Baby bluesaand pastels.

A visit from the stork has left Colin and Justin misty-eyed and thinking of decorating nurseries and children's rooms: pink or blue walls and a battered old toy chest just won't do, you know.

Over the last year you've sent us hundreds of emails suggesting all manner of disparate features and we've endeavoured to cover as many as possible.

One particularly frequent request, however, is for advice on toddlers' and babies' rooms, so we've put together some pointers. Hopefully we'll hit the mark.

Handily we have some first hand experience, which makes it easier to talk about what works, design wise, in child friendly environments. Indeed, we recently fitted out a fabulous nursery in our own home.

STOP! REWIND! Well we had to provide a perfect environment for our baby, didn't we? Gosh ( we can almost hear your minds working overtime as you consider this notion! Yes, the Stork recently flew over our house and paused for a moment to deliver Damien, our little bundle of baby joy.

Ahh! Now we've got you! Read on and all will be revealed.

It all started after a drunken night out (doesn't it always?) several months back, with the very gorgeous Caprice. Now we've really got your attention. But believe us ( there wasn't a biological element to this parenting situation!

It was rather more complicated than that and long before Big Brother (and her reported pounds 110,000 pay cheque) was even a sparkle in mummy's eye, Caprice was chatting about how unsuitable she thought she'd be for motherhood, and we were chatting about how much we'd love the opportunity to become dads.

And what is it they say ( "be careful what you wish for `cos it might come true?" Well, that's the long and the short of it. And so it came to pass that we were approached by Five to take part in a science experiment to examine the highs and lows of raising kids. Several meetings later, Caprice too was onboard for Three Celebs and A Baby, and our un-biological gestation began. And how did it go?

Well, Caprice managed to drop the baby on the floor and we almost poisoned it by unintentionally feeding it curdled milk. "But it's a robot," we hear you cry, "surely it can't be poisoned?"

Well actually, it can. And he can poo and wet his nappy, too. And he does a mean line in projectile vomit and an even meaner line in ear-splitting screams ( which are especially unnerving, we might add, when they continue all night.

Aye, t'was a difficult mite.

So, nurseries. Big bold colours are rarely good, whereas softer shades and pastel tones generally work well. We'd avoid clichAs like pink and blue and would recommend instead gender unspecific shades like lilac, soft green or buttery yellow.

Colour is obviously very personal and we appreciate the market is pre-disposed to pink and blue, but white is our top tip as it makes a great back drop against which you can add vibrancy via furniture and accessories.

If you're worried about kiddie fingers leaving behind all manner of childhood smudges, like crayons or food stuffs, then we've devised a simple solution. Add a decorative border at waist height and above this use matt emulsion ( as normal ( but below use a gloss finish. This way offending marks can be rubbed off with a damp cloth.

These days there are even "breathe easy" paints on the market via companies such as Ecos (www.ecospaints.com ) which are designed for children or adults who're susceptible to the usually harmless constituents in standard paint.

And flooring? Well, carpets are obviously soft under teeny tootsies but they're difficult to maintain where there's a possibility of staining. In our own "nursery" we used floor paint on previously untreated boards and then provided interest by blocking out slabs of brighter colour to delineate play areas from walk zones.

You could try painting flowers, shapes, roads or train tracks to add interest or you could paint a mural of your choice. International (www.international-paints.co.uk) does a fab colour range that's specially designed to be used underfoot, and it's durable enough to cope with even the roughest of tumble.

Another way to keep paintwork child proof is to treat an area of one wall as a "blackboard". You could work to similar principles as above or designate one entire wall to this plan. And the process couldn't be simpler. Most DIY multiples sell specialist blackboard paint and it works just as well over plaster and wallpaper as it does on board.

What's more it's a doddle to use ( you simply paint it on, allow it to dry and hey presto ( give the little 'uns chalk in a variety of colours and let them get stuck in. And when it's time to clean up? You simply rub off the artistic evidence and start again.

Lighting, too, is important and should be kept subdued. Side lamps, for example, can create gentle mood and will be less obtrusive than overhead options. And don't just think of specialist stores that supply nursery lighting as these are often expensive.

Think instead of DIY chains like Focus (www.focusdiy.co.uk) or Homebase (www.homebase.co.uk) which stock great lighting ranges that work well in junior domains. Often, the secret to making lighting work is a simple dimmer switch ( these cost around pounds 10 and with the twist of a button you can adjust mood to suit circumstances.

Night-time feeds, for example, are better given in ambient back light (so not to wake baby too much) and even high street favourite Argos (www.argos.co.uk ) does a selection of affordable novelty shades that are fun without being too gimmicky.

Another problem faced by parents is children's furniture that gets outgrown too quickly. Beds in particular, can be very problematic as junior sprouts out of control ( however the clever chaps at Ikea (www.ikea.com) have a perfect solution for this. Their Ateles bed actually extends to accommodate growing.

To divide a room (on a non-permanent basis), the easiest solution is to use either a floor standing hard screen or fabric panelling. Ikea, again, does an amazing product called Kvadrant that's one of the most ingenious products we've ever come across ( so successful in fact we've used it in our home office to delineate space between desks.

Basically it consists of a series of sliding, bottom-weighted fabric panels that move across a ceiling or wall mounted track bar. Expect to pay from pounds 20 to cover an area 6ft wide.

It's an absolutely staggeringly good bargain that could prove especially useful when children sharing rooms are a little older and require privacy. What's more the track can be fitted to turn corners or follow a curved line ( the range has endless possibilities.

A particularly important aspect is safety, and with this in mind we've put together a series of tips that should make everything secure ( particularly where your wee ones are concerned.

If your child is in a cot or a bunk, then ensure side bars are sufficient to protect against rolling out. Keep window blind cords securely out of reach.

Unused plug sockets should be closed with caps, and rugs should be secured underside with non-slip mats to protect against skidding or injury.

The trick with children's rooms is to create environments that `grow' with your little ones and don't need to be completely updated every few months.

As such, if you avoid anything too expensive ( or too permanent ( and follow our golden rules you'll find that designing for les enfants is child's play.