possible. Finally, a good washing machine really helps!

Even given the above, not everything has to change around the house when the new baby arrives. As your child grows to a toddler, you can still keep your home stylish and your furniture stain-free without closing off rooms. Performance fabrics are the solution: easy-care, stain-resistant fabrics available in great textures, jacquards and patterns for either indoors or outdoors. Calico can show you more than 1,000 of these fabrics from Crypton Home, Inside Out, Sunbrella, Sensuede, Bella-Dura or Fortress. You may want to consider them for window treatments as well as furniture, by the way; in a couple years, you’ll have a child with sticky hands playing hide-and-seek behind your curtains!

Crypton Home fabric is designed to handle anything your family can dish out. — **Crypton Home fabric** is designed to handle anything your family can dish out.

5. Get Free Home Décor Help.

If you’re a time-pressed parent or stressed parent-to-be looking to decorate a nursery or other rooms, invite a Calico in-home consultant over to your house. Not only are their services free, Calico interior designers are experienced at making new additions mesh with what you already own. They can manage any number of projects, from wallpaper and window treatment installation to redesigning rooms with new furniture. Calico designers will happily give you options on what to do with your windows, and Calico stores offer professional installation, plus drapery rods and hardware as well.

Make your kid's room feel anything but boring by accenting the walls with a fun and colorful wallpaper. Magnolia Home offers some great kid-friendly options. — Make your kid's room feel anything but boring by accenting the walls with a fun and colorful wallpaper. **Magnolia Home** offers some great kid-friendly options.

6. Next Stop: Childhood

While a lot of parents wish it could last longer, the baby stage is gone before you know it. Fortunately, Calico can help you turn the nursery into your big kid’s room – with window treatments, furniture, decorative pillows, and an uncanny ability to capture even the zaniest sense of style. Expert in-home consultants are familiar with countless fabrics and will come to your door at no charge bringing samples with them. Don’t mind a short trip? Calico stores have more than 5,000 fabrics available, so it’s not hard to find exactly what you want. Many fabrics are on mini-bolts for a bigger, better sample—and you can even borrow them On Approval to try at home.