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Pregnancy

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Original poster

Cheap and simple ways to make a room a nursary?

33 replies

Stefka · 08/10/2007 18:49

Our house is tiny and although we have a spare room it contains a lot of our stuff. It has two big ikea bookcases in it and a sofa bed. I've put the cot in there but at the moment it just looks like a room with a cot in it. We are totally strapped for cash so can't spend money on things like curtains or wall paper so wondered if there were other things I could do to make it look more like a baby's room rather than just our spare room with a cot stuck in it . I know the baby won't care but it feels a bit like a rite of passage for me - I would just like to do it if that makes sense

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milfAKAmonkeymonkeymoomoo · 08/10/2007 18:53

Fun cushions for the sofa? Maybe ask people for nursery items like a lampshade, mobile etc if they ask if you need anything? Also stuffed animals make it look more childlike

Once you have the baby the room will be overtaken by baby paraphenalia and you'll be aching for your 'adult' room baclk

milfAKAmonkeymonkeymoomoo · 08/10/2007 18:53

Oh and a lick of paint (supermarkets sell it v cheaply now) can transform a room. Use a colour like yellow to make it nice and sunny.

CantSleepWontSleep · 08/10/2007 18:53

Well you've already covered my initial thought, which was that the baby won't care!

If the walls are painted, then you could just get a reel of border and put that up.

You could also put lots of soft toys that people will probably buy as gifts on the sofabed.

Weegle · 08/10/2007 18:54

Do you have an IKEA nearby? If so get some v. cheap storage to put your things in - they do cardboard (but v rigid) smart looking boxes in white and cream that would do well. Then get for 99p or something ridiculous some netting storage and put the soft toys tat you will be given at birth in these. Ad maybe get some wall stickers to stick up around the cot.

faylisa · 08/10/2007 18:57

I bought animal room stickers "stikarounds" from ebay and stuck them all over the walls - hey presto, a kids room! Best of all they are removable so when you/they get fed up of them you can just peel them off

Lullabyloo · 08/10/2007 18:59

Nice posters...some wrapping paper makes beautiful posters

Do you know if you are having a boy or a girl?

Kif · 08/10/2007 19:00

Don't forget that the bub will probably be in with you for the first six months. My ds is 11 months and is still in with me.

For practicality, I would make sure your nursery has a cot, a mattress/futon/bed for someone to sleep in with the baby if needed (e.g. bad nights, colds etc), a decent supportive chair and a surface to put things on (e.g. bottles).

So long as you de-clutter it, you'll find it'll probably become like a 'real' nursery naturally when the baby comes.

My Dd had one picture of a gnome sitting on a mushroom on the wall of her nursery before she was born. It was one I'd had as a child, and I was sentimental about it 'watching over her'.

When she was born, she got a clutch of very random oversized stuffed animals. Now, a newborn really has no use for a large stuffed animal. If you put up a cheap shelf, you'd have an attractive place to display your more impractical gifts.

My SIL likes photos of family members in the nursery. That way, she can chat to the baby and tell them about great-aunt gertrude or whoever. It'll make the baby more receptive to these people when they meet them.

Books are nice too. There are lots of free ones floating around hvs offices - ask for the 'Bookstart pack'.

ADragonIs4LifeNotJustHalloween · 08/10/2007 19:01

BabyDragon is in the spare room. I painted it cream and lilac, hung a star mobile from the ceiling and put a bright rug on the floor. Oh, and I put cupcake doorknobs on the wardrobe/chest of drawers.

The room still has a double bed, a bookcase and (currently) a filing cabinet in it though. I don't want it to look too childish as it is still to be used as the spare room for adults.

Kif · 08/10/2007 19:02

actually - now I think about it - I always lusted after a smart chair, but never had one. Fed babies on floor cushion or bed.

geordiemacmummy · 08/10/2007 19:06

Stefka - do you know whether you are having a girl or boy? I have a few bits of stuff you could have - clothes, baby bath?

Original poster

Stefka · 08/10/2007 19:07

I don't know if it is a boy or a girl no.

There is no space for any new furniture or anything at all really! Stuff that I can hang up is good - the net is a good idea and I like the idea of some stars or something from the roof. I am due in a week so with a little bit of luck I won't have time to worry about it! It just seems like a nice way to spend some time and it is not everyday that you get to make a room for your first baby

OP posts:

geordiemacmummy · 08/10/2007 19:18

Well once you have your little bundle let us know - there are a few of us scottish mummies that have had boys and girls over the past few months and would be more than willing to give you some out grown clothes..

Have you got a moses basket?

I think a trip to ikea is in order... infact I went to ikea and went into labour that night!!

Did you get sorted with the pram?

Original poster

Stefka · 08/10/2007 19:34

Yes thank you! My husband was able to figure it all out in about three seconds much to my annoyance! It's all together now though

Perhaps I ought to go to Ikea - see if it brings labour on!

I don't have a moses basket no but someone gave us a shot of their crib. That is waiting to be put together now - strangely my attempts only led to disaster!!

OP posts:

ceebeegeebies · 08/10/2007 19:37

Was also going to suggest the sticky pictures for the wall - we got ours (Winnie the Pooh ones) from Mothercare and I don't think they were expensive but they have turned DS's room from plain yellow walls into walls with nice pictures on them - and they do peel off.

Jojay · 08/10/2007 19:38

My friend had exactly the same problem, a plain white room with a cot, but also bookcases, a computer etc.

Those big wall stickers really transformed the room, along with a jolly rug on the floor.

She also put up lots of photo's of her daughters little friends, and that makes the room look more 'baby-fied' too.

purplemonkeydishwasher · 08/10/2007 19:38

my first thought was: "put a baby in it."

Bodkin · 08/10/2007 19:58

I got some bunting off Ebay to make it look ours look a bit more like a nursery and less like a jumble sale (bags and bags of DD1s old clothes all over the floor still to be sorted out ) It was about £12 and makes the room look very cute. You could make it yourself for next to nothing if you're handy with a sewing machine.

Dragon - where did you get your cupcake knobs from, if you don't mind me asking? We've got a bit of a cake theme going on in DD1s room.

Magicmayhem · 08/10/2007 20:09

have you looked at your local freecycle.. you could put in that your after a nursery room and see what people offer...

derah · 08/10/2007 20:17

Get some baby-ish fabric, make some cushions for the sofa bed, and you can also make pictures for the walls and a lampshade from it! I got some animal print fabric for DD to made cushions. But I also cut some of the animals out, stuck them onto coloured card, put them into cheapo frames and hung them on the wall. Then I cut some more out and stuck them onto her lightshade (one of those incredibly cheap paper "moon" ones). Hey presto, instant room theme that's unique and cheap! If you're really handy with the sewing machine, you can do curtains as well, and it will really feel like a nursery! Even better if you can paint the room to match.

ADragonIs4LifeNotJustHalloween · 08/10/2007 21:18

Bombay Duck but the knobs have all gone now I'm afraid. Quite a few other things in their Cupcake range though

PregnantGrrrl · 08/10/2007 21:25

put a baby and a cot in it!

and stencils and tester pots of paint can brighten it up- easy to paint over when they're older aswell.

grannyslippers · 09/10/2007 01:10

We did the same with: coat of pale blue paint, farm animal stickers, bright striped IKEA curtains (the £10 sort) and a cheap IKEA blackout blind in the window recess (Very Useful).

If you can find space, a chest of drawers is useful for all those little clothes, one of the ones that,s about 5 drawers high but not a big footprint. And a couple of shelves on brackets, few cartoony pictures.

Before we knew it we are looking at buying big boy's bed - 2 years goes so fast.

shouldalistenedtomymum · 09/10/2007 03:30

go to a children's website & print off some pictures for colouring. can get pictures of lambs, teddy bears etc & paint/colour then yourself & put them on the walls.

when LO is born, put baby's footprints on a large piece of card & put in a frame along with first picture of baby. Hang on wall with blue/pink ribbon tied in a bow. Very cheap & something you will want to keep.

AnnainNZ · 09/10/2007 04:46

Wall stickers are a great idea and I also got window stickers as our nursery has big windows - they are now covered in flowers. It's a NZ website but they have a UK one too, I got 2 packets which cost me about 10 quid total. Website here

Like the wall stickers, they peel off so you can change the look of the room in years to come.

Anna8888 · 09/10/2007 09:56

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news... but I don't think it's a good idea to put a baby in a room with two large bookcases. Before you know it, the baby will be hoising him/herself up on them, climbing them, chucking the books out all over the room. Are the bookcases very securely fixed to the wall?

I'd sell your books and buy something for the baby with the proceeds. Much safer, much more attractive.

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