I don’t know about you, but I’ve been so excited and nervous about creating our nursery. It makes it all so real! I suppose part of me has still been scared it’s all too good to be true, but by this point now I feel like I can really believe it all and let it properly sink in that we’re going to have a baby!
Finding out the sex has certainly made it all more real, he’s not an it anymore! Since we found out that our little baby pea is a he, it’s all systems go for getting organised. First on the list, sort the nursery space, because boy oh boy, did we have some organising to do in there!
Before
We only moved in to our house in February this year, and here in November we still hadn’t fully organised everything and done all the rooms, so the nursery was just a dumping ground and was as unorganised as you can get! Although I imagine it was similar for a lot of us, having to sort out the spare room first!
It took us a good few weekends to work our way through this transformation project, but I don’t know about you, but I’m very impatient when I want something doing!
During
Blank(ish) canvas
Did you have an idea of what you wanted your nursery to be like from the start? We certainly didn’t! We floated from idea to idea, clouds, stars, safari, we liked them all when we found pictures on Pinterest!
If like us, you weren’t sure on your design before you started, we found that just focusing on clearing out the space to start with gave us time to think of ideas whilst prepping the room.
I recommend taking the time to properly clear out your spare room if you are needing to do that too, and avoid the temptation of just finding another corner to store things in, you’ll only regret it later! I found this a great opportunity to have a proper declutter and clear out, and I could talk Tony into doing 2 tip runs with me, all in the name of nesting!
The basics
Get the furniture in place first
The style of your furniture will influence you overall design, if you are flexible or undecided on your nursery theme then it can be really handy. Because we weren’t limited to a particular style we were able to keep an eye out for second hand furniture deals, and managed to find this set locally through eBay, which was in immaculate condition.
Choosing a theme
With the furniture in it was time to get serious on picking a theme! We found that finding a key piece that we really loved helped us to decide on a theme and expand it. Tony found these adorable prints on Etsy, and there was our woodland theme.
Love our super cute woodland animal quotes
After
Once we had our theme it was easy to find the finishing touches. An afternoon out we found our little fox lamp, a one off from a vintage market, and our themed soft furnishings, and ta-da, we have a cosy cute comfy nursery!
We’re still not quite finished, we have some bookcases to put up still, above the changing station for extra storage, and in the opposite wall for books, but it’s not a bad place to be for the halfway mark, still have a few months to finish off the rest ☺️
What’s in our nursery
For anyone looking for inspiration, here is a list of the key pieces we have in our nursery:
Cot
As mentioned, we managed to get our whole furniture set second hand. I would never use a second hand mattress, so we have bought a new one from Mamas and Papas.
Total cost for Cot and new mattress – c£100
Changing station
This was part of the furniture set, and I have to say I am pleasantly surprised by how generous the draw space is!
The sleepyhead was a Facebook Marketplace find, the lady we bought it from had a very super active 6 month old (already crawling!) who had barely used it. The cover is removable and washable, and for something which is normally £120, I managed to get for £40, along with a spare cover which would have cost £60 too!
Total cost for changing station and sleepyhead – c£70
Wardrobe
Now I don’t think a wardrobe is essential for a baby, their clothes are so much easier to store folded or rolled in draws, however it will become useful as they get older, so saves having to get one further down the line. I love this one because of the shelves, so handy!
We got the storage baskets from the Range, and they are extra large, so give us plenty of storage space.
Total cost – wardrobe and baskets c£70
‘Nursing chair’
We also found our ‘nursing chair’ second hand from Facebook Marketplace. It’s not a traditional nursing chair, as I wasn’t sure I really likes how they looked, but then I saw this leather chair and foot stall being sold for £50, and bonus – it’s a massage chair!
I was also considering a small armchair, but this fits lovely because we don’t have tonnes of space, but yet it’s a super cosy, reclines, and massages! So I think it gives me all the comfort I think I’ll need when nursing. I’ve already sat in there a few times in the last few weeks to relax and read or listen to pod casts.
Total cost – nursing chair and footstool £50
Decoration
Woodland animal prints
As mentioned the prints were from Etsy, but then come as a download, so we also had to go to a printers to have them printed and pick up the frames (the range again).
Probably our most extravagant spend to be honest, but as we saved on a lot of other things being second hand we didn’t mind.
Total cost – c£70
Soft furnishings
Our curtains and matching cushions were from Dunelm (Modern Botanical range). We think they’re perfect because they match the theme and bring some nice bright colour into the too, so it’s not too boring!
Total cost – curtains and 2 x cushions – £80
Mr fox Lamp
Our statement piece! Tony spotted this at the vintage market, and it’s just perfect!
Total cost – Carved lamp – £25
Bookshelves
Instead of standard bookshelves we have bought some amazon spice racks, which work fab as book shelves (not up yet so not pictured!)
Total cost – bookshelves – £23
Side table
This was also from our trip to Dunelm (Theo side table, Oak) and works perfectly with our theme. Busy big enough for the lamp and for me to have a drink / book / phone on hand when I’m nursing, without taking up too much space in the room.
Total cost – side table – £15
Total nursery cost – c£503
Not a bad transformation for just £503!
And there’s our woodland themed nursery! I hope this is helpful and has given you some things to consider if you are currently planning your own nursery.
Do you have any extra tips to share, or pictures of your nursery? Would love to see them in the comments!
Love and peas,
Danni 🤰🏻
xxx
HapPea Family Blog 