With the excitement of the impending arrival of your little one, could fall into the trap of spending a small fortune. Parents to be are a marketing dream and as such you’ll find yourself often bombarded with imagery and ideas of what a ‘perfect’ start to your baby’s life looks like. However, in reality, the majority of us are operating on some kind of a budget, which is why we want to share our top tips for how to decorate a baby room on a budget.
1. Be Realistic
It’s difficult when you haven’t had a baby before, to know what you actually need. Companies will do their best to convince you that you need everything from a wipes warmer to a car-motion crib. In reality, your baby won’t need as much. But it is worth being savvy with the things you do buy as well as holding off on buying some things until you see what you actually need.
Therefore, it’s worth investing in a flexible and convertible cot. For example, you may want one with a drop side for if you’d like your newborn alongside your bed, or one which converts to a toddler bed. Age specific pieces of furniture can be expensive so try to find ones which will last across several stages.
With other furniture it’s worth considering whether you need the ‘baby’ version or if there are other solutions. For example, you could get a cheaper fold away changing table instead of a full sized changing table, or a comfortable armchair with low arms for feeding instead of a specialised feeding chair.
2. Consider the rate of change
Things change immensely quickly with babies and young children. Therefore, try to decorate your baby’s room in such a way that it can be easily adapted as they grow. A good way of doing this is to focus on one base colour of paint and then add accessories and wall stickers to make it feel more like a nursery. As baby grows and becomes a toddler obsessed with Paw Patrol or Peppa Pig, you can easily make changes which won’t take you back to the starting point.
3. Hold off on bedding and clothes
Pop in to a high street baby shop and you’ll find yourself falling over the cute bedding. However, two words of warning here. Firstly, you’ll likely get a vast amount of bedding and clothes as gifts, while blankets and outfits are often gifted. Secondly, you need to think about what you actually need. With bedding it is important you check out the SIDS advice on safe sleeping and therefore plan bedding accordingly. With clothing, be realistic about the types of clothes your baby will wear. Tiny jeans may look cute but you may feel the waistband is too tight on your newborn’s tummy, and that inexpensive baby grows are more suitable.
4. Be resourceful and creative
Not everything needs to be new! Scour the charity shops, nearly new sales and auction sites. You’ll discover that baby items are rarely used for long, meaning that you can pick up a bargain in excellent condition. You’ll find this the case for many items such as bouncy chairs and play mats.
5. Focus on storage
Despite the best intentions, babies have and need a great deal of ‘stuff’. Then these babies become toddlers with big and bulky toys. You therefore need to plan storage carefully when decorating your baby’s room. Investing in storage now will help to keep the costs down overall. Use tubs which can one day become easy-to-access toy storage. Use shelves with baskets for things which need to be kept out of reach and clothing storage that your baby won’t outgrow in the space of a few years
6. Keep it simple
At the end of the day simple can be beautiful. Simple is also easier to keep clean and adapt as needs change. Yes, you want a nursery that you love but your baby won’t be any the wiser! So spend wisely, think creatively, and keep it simple.
