How To Decorate A Nursery On A Budget

Congratulations on your upcoming baby! As you’ve realized by now, there’s a whole lot going on in the baby industry. You’ve been researching strollers, breast pumps, car seats, and so so so many opinions on how to parent. And on top of the fact that you’ve been thrust into a brand new world with a strict yet complicated and easily misunderstood culture and set of rules, there are also hormones and unexpected body changes to deal with. So ThriftSmart has marshalled its resources, scoured the internet for tips, and called our moms to help you with one of the potentially thousands of decisions that you’ll need to make before you even have the baby.

Deconstructing The Nursery

Before you can really begin, you need to step back a moment. Typically at this point most mothers and some fathers are in “nesting” mode. That means that they want to make a special place for their baby but don’t really have any idea what that is. And as anyone who has ever bumped into a celebrity and felt compelled to talk to them without any convenient topics on hand can tell you, this is a road that can only lead to disaster, embarrassment, and potentially a restraining order. Don’t go in without a plan or a purpose.

So let’s look at what a nursery is for. For many families, the purpose of their nursery is to provide a safe and comforting place for the baby. A place for them to feel loved and nurtured but that connects them to the family unit as a whole. A place of peaceful tranquility that will provide for the baby’s needs such as diaper changes, feedings, and rest. Or, if this isn’t your first baby, maybe the purpose of your nursery is to provide a space to keep the kid quiet and unable to tell if it is time to wake up yet.

Start With An Idea

Help us help you. Someone can’t completely design your nursery for you, otherwise you’d let your husband do it. But this decision making process can be fun rather than paralyzing. If you are completely stuck on where to start, then find a friend whose design opinions you trust and value. Or, if you and the other voting member of your family are at an impasse, jointly choose a decorating arbitrator. Turn decision time into friendship time and look through Pinterest or Instagram together to find a place to start.

You don’t have to know exactly what you want.  You just have to have an idea of where to start and what you’ll be doing in the nursery. A color palette is very helpful. Canva has 100 examples of great color combinations, and they even have a color palette generator if you upload a photo of something you like.

There are some other questions that you can answer at this time:

• Will you be reading to the child in the nursery?
• Will you be nursing your child in the nursery?
• What types of music, lighting, and storage will you want/need?

Use What You Have

Typically nurseries are designed by moms-to-be. Even in a house full of boy babies, no nursery was ever confused for the mancave. Perhaps you should consider using some of the decorations and pieces from your wedding… also a project that the husband wasn’t really allowed to be super involved in (except for reading from a script). Over at Motherhood In Nashville, this mom uses some of her old wedding pieces in her girls’ room to great effect.

Even if you haven’t kept your wedding decorations you can still reuse and repurpose some other pieces from around your house and give them a whole new life and purpose. This is especially true when paired with an intentional color scheme.

Head To The Thrift Store

This is an article on a thrift store blog, so of course we’re going to suggest checking out ThriftSmart.  But that’s only because it really is a good idea, especially when it comes to children’s and baby items. Nurseries and childhood bedrooms don’t stay the same for very long. The child grows and tastes change for both child and parent.  Occasionally children are born with wildly different opinions than their parents. Some even learn to talk just to express those differences. New children later come along and kick the former beloved children out of their perfect little nest (firstborn here). And sometimes our little cherubs actively work to destroy their home through creative expression and crayon graffiti.

All of this means that thrift stores like ThriftSmart regularly see nursery and children’s room goods donated. Many of which are still very new, name brand, or high quality pieces. Plus it is free just to stop in and look. You might even find some new inspiration!

Let us know what your nursery tips and designs are. We’d love to share them on social media to help other local moms-to-be make the nursery decorating process fun and easy. Plus nurseries don’t stay nurseries for very long so it is great to celebrate and enjoy them just like we do with our weddings. Again, congratulations on the new baby!