Help for nursery

[czurcher]

I am pregnant with my first child..(due in Aug!) I am looking for something unique and affordable. I havent been able to find anything that I like or would want to use at this point. Does anyone know where I could find cottage style nursery items? I am not finding out what I am having but I think I would like to paint the nursery light blue. Help..I dont have much time!! Thanks! Christi

[Lisa S]

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS! :) This is an exciting time of your life!

As the mother of three, my best advice is:
- Other than a crib, I wouldn't spend any money on "nursery" items. It just didn't seem to me that the kids were little long enough! If you plan on having a few children, invest in a good crib that will last. And remember, giving your crib away is the surest way to get pregnant! :o
- The first time around, I had my husband make a changing table for me. To tell the truth, I always changed the kids on a blanket on the floor. It was so much easier! I wouldn't bother buying one.
- Get yourself a nice rocking chair with a good cushion. Have a throw pillow handy to prop your arm up while nursing.
- Buy a wooden chest of drawers. You can paint them over and over as your kids get bigger. We still have my husband's childhood dresser. We just put bun feet on the bottom and painted it black. It's great for mittens and hats in our back hallway.
- When your baby is big enough to sleep in a "big kid bed", invest in one with a trundle ~ they're great for sleep overs.
- Check out Pottery Barn Kids for decorating ideas. I've never bought from them because I think they're horribly overpriced, but I love to pour over their catalogs for ideas.

I'm so excited for you!

[Lynzee]

How exciting! Congratulations! :D

Love Lisa's tips! It's been so long since my children were babies that I'd forgotten some of the things she mentioned! I did decorate a combination nursery/older child's room in my house for my grandchildren recently though. Couldn't find anything I liked in any of the stores, so I bought a couple of coordinating "cottagy" fabrics and made the bedding. Sewing is not my strong suit, but the project was actually pretty simple and really didn't take long. Doing it this way, I was able to add little touches that I wanted--curtains, a cornice and canopy for the crib, a floor length bedskirt (for hidden storage underneath!), and liners for the dresser drawers. Also bought two sets of those inexpensive chair pads that come in sets of four and covered them in a coordinating fabric to make bumper pads, using pretty ribbon to tie them to the crib. Unique, inexpensive, fun, and easy. Love that!

My additions to Lisa's suggestions...have fun with it, go with something you absolutely love, and make it a functional, comfortable, cozy space where you will love spending time with your baby. :)

Good luck--and keep us posted!

Lynzee

[Kristen]

Target carries Shabby Chic items for the nursery. Bedding, lamps etc. Very cute, very cottage.

Congratulations on your wonderful news! Children are such a gift!
Kristen

[zuzus_garden]

Hi Christi,

Pop on over and take a look around:

Jack and Jill Furniture (http://www.jackandjillfurniture.com/)

Peanut Tree Designs (http://www.store.yahoo.com/peanuttree/)

If you don't find what you are looking for there, we'll try some more places!

:)

Zuzu

[Soleil]

Christi...how exciting!! I love decorating nurseries. I did my daughters nursery in a vintage style. I truly love how it turned out, and I don't feel it's babyish. Super feminine, but not baby. I could only get the older pictures to upload to my website, but here is how it looked. Only minor changes have been made since. I put all the prices of my goodies so you could see how budget conscious I was when I put it all together.

Here is a link. I will try to add some pictures of how it looks now.

http://groups.msn.com/LaMaisonDesSoleil/nursery.msnw?albumlist=2

Hope it's helpful. Keep us posted on your progress!

Soleil

ps...just re-read your post and realized that you weren't necessarily looking for budget conscious ideas...but everyone likes to save a buck...hee!

[Kristen]

Soleil,
What a beautiful nursery... thank you for sharing your pictures.
K

[Soleil]

I appreciate your kind comments on Emma's nursery. I had so much fun putting it together. The changes I've made are subtle, but I think it has improved since I took those pictures. Someday, maybe I can upload them to my site.

Thanks for looking!!
Soleil

[sararose]

Here's a cute crib that comes in white:
http://www.babyuniverse.com/pro.asp?store=baby&lang=&id=76670

I changed my babies on the floor too. We bought a bunch of yellow towels ( because the poop kept staining the white towels yellow) and laid them on the floor or bed for changing.

I'd also suggest a lamp with a dimmer switch and a wicker magazine holder for beside the rocking chair. It's nice to have something to read while feeding baby. Target sells lamps like that which could probably be painted white if they aren't already. A wicker hamper (with a washable liner) would be nice for baby's clothes.

If you've got the space, it's nice to put a daybed in the nursery too. When my babies had colds I liked to sleep near them.

[Lisa S]

I like my kids by me when they're sick even when they aren't babies anymore! Yep, an extra bed in the kids room is a very good thing. Or at least a handy sleeping bag!

[mckenzygirl]

First of all:

Congratulations and best wishes for you and your new baby!!!

Great nurseries everyone!

My daughter is going to have a baby in Oct 2005.

Here's what we did for the nursery:

We painted the room a light blue with white trim.

We bought a really nice crib that conferts into a daybed and then into a full side bed. It's white. We also bought an armoire, and dresser that will be used for a changing table. We also bought a white rocking chair, and I am in the process of making the pad out of blue and white gingham.

Above the crib we put in white letters "Sweet Dreams"

For the windows:we put up white shutters on each side of the windows. we made curtians with blue and white gingham with Battenburg lace for trim. we also put a matchstick blind up in each window. For the crib skirt:we made it just like the curtians to match.

We put a canopy over the crib made out of white gauzy material.

She isn't going to find out what she'll be having. She wants to be surprised.
We just set up the basics first, and we'll go into more details after the baby arrives.

[shabbysouth]

Nurseries are so much fun--I just did a pink and green one for a friend and it is so girly girl....There are so many great products out there that you can really mix and match and just add or two custom touches and get a really unique look..for instance I got a changing pad cover at Babies r us (they have a great new Wendy Bellisimo bedding line, expensive but you can just get a few of the pieces maybe)...also, like Soleil said target is so great as you all know....just remember to add at least one old piece or a vintage picture or something to get that cottage feel...my son's nursery is actually my favorite room in our house right now....I worked so hard on it, in fact, there will be a small picture of it in the June issue of BHG...look for the red firetruck and polka dot lampshade! My one regret...not really thinking the rocker thing through...I really needed a good glider the first few months..i only have a wing chair in there...I have a rocker in two other rooms..we survived and now he is 6 months and the wing chair is fine for cuddles and feeds....I just cold not bear an ugly glider...PB has an amazing one but so expensive!

GOOD LUCK and enjoy!

www.shabbysouth.com