I haven’t posted anything here in awhile but it hasn’t been due to laziness or even a lack of things to post. Late pregnancy has left me with very painful carpal tunnel syndrome, which makes it really hard to spend much time typing or even just tooling around on the web. It has derailed a lot of my plans for getting things done in the weeks before the baby arrives, but I have managed to catch up on watching TV, so there’s a small upside.
Anyway, before the big day arrives, I did want to get the photos of the completed nursery up. If there are typos or something doesn’t make sense, sorry, I’m working with some numb, sausage fingers over here and they’re not exactly good for anything but mashing and failing about at this point. Luckily, my midwife assures me that this awfulness will go away within a day or less of delivery, so let’s get a move on, baby. (Note: Total BS. It took over a month for the swelling to go away).
This is our reading and rocking corner. The shelves are from Ikea and are loaded up with books we’ve gotten as gifts, at the thrift store, or that we had from our own days as kids. The chair was a gift (from Babies R Us), the ottoman is from Kohl’s, and the cute cloud pillow was a gift card purchase at Land of Nod.
This entire basket of stuff came from the thrift store and garage sales. All in all, I think I only spent about $8 for the two sock animals, basket, and blankie. Not too shabby.
Next to the glider is a low bookshelf from Ikea. It’s home to toys and books and blankets, as well as a few other essentials for a baby room like a humidifier and a sound machine. Some items will have to be relocated once she’s mobile, but they have a good while to hang out just where they are. Most of the things in this area I already had (lamp, all the decorative things, most of the stuffed animals) or were gifts (the hedgie nightlight), so aside from the shelf, the baskets, and the baby-specific things, not much was purchased for this area.
Here’s little girl’s sleeping zone! I made the mobile, the pillows, and the sheets (I highly recommend this. It’s tedious, but easy and cheap). The bed itself was a gift, but is a pretty inexpensive option from Target so it won’t break the bank. The bumpers I got at the thrift store for just $5, which was awesome because they are a fancy brand! The pillows and the bumpers are all going to be removed from the bed when she arrives so we don’t suffocate her, but I think they’ll be useful down the line for keeping little limbs inside the crib when she’s a bit older and not so weak in the neck. Though, honestly, if the bumpers don’t go back up it’s not the end of the world because they were so darn cheap.
While she won’t be able to use this for awhile, I couldn’t resist this table and chairs when I saw it at a garage sale for just $10. It was not so cute before but after a little paint, it cleaned up pretty nicely. I made a runner from the table to coordinate with the room from some Heather Bailey fabric I found on clearance.
I also made some teeny tiny pillows from a fabric remnant I picked up at the Needle Shop. Perfect for a tea party (or some arm wrestling) with Mr. Monkey over there (who was also an amazing thrift store find at just $2 since BlaBla stuff is very pricey).
He was really too cute to pass up anyway.
On the other side of the room is her changing table, which is really just an Ikea Hemnes dresser. It was probably the thing we spent the most on in the room, but because it’s so basic it should last for a really long time. The changing pad cover is from Land of Nod (also purchased with a gift card), the easel and the wall light from Ikea, and the little letter A from Joann (they come plain, you have to paint them). I also managed to snag that little Bumbo seat at a garage sale for just $10! The artwork was a wonderful addition created by my husband.
He also made these cuties for the other part of the wall.
We also kept the bed we had in here when it was just a guest room. Luckily, the bed linens already coordinated, so we didn’t have to do anything there. Just decorated the bedside table with some stuff from around the house. It’ll be nice to have an extra bed for late night feedings and in case we do ever want to have anyone stay at our house again.
Close up of the artwork I made for the wall over the guest bed. Frames are all from Ikea.
Here’s an overview that gives a good idea of where everything sits in the room. I think the space could use a cute rug, but it’s not in the budget at the moment, so boring old carpet will have to suffice!
Another overview shot. The curtains and bedskirt were made by me, though the white part of the curtain is from Ikea, I just modified it to be bit cuter.
I also made some modifications to the closet. I added another wire shelf, taken from our bathroom, so that there’s more room for little clothes. Clearly we needed it because our friends and family (and a few amazing scores at the thrift store) have ensured that this little lady is gonna be one fashionista.
Overall, we didn’t end up spending an insane amount of money to decorate her room, even though it is a pretty big space. Of course, a lot of that owes to some generous friends and family who helped with some of the bigger purchases, but it’s definitely possible to create a really great space for a baby or child on a pretty limited budget if you’re willing to bargain hunt, hit up thrift stores, and do a lot of the work yourself.
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