Boy-Oh-Boy. My husband dared me. Double dared me.
Create Henry’s Nursery for $200 or less.
And I took the dare.
Not that he thinks Henry doesn’t deserve to have an amazing Nursery. It’s just that, having our 4th child now, we are trying to save a bit of money here and there. And the need to spend a ton of money on a Nursery for my 4th BOY in a row just isn’t something that is absolutely necessary right now.
With William and Alexander, we had just moved to Rhode Island from NYC, where we were ALL sharing a one-bedroom apartment. It was – putting it very lightly – a tight squeeze. But having 2 sons 12 months apart, there wasn’t much time to go looking for a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment. When it was time, we decided that moving to a New England town to raise our boys would be the best decision for our family.
We bought a house. And each of our 2 boys had his own room. Having never been able to create a Nursery for either boy to that point… I went CRAZY! I loved it. Baby boy blue everything! I devoured catalog after catalog looking for ideas and inspiration. And I was able to create adorable Nurseries… they were my dreams come true for my boys.
Soon after, I found that I was expecting another baby boy… and I was excited to create his special Nursery. I did it a little differently than William and Alexander’s, but it was truly a dream-come-true creation for me… especially since I had miscarried right before I got pregnant with Benjamin. I used to go into that empty room and pray and think about the baby-to-be who would be coming home to THAT very Nursery. That was my Benjamin, our first baby we brought home to our Rhode Island home. That room, to me, is a little extra special.
And so… here we are. My 4th little guy, Henry, is 11 weeks old. And he is still living in our master bedroom.
We have 4 bedrooms, so William and Alexander are doubling up… and Henry will take Alexander’s bedroom.
When I brought up the fact that we need to start working on Henry’s Nursery… my husband just smiled. Ahh… our 4th son. Another boy blue room. Another chance to create something…
BUT! This time around… we have a budget. With the economy the way it is today… we need to be smart.
And so…. here we go. Create a Nursery for $200 or less. GREAT.
What do I have already? Your 2 basic essentials. A crib and a changing table.
Cue the music here… THANK YOU, Simmons Kids. You absolutely, positively ROCK!
Simmons Kids was kind enough to send Henry a crib and changing table. Let me reiterate… a Simmons Antique Silver Monaco Crib and Changing Table, which is the most exquisite and beautiful line I have seen.
He will be sleeping and be changed in style. Pure style.
I will create Henry’s Nursery around these 2 masterpieces. And the already-painted-baby-blue-room.
SO!
This fashionista in me is up for the challenge. $200 or less.
Suggestions? Oh, please! I welcome ALL the help I can get!
This is what I’m working with now…
The Crib and Changing Table
My Nana’s precious bassinet that Henry has outgrown, and wooden shelves that need to be painted
Alexander’s clothes and toys, ready to be moved out
Alexander’s initials and photos, ready to be taken down
Alexander’s toys and robe and towels – need to be packed up and moved
So this is what we’re working with. We just started “dismantling” Alexander’s room. He’s now sleeping in William’s room, but he needs his things in there, too!
MAKE WAY FOR HENRY!
I used a mural stencil thing from a company called Wall Nutz. They have a website and the kit (transfer paper and mural design) were like $35. If you can paint by numbers, or are crafty you can make it your own. Then just paint the shelves to match, etc. We did trains and I customized them because we did the ‘Thomas’ theme. It is a GREAT way to do a room on the Budget side, and have it look like a MILLION BUCKS!
How fun to make nurseries! We actually used the same bedding for our little guys, and after Christmas we are letting our oldest pick out some toddler bedding for his toddler bed. I love the dwell studio nursery set from target with the bright dots, here is the link: http://www.target.com/DwellStudio-Target-3-pc-Crib-Set/dp/B000VPE5SM/ref=sc_ri_4/602-6368658-3313427
The price might be right for you, though almost half the budget, but gosh it would be bright and simple for Henry to focus on 🙂 We have the safari tiddlywinks bedding and I love watching Ben stare at the bright colors. Good luck, I am excited to see the nursery!
We’re getting ready to convert our nursery (sniff) to a tween room for our soon to be seven year old. She moved in over the summer, but it still looks like the nursery – she even sleeps in the converted crib (it’s in daybed status now) but soon to be full sized bed. I have no clue what I want to go with for her yet – which is kind of whats taken so long!
I’ve just got two words for you, honey…..
I KEA
Craigslist, garage sales. Ebay next.
Decorate with baby toys (I’m sure you have lots of those!) Buy one of those cheap nets at the dollar story and hang it up in the corner, as a place to deposit all the stuffed animals. Soft bath books can make wall hangings, and alphabet blocks can be placed strategically on shelves or wall areas. Hang toy planes from the ceiling, buy a cheap kids area rug with “roads” and put toy cars around the edges (where you won’t be walking!)
Go to consignment shops to look for low cost decor and furniture that has been gently used.
For pictures you can print ones you like and frame them in a cheap from a Dollar store.
Also, if you want new linens, you can super cute ones for cheap @ Ikea! Seriously, most of their baby stuff is precious and super affordable!
You can usually get paint that people don’t want anymore on Craigs list for next to nothing!
I don’t know where you live, but I have almost a full can of baby blue leftover from when I painted my sons nursery a year ago. If you want it, let me know!
Good luck!
How many cribs do you own?!
What about doing something creative with paint or removable wall decals? They make some very elegant vinyl decals…
Oh here’s some ideas – take the jackets off kids books and put them in frames. Or any cute board books that are falling out of their binding, take apart and string ribbon through the pages and hang separately.
The crib and changing table are beautiful! Working a room around that should be fun. I had all girls, and so I’ve done a princess room, a Winnie the Pooh room, and a Dalmation room (yeah, we were Disney freaks back then,) Now it’s a very cool IKEA room for a 13 year old and the other two share a Safari room.
I like to get tons of idea books from the library. They have some great pictures, and if you can sew or are creative, you can make a lot of the stuff inexpensively.
I hope we get to see pics when it’s done:-)
The idea about framing book covers is interesting! That works well with calendar pages too. Painting a border or mural on the wall or using decals would also be fun. And baskets would be great for storage and decoration. Also – Target has really cute crib bedding (sailboats, lighthouses, sports, etc.) and some of it is on sale. 🙂 Come to think of it, I would just shop a lot of sales! Good luck! Can’t wait to hear what you decide to do with it.
I don’t have any great suggestion—that is why I come here 😉 I just wanted to say I cannot wait for the outcome to this little dare…I love this kind of stuff!! my two favorite things: decorating and bargain hunting!!!
Ok so Karen took the words right out of my mouth, but I do have one other suggestion – http://www.uppercaseliving.com. I am in LOVE with this stuff 🙂
Oh, WOW! That is awesome, Audrey!!! You truly amaze me!
We’re working on “Junior’s” room. I still haven’t gotten much for it. The walls have been painted…that’s about it! LOL! I figure I have a few more months…and hopefully my BFF will throw me a baby shower! LOL!
Thanks to you
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