Design Your Baby's Nursery Around Your Budget!

First of all, you do not need to take out a loan just to get the best looking nursery room around!  I have been in this business for quite a while and if there has been one thing my great customers have taught me, that is how to save a penny!  Now, you buy a great set.. naturally you will want to excite the room with as many accessories and as much decor as possible... well there is an inexpensive way!

ONE

Wallies -  Wallies are pre-cut wall paper prints.  They are in todays industrial market pre-pasted.  Some people purchase the actual cutouts.  Yes that saves time.. however they are spending 9.99-19.99 for what, 12-24 cut outs.. of only 3-4 patterns.   Personally, when i used to decorate nursery rooms, I would purchase an extra roll of wall-paper.  I got at least 30-45 cut outs from one 15 foot roll, and, depending on the wallpaper, 6-10 different prints , sometimes more.  And the border of the wall paper worked really good too by making mock frames on the wall.  So for 9.00-11.50 you get so much more and so many more possibilities, and an accomplishment all your own.

TWO

Stuffed Animals - These are a great way to spruce up any nursery!  And usually the bedding manufacturers do not sell the animals that go with the sets.. although there are actually suppliers out there who do sell stuffed animals that will match these set s perfectly and at a low cost.  For instance, glenna jean sells plush animals with their sets, they match all right, though a 9" plush for 45.00? 

Wild Republic has a huge line of stuffed animals.. around 20 of them would match the African Safari crib set by Glenna Jean.  The most expensive is 25.00 - a 8 foot long plush snake.  I personally love the safari sets because you can get those hanging monkey puppets and the 8 foot long plush snakes to hang on the curtain rod(s).  A Safari theme has endless possibilities.  I may just write a guide on it lol

Under the Sea Theme Nurseries are also a whole lot of fun to decorate with stuffed animals.

THREE

Baby Safe Paint - first, i am confused.. isn't all paint supposed to be safe for babies since like the 70's? lol  I think that may just be a term for the crayon washable paint?  Or are there really infants eating the walls? 

So, anyway ..a  fresh coat of paint for the walls does so much in making the nursery look not only clean but new, refreshing, etc..  Even the darker colors, such as for a safari set-up makes everything look great.  I suggest lighter colors for girls, medium colors for boys.  Construction collection - orange / blue / khaki.  Safari collection - khaki / tans / browns / creams.  Under the Sea collection - naturally the blues (many shades if possible) / whites (eggshell, ivory) / reds.  Floral collection - pinks / whites / purples.  So either "baby safe" or regular paint, i suggest a semi-gloss paint.  And you do not have to go to sherwin williams to buy it... the local wal-mart stores sell a gallon of paint at the color you want for 7.99 - 11.99.

FOUR

  Decoupage Fabrics  / Wall Paper Prints (cut outs)-  If you have any knowledge of scissors, laquer (non-toxic - like on a crib), and fabric then you can make set-specific fan blades, wall art, drawer knobs, switch plate covers, outlet covers, crib art, clocks, picture frames and the list goes on and on and on!  I LOVE what this lady does here for the Alphabet Soup line:

Alphabet Soup Drawer Knobs by 3buttons*n*2bows eBay member

She is very inventive.  Good job on those..  very impressive work!  Those are certainly the best I have seen.  And the thing about those types of products is that the lines do not carry those items.  For instance, Cocalo does not make Alphabet Soup Drawer Knobs.

Most of the sets, especially Lambs & Ivy Collections and Glenna Jean sell the fabric too, so you do not have to go around shopping for fabric that might match.. you can find it right with the set online or at the retail store..

This is so easy to do , and so cheap as well.

FIVE

Main Accessories - The accessories you buy if you are on a tight budget not only need to be decorative, but make sure they are useful.  For instance:

Nursery Baskets with or without a liner these are great in the nursery to make the nursery look full and they are so useful for diapering and toys.  When the baby gets older, you can use them for books, and when the child no longer needs them, you have extra kitchen or bathroom baskets... perfect!

Diaper Stacker is actually quite a  large accessory and naturally is a very useful diapering storage tool.  Many of the diaper stackers also have a really good resell value.

Baby Pillows are another great useful and decorative accessory.  They look great on the dresser, in the crib (when baby isn't in there) or in nursery baskets or on the changing table.  And when baby gets a bit older, you have the pillows for them to sleep on already.

Sherpa Baby Blankets will come in handy all the time.. for trips in the car, for stroller, and just for baby to lay with you and watch tv.  There are a very good accessory to own.

Other accessories that can be useful after used if you are not on a very tight budget are:

Musical Mobile - after 5-6 months when baby can push up on hands and knees, this needs to be removed from the crib due to entanglement precautions.  When my son outgrew his musical mobile I cut of the plush icons to where the string was hardly showing at all on and i turned it into 5 little plush baby toys :)  The fabric arm cover - i cut into 10 sections of about 1.5 inches each and put it between the tabs of the valance on the curtain rod.. looked really great! 

Hampers (which i actually consider this a necessity!  But they can be expensive so they hit this category on this guide instead) - These are so useful in the nursery room, and even as baby gets older into toddler then "kid" lol.   But after the child outgrows the hamper, or you move on to a different theme, you can easily just put that hamper into your own laundry room as an extra.  I did that very thing.. and no one ever sees it, and who cares if they do?  It works wonderfully to seperate mine and my husbands clothes from the kids clothes.

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I hope this has helped you a little!  I will probably add more as I think and learn of new ways to save a penny on creating your nursery.  Please look at my other guides for helpful hints.  I am still writing a few.  Good luck and Thanks so much!