Where Camden Sleeps: An Entire Nursery for Under $350

Creating a Gender Neutral Nursery

For some crazy reason, I felt like I couldn’t be a good mom until I had created the perfect nursery.  I spent hours on Pinterest, in Home Depot, and Ikea just to find the right colors and furniture.  Of course, I was thrifty in my endeavors and am excited to share with you how you can create your own cute nursery without paying a hefty price.

Selecting Nursery Colors

This was by far the hardest part!  There are so many great colors to chose from.  Knowing the baby’s gender is the most helpful when making your selection.  I knew I was having a boy, but I wanted colors that would be neutral enough that they could be used if I ended up having a girl later.  If you want to keep it neutral, I recommend avoiding pink, purple, and brown.  Most other colors can be used for boys or girls.  I wanted something really bright.  I went to home depot and looked at paint swatches until I found the combination I wanted: aqua/turquoise/ orange/ and black.  I kept the swatches in my purse so when I went shopping for things for the room, I could match it to my exact colors.

Creating Removable Wall Decals for the Nursery

Making the Most of a Large Window in a Nursey

Tissue paper $3 from Dollar Store.  Tutorial on how to make tissue poms.

I used a tutorial to learn how to make the simple tissue buds.  I used the remaining tissue paper from the dollar store, I also used a dollar vase, which I lined with scrapbooking paper.  I glued hemp around the top with a hot glue gun, and added peacock feathers from my wedding bouquet.

I bought this handmade frame from a charity auction for $25.  It was all white, but my husband and I used modpodge to add orange scrapbooking paper on the outside of the frame.

This shelf was $3 from a garage sale.

Frames painted from dollar store.  Plant tower from Deseret Industries, $5.

Finding Nursery Furniture for a Good Price

Everyone was once a baby, which means there is a ton of baby furniture in the world.  If you take your time, and you probably have like 9 months, you can find great deals on the things you need.  I’m not huge on hoarding furniture so I didn’t get things like a changing table or a rocking chair.  I just used his crib and a large office chair instead.  I was able to get my crib for free from my husband’s aunt ( I did sand and paint it black).  It is a great idea to email family members when you are pregnant to see if anyone is getting rid of anything.  Garage sales are also great.  I got the small white shelf for $3 at a garage sale.  The lamp and the plant tower were purchased from the second hand store, Deseret Industries, for $7 total.  The frames on the plant tower were from the dollar store and I painted them to match the room.  The vase with the tissue flowers was also from the dollar store.  The only thing that was a little pricey was the black dresser that my husband purchased for us when we were first married.  We got the dresser from Walmart for $169.

Overall Advice for Decorating a Nursery on a Budget

• Check out thrift stores and garage sales.
• Use paint swatches to ensure you buy the correct colors and that they match.
• Find simple crafts that can add a lot of flair.
• Be patient in your purchases, you will find a deal if you wait!
• Be brave! You can refurnish that crib or create that wall decal.
• Make it a date!  My husband and I had a lot of fun doing stuff together, plus more minds equal more creativity and more hands equal less work.
• Don’t worry about buying expensive bedding.  I just bought crib bumpers from Ikea for $20 and got a bed sheet from Michael’s aunt.  Babies will poop, spit up, and throw up on their bedding.  I just use normal blankets on Camden and he is just fine.  When he was smaller, I used the extra fabric from the curtains to make the bedskirt.  Really, don’t waist a ton of money on the bedding.

Just for reference, this is my BEFORE picture.  If I can do it, you can too!

Good luck!

-Kara