24 Ways to Style and Organize a Nursery Dresser

Organizing a nursery dresser will help streamline the daily routine of dressing your little one by creating a road map that makes it easy to find everything from diapers to tiny socks. From organizing the drawers to styling the top of your baby dresser, check out these expert tips and ideas that will help you create a functional and stylish space.

Store Most-Used Items

A nursery dresser can be used to keep favorite items close at hand and relegate lesser used pieces to the closet. "Keeping some of your most-used baby clothing in the dresser makes changing and dressing time much quicker," says interior designer Naomi Alon Coe of Little Crown Interiors and author of the nursery design book, Your Perfect Nursery. "You can dedicate a drawer for easy and cute items you already know you love."

Sort By Type

"Using larger drawer organizers is a great way to separate baby clothing by type or size," Coe says.

Separate Tiny Items With Dividers

"Babies have teeny clothes and those items can quickly get lost in a big drawer," Coe says. "Using small dividers is perfect for little things like socks and hair bows."

Sort By Color

"If you’re into color coordinating, folding up blankets in a rolled up style like this is pure visual delight," Coe says. "It makes it super easy to grab things at a glance."

Roll to Store

"Folding your baby clothes in a rolled up style makes it super easy to organize them in a drawer," Coe says. "It’s also the best way to see all the clothes at once."

Label Interior Drawers

A simple label maker will allow you to create personalized labels on the inside of drawers to remind you of where things go. "This dresser had to be perfectly organized, because this nursery was for a professional organizer," Coe says. "Jamie Hord of Horderly wanted her drawers to be super functional, and even included her own labels."

Use Adjustable Drawer Dividers

"Adjustable drawer dividers can be very helpful for a nursery dresser," Coe says. "When the baby grows out of a certain size or you need to move things around, the customizable dividers come in really handy."

Tuck It Away

Placing a nursery dresser in the closet is a space-saving hack that keeps all your baby's clothes and accessories within easy reach. "If you’re tight on space, you might consider putting the dresser inside the closet," Coe says. "We filled out this area with storage boxes as well to make use of the space."

Build It Into a Closet

Finding Lovely took the idea a step further by buying a premade dresser and building it into the closet, framing it out and painting it white so that it looks fully integrated, then swapping the hardware with new knobs.

Add a Diaper Basket on Top

"If you’re short on space and need to use all of your drawers for clothing, try using a small basket for diapers and creams next to your change pad," says interior designer Rebecca Simon of Maison Ellie Interiors. A decorative diaper caddy or basket can help you keep these essentials in plain sight.

Add a Table Lamp

"Add a table lamp to help with late night diaper changes," Simon says. "Be sure to use a low wattage light bulb to provide a nice dim glow."

Store Everyday Items on Top

Maison Ellie Interiors styled the top of this dresser with a fabric basket that stores extra diapers. But things like extra pacifiers and a baby brush can simply be left out on top.

Double Your Storage Space

In this nursery from Maison Ellie Interiors, double dressers create extra storage on the bottom and extra space on stop for a changing table as well as lighting and accessories.

Add Whimsical Touches

Once you have the essentials covered, don't hesitate to add whimsical touches, like this little wooden sign where you can display your baby's age in months in a nursery from Maison Ellie Interiors.

Keep Toys in a Decorative Basket

"Accessorize your dresser with your favorite decor and toys," Simon says. A decorative woven basket that looks great empty and can store anything from extra toys to pacifiers or changing table necessities is always a good idea.

Accent With Rattan

Interior designer Joanna Landais of London-based Eklektik Studio added a small white dresser with matching knobs that marries well with the classic character of the nursery. "The compact size works perfectly in the London townhouse where rooms are typically small to medium size," Landais says. "It serves as storage with neatly folded baby clothing and as a changing table with decorative rattan changing mat on top."

Store Essentials on Top

A large dresser takes center stage in this spacious nursery from Eklektik Studio. "Top drawers are designed for baby essentials including nappies, toiletries as well as baby socks and muslin cloths," Landais says. "Drawers beneath are equipped with drawer organizers and baby's clothing can be easily folded and quickly stored."

A decorative white woven basket with a top is positioned to the left and used as a hamper.

Go Big

Eklektik Studio choose a substantial walnut wood dresser that fills the corner of a spacious nursery. "As this nursery had additional hanging storage, the client opted to store baby toiletries in top drawers and baby linen in the remaining drawers," Landais says.

Change Directions

Eklektik Studio took a sleek Scandinavian-inspired approach to this historic London townhouse nursery with a white dresser accessorized with leather pulls and paired with a matching crib. The removable changing top can be positioned on the deep dresser for ease of use. "This allows for baby being changed facing the parent which is an underestimated comfort especially in the early days," Landais says. "Deep drawers facilitate storage for the baby clothing as well as toys for the little one."

Consider Peekaboo Storage

In this nursery from Eklektik Studio, a decorative dresser with harlequin patterned doors offers peekaboo storage to make things easy to find, and opens to two shelves with space for folded cardigans, muslin cloths, small toys or children’s keepsakes. "The dresser has a practical high-edge changing table which can be removed and easily transformed into a regular furniture making a truly sustainable piece," Landais says.

Keep Diapers Within Reach

Immaculate Touch Inc lined the top of this baby dresser with a copious supply of diapers that makes them easy to access and making it simple to see when reserves are running low.

Practice Folding Technique

Immaculate Touch Inc stored neatly folded clothing and bedding in the bottom drawer.

Divide and Conquer

Perfecting your folding techniques will help you keep your nursery dresser organized. Immaculate Touch Inc used dividers in the middle drawer of this dresser that help keep the neatly folded clothes in perfect order.

Make It a Double

Pajama tops and bottoms or matching outfits for twins can be stored by type to keep them conveniently located like this dresser from Immaculate Touch Inc.

What's the best way to organize a nursery dresser?

A nursery dresser should be organized in a way that helps you find things easily without having to rummage through drawers while managing a squirming baby. If your nursery dresser doubles as a changing table, keep diapers and wipes in an accessible spot on top. Store clothing by type, with most-used items in the upper drawers where they are easier to grab, and lesser-used items or spare linens and blankets on the bottom.

What should you put in each dresser drawer?

The easiest way to organize a nursery dresser is to group things by type. Start with the most used items on top, and work your way down. Babies grow out of clothing faster than you can blink, so it's best to come up with flexible systems that can adapt as your baby's clothes change. Look for modular drawer organizers that can be reconfigured as your baby's wardrobe changes and grows.