Decorating a nursery can prove to be heavy on the pocket, right? Try these pocket-friendly ideas and bring that priceless smile to your child’s face.
Every parent wants to provide his child with the best things in the world. When it comes to designing a nursery, parents don’t want to compromise on anything. The nursery should be colorful, fun, and safe. Try these ideas that will help you give the best environment for your child, with minimum expenses.
Budget
Come up with a definite upper limit for your budget. Choose a theme for the baby’s room and note down all the things that you will require for it. Make two lists, an essential items list and a wish list. Essential items can be purchased right away. Postpone buying the items from the wish list, if your present budget does not permit you.
Color Scheme
Paint the nursery’s walls yourself, instead of using wallpaper, as it can be pretty expensive. This task can turn very enjoyable if you and your partner plan to take it up together. Use bold, vibrant colors like purple, orange, and green, or a creative combination of two contrasting colors, to create a stimulating environment. Bright colors will surely catch your child’s attention. Avoid clichéd colors like pink and blue for girls’ and boys’ rooms, respectively.
Furniture
Furniture for a nursery includes a baby crib, a closet, and a changing table. You can buy secondhand furniture from a garage sale. Remember to check if the crib meets the safety standards and does not contain lead. You can also borrow or rent it from a relative or a friend, as many people save nursery furniture for emotional reasons. Buying a changing table can be avoided, as you can dress your baby on the bed by placing an oilcloth on it to avoid staining.
However, if you are want to buy new furniture, keep a few things in mind. Buy a convertible crib, that converts from a crib to a toddler bed, to avoid spending for a bed separately in the future. Instead of a closet, use cute, multicolored shelves, which will not only give a different look to the room, but will also provide a storage space for your baby’s things.
Rugs and Curtains
To give the flooring a new look, use multicolored throw rugs. Alternatively, use handmade rugs made from old, recycled bath towels. Buy secondhand sheet sets and use them as linen. Use old curtains if you have any, and decorate the windows with colorful flowerpots. This will surely have a soothing effect on your child. You can also use roll-up blinds for the windows.
Wall Art
Wall art can be made in a variety of ways. One of them is to cut pictures from old children’s books, stick them on chart paper, and paste them on the walls. You can choose a particular story and glue the pictures according to its sequence in the form of a collage. When your child gets bored of it, you can make new artwork with a different story.
Another great idea is to make cutouts of different shapes and glue them to cardboard, cover it with multicolored fabric, and then sticking it on the walls. This will add a lot of color to the room. Another way can be to choose a number of designs with cartoon characters from the internet, take their printouts, and stick all of them together, to make a large unique art piece.
Alternately, if you are looking at something ready-made, buy peel-and-stick wall decorations. Visit stores when they offer discounts; they can provide a variety of wall hangings and pictures at cheap prices.
Accessories
You can experiment a lot with accessories. Hang long drapes of multicolored and multi-textured cloth from the roof of the nursery using double-sided tape. Your child will love playing with the colorful cloth. If you have play stands, put a canopy over them to give the nursery a fairytale house look. Keep scented candles and essential oils in the room. However, remember to keep the accessories on shelves, beyond the reach of your child.
Toys
Childhood learning should be experiential and sensory-based. Provide your child with open-ended toys as they help foster creativity. Create a separate art corner in the nursery by keeping paper and crayons there. Place handmade woolen animals and birds in the room. Handmade toys have numerous benefits. They can be used to decorate the room, improve a child’s motor skills, and can also be used as props when you tell them stories. If possible, add a swing or a rocking horse to the nursery, as they have a calming effect on young children. Both of them can be made at home using wood from old furniture.
Apart from these ideas, don’t forget to personalize the nursery. Put your child’s name on the wall by using wooden letters available at craft stores. They are very cheap and can be decorated beautifully using handmade decorative paper and ribbons. If you can sew, make a few clothes for your child at home using cotton or organic material.
