Create a Designer Nursery for Less

During both of my pregnancies I was most excited about decorating the nursery. Of course, I was more excited about actually having my babies, but that didn’t happen until much later. As soon as I knew what I was having, I could decorate the nursery, you know what I mean? With my oldest daughter, my husband and I spared no expense when it came to her perfectly decorated nursery. We headed straight to Pottery Barn Baby and the Restoration Hardware Baby and Child Catalog to furnish and decorate our daughter’s entire bedroom. We loved every single thing about her nursery.

With our second baby, we did things differently. It wasn’t that we regretted spending so much time and money decorating our oldest daughter’s nursery, it was that we realized we used the things in her nursery for about a year and that was it. The changing table, the rocker recliner and matching ottoman, the tummy time mats, everything. Since she was in a toddler bed at that point, we decided to reuse all the furniture in our new daughter’s room. As far as décor went, we wanted to go a different route. Before I ordered yet another $600 bumper and sheets for the crib, matching lamps, pillows, and curtains, my husband told me that it seemed a little pointless to spend that much on something we use so shortly when we could put that money in our daughter’s college fund and buy something less expensive. That’s when I realized that you can create a designer nursery without spending designer prices.

Head to the Craft Store

You can find those adorable wall letters, framed artwork, and designer looks at craft stores for so much less than the things you find at designer stores. Trust me, I spent $15 per letter to spell my daughter’s name on her wall for my oldest and $1 a letter to spell my youngest daughter’s name. The letters were exactly the same. It’s also ironic that my oldest daughter’s name has seven letters and cost me $105 to spell on her wall and my youngest daughter’s name has three letters and cost me $3.

Think Outside the Box

Instead of buying the $200 designer lamp for the baby’s nursery, head to a department store or online to find the same style and designer for a quarter of the price. It’s very easy. I actually found the same Restoration Hardware Baby and Child Lamp that I purchased for my oldest daughter at Hobby Lobby for around five percent of the price I paid for it.