We get so wrapped up in decorating the nursery the perfect colour, we forget that the actual baby not only won’t care that you agonised over the right shade of green, but that it won’t actually notice it at all. For their first few months in the world, a baby’s eyesight is still developing, meaning only bold, high-contrasting colours will grab its attention and keep it for longer than lighter pastels, which they won’t really notice until around four months old.

That’s where black and white come in: it's the best colour combo for toys, books, mobiles and nursery decoration – the contrast in colour makes images sharper and easier for them to see and aids in their visual development and physical activity.

A lot of toy manufacturers haven’t cottoned on to this fact yet, so black and white baby stuff can be a challenge to find, but luckily, you can create a sort of feature wall that will not only stimulate your newborn, but grow and adapt with your child as well as allow you to decorate the rest of the room in whatever way your choose. After all, it is just a photo wall with a difference (minus the cost of all those expensive photo frames!)

1. Black & white prints

New mum and creative blogger Kal Barteski designed a whole range of different critters for your decorating pleasure. Simply print onto photo paper for the best quality, frame and hang. Frames: Deborah Hutton Frames, $10.99 each, Kmart.

2. Framed feather

Not the traditional frame, we popped a cockatoo’s feather we found in the park on a torn-up piece of textured paper (Mulberry paper, $2 a sheet, The Craft Shop) and then stuck that on a plain white canvas ($2, from discount stores). You could also frame it or use a pretty peacock feather for a dash of colour.

3. Silhouette

Create sweet silhouettes of your offspring. You can follow the easy instructions here.

4. Wooden letters

They don’t have to match, nor do they need to spell anything to be effective: we simply spray painted a plain MDF “A” ($3.95 from The Craft Shop or try Spotlight and Bunnings) and hung up the wooden “Z” ($9.95, Splosh) as is.

5. “Once upon a time…”

there was a tiny way to make a big impact. And it was simply done by painting a popular saying, line from a favourite book or your child’s name on the wall as the centrepiece, then centering your black and white wares around it.

6. Framed starfish

Tiny white frame ($7.99, Living by Deborah Hutton at Kmart) + black cardboard + white starfish = cool wall addition.

7. Covered canvases

You could really use anything black and white here - fabric, paper, your own drawings, newspaper etc. We covered the smaller canvas in Chinese print rice paper ($2, The Craft Shop) and the larger in an offcut of wallpaper.

8. Paper birds

These cute little birdies give a 3D feel to the wall ($10 for 10, Paper Couture) but you could also try butterflies, handmade origami cranes or try your hand at these paper wheels.

Three more ideas

- Framed ultrasound pictures
- A child’s white-painted handprint or footprint on a black canvas (or vice versa)
- Fave black and white photographs of your child or family

To see this picture in more detail, visit this site and click on the image to enlarge.

Other credits: Wall painted in Porter's Paints Donkey Grey; Giraffe pillow, $59.95, DwellBaby from Bebe; Toybox from Ikea, painted in chalkboard paint; Blue truck, $8, Salvation Army.