When we found out we were pregnant, I immediately started mentally planning the nursery. I didn't really have a budget, but I knew I wanted to do it as inexpensively as possible, because I'm kind of cheap. I ended up spending under $400. What?! Yes, I seriously decorated our nursery for less than $400. And I think it's pretty darn cute.
So, how did I do it? Well, lots of bargain hunting, lots of DIYing, and a pinch of resourcefulness. Here's the details. Well, except without the exact sources, because well, new baby = not much blogging time. So, if I can't do it in ten minutes while my husband finishes watching Justified or with one hand on my phone, it's not going to happen.
Let's
start with the crib. I did what every single book tells you not to
do. I bought a used crib. From someone I knew and trusted. Someone I
knew had kept up with all recall information. That allowed me to score a
gorgeous crib for a fraction of the price. Now I feel like you could
go buy a new crib from somewhere around the same price from Ikea.
Definitely functional. Cost: $125 (including mattress)
Crib
skirt. Oh, this was a doozie. My mom sewed it for me. It turned out
to be a gigantic pain of a project. My sewing skills are definitely not
this good. But it turned out amazingly! We picked up the fabric on
sale at JoAnn's and my poor mom spent hours upon hours sewing it. Fun
fact, the base is made out of table cloths from my wedding. Cost: $30 (and countless hours my mother will never get back.)
Mobile.
This bad boy took a couple hours of crafting but I think was well worth
it. It's a wire wreath form that I painted gold. And a ton of coral
and gold dots I punched out using two different sizes of circle punch.
The dots are stuck onto thread with glue dots. And then the mobile is
hung with ribbon I already had on hand. Cost: $6 (or so)
Chevron
art. I already had all the paint on hand for this. It just required
buying a canvas, taping it off and then painting. Easy peasy. Cost: $8
Tall
bookshelf. This bad boy was free. My dad built it for me back when I
was in college. It stayed in the nursery for a bit of extra storage
space. I'm envisioning diaper storage and some pretty folded baby
blankets. Cost: Free
Tree decal. I picked up this up at Target on clearance upon suggestion from a
friend. I wasn't really sure I wanted it. Even as I was putting it
up, I wasn't too sure. But now I'm in love. So glad I ponied up the
six bucks and change. It's the perfect little detail. Cost: $7
Gallery
wall. This was super cheap to put together. The mint canvas with the
heart, I made. The big frame came from Ikea and the name decal came
from PolkaDot Wall stickers. That's probably the most expensive
decoration I bought. The two small pictures were my mom and aunt's when
they were little girls and were the inspiration for my color scheme.
The 8x10 frames are also from Ikea. The small scalloped frame, you
guessed it, Ikea. And still needs a picture put in it... The 11x13 frame is from Walmart but it doesn't count
because I already had it. Cost: $60
My
changing table/dresser was a gift from my parents. This project started out as a
total disaster. I found a dresser on Facebook that was $30. I was going to
refinish it. Well, my dad went to pick it up and it was a total piece
of crap. My mom felt so bad about it that she went on a mission to find
me a different one. Mission complete. They found a gorgeous dresser
and my dad refinished it for me. And then wouldn't let me pay them for
it. I picked up the drawer knobs on a 50% off sale at Hobby Lobby Cost: Gift/Drawer Knobs $18
Rocking
chair. I got it last summer at a garage sale. I think it barely even
counts. Just to be fair though, I'll count the measley amount I spent
on it. It rode home in the trunk of my car. I'm classy like that. Cost: $8
Curtains.
I picked these up at Ikea for less than $20 for the pair. They're the
perfect layer of texture. I love them so much! I got the gold curtain
rod at Walmart for about $8. Not too shabby. Cost: $28
Blinds.
Okay, these are from Ikea too. Are you noticing a trend? Like maybe a
big Ikea shopping trip to complete our nursery? It may have happened.
So these curtains are amazing. I just measured my window and then cut
the blinds with SCISSORS, yes scissors. All at once. Pretty amazing. And even better.... Cost: $6 (for both blinds!)
Lamps.
This is another example of me being cheap. There was a light fixture
that I looooved. But I felt like it was silly to spend that much on a
light fixture that I might not use that much. And silly to pay an
electrician to come run wiring for an overhead light when lamps would do
just fine. See, cheap. So, I pulled an old "Work with what you've
got" and just had my dad spray paint lamp bases that I already had.
Then I grabbed a bottle of gold craft paint I already had and a Q-tip
and just painted those cute little dots on my lamp shades. Cost: Free
The small bookshelf I've had for years. Either my dad or my grandpa built it. All the books came from my baby showers. It's great to have lots of teacher friends! And the adorable elephant was a Christmas present from my sister-in-law.
Since I like spreadsheets, here's a breakdown of the costs and where everything came from.
| Item | Cost | Source |
| Crib/Mattress | $125.00 | Garage Sale |
| Dresser/Knobs | $18.00 | Hobby Lobby |
| Rocker | $8.00 | Garage Sale |
| Curtains/Rod | $28.00 | Ikea/Walmart |
| Blinds | $6.00 | Ikea |
| Lamps | 0 | Repurposed |
| Bookshelves | 0 | Repurposed |
| Gallery Wall | $60 | Walmart, Ikea, heirloom |
| Tree Decal | $7 | Target |
| Mobile | $6.00 | DIY |
| Paint | $70 | Sherwin Williams, Amour |
| Chevron Art | $8 | DIY |
| Crib Skirt | $30.00 | DIY |
| Total | $366.00 |
And there you have it. A nursery for under four hundred bucks. Not too bad.
