For fellow Upper East Side princess Apple Blythe Alison Martin, it's nighty night in nothing less than a full, 1930s'style baby suite, costing mum Gwynnie a cool $4,185.

Alex Kingston's little girl has a nursery painted with a vast mural of frolicking lambs and furnished with mini picnic table and chairs.

Hollywood has gone all maternal, and naturally only the very best will do when bringing up baby.

But everyone knows that little folk will sleep anywhere that's warm and secure . . . and all that silk, art deco and fancy frescoing is really just for keeping mum happy. A small fortune can be spent, but just as sure as babies tend to outgrow those cute dresses and sailor suits, so too will their style quickly become cramped by all that broderie anglaise bedlinen and those novelty borders.

Rule one with a nursery is that is must be adaptable . . . a child's room needs to be able to grow with the child.

It starts off as a warm place for baby to sleep but before long it transforms into a sports den, disco, playground and karaoke club. Furniture should be equally adaptable . . . a cot that transforms into a bed makes sense, while a robust chest of drawers is more practical than a wardrobe for small persons. Storage, as anywhere else in the house, requires consideration. A good shelving system, plus plenty of colourful boxes and baskets should take care of toys and books.

As time goes on, a mother's influence on the style of her child's room is drastically reduced and the wise parent diplomatically withdraws before the goth/prom queen/Vicki Pollard phase takes hold. Better make the most of that Juicy Couture bubblegum pink towelling baby suite while you can then Britney. . .