A Frugal & Creative Nursery

Our nursery still needs a few finishing touches, but I wanted to show people how you can frugally and creatively outfit a nursery!

#1 - To personalize his room just a bit, I bought these letters + paint + paint brushes to display on a small white shelf that I took out of our bathroom.
Cost: $9



#2 - The crib was generously given to us by our friends JD & Michelle, who no longer needed it for their little ones.
Cost: FREE

#3 - We purchased the dresser at Ikea for $99 (which will double as a changing table once I buy the changing pad, $24). Such a steal since most white dressers I found in Columbia were over $400. The "Cherish" piece I found on clearance at TJ Maxx.
Cost: $124.50



#4 - The blue cushion is the floor centerpiece of the room. I originally wanted a round rug but found this blue papasan cushion on clearance at Pier 1! It'll make a great playmat as Reed grows (just have to keep the dogs off of it who view it as a nice, comfy dog bed!).
Cost: $15

#5 - Ben eyed this glider steal at Palmetto Thrift Store in Irmo (they'd just unloaded it off the truck!). Originally the glider had an ugly red vinyl seat cushion, but our cousin-in-law, Melissa, gifted us with this brand new, hand-sewn seat and back cushion. She's also making a navy blue lumbar pillow to go with the ensemble (not pictured).
Cost: $17



#6 - This framed maternity picture was taken by my sister-in-law back in May, and I found the frame at AC Moore (no small feat finding a white frame matted for an 11x14 picture - you'd think I was looking for a rare treasure!).
Cost of frame: $16

#7 - Ben has such an eye for deals, and he found this white shelf at Ikea in their "As Is" section. The puzzle is one Ben and I put together when we were dating, and I love the vintage feel of it! Yesterday my friend Lauren spotted the little airplane model sitting on the shelf at Hobby Lobby.
Cost of whole ensemble: $20

A couple of other notes:

• Items pictured that are not explained were gifts given to us at a baby shower.


• We painted the nursery forrest khaki. Cost: $36 for one gallon of Sherwin Williams paint (which we swear by, even if it's a bit pricier than other paints).


• We chose not to buy a prepackaged bedding set for several reasons. First, they are expensive. Second, they do not really serve a practical purpose because the quilt cannot be safely used inside the crib. Third, the baby will not likely sleep in the crib at first. Fourth, I'm not a really "matchy-matchy" person. Fifth, we received two or three handmade blankets and quilts that I treasure a lot more than a prepackaged bedding set!

Melissa is working on hemming some long navy blue panel curtains into valences skirted with the same material used on the glider cushion (Michelle passed the curtains along to me because they were collecting dust in her closet), and Michelle is also giving us a navy blue crib sheet and skirt that will tie in with the other navy blue pieces.

All in all, I am very pleased, and love how the nursery came together!! Friends and family have been outrageously generous with us and it shows!

Total decorating cost: $237.50.