Nesting, without spending your Nest Egg



This March we welcomed our first child, Violet Ray, into our lives. It was so wonderful to meet her! She is an amazing blessing and we enjoy getting to know her better every day.

I would love to say that I was immune to nesting while pregnant, but this would be a blatant falsehood. I was borderline obsessed with creating the perfect space for my new little one. I did not care that she wouldn't be sleeping in her nursery for months, I wanted everything to be done and perfect right away.

Well, that didn't happen, and we didn't have the budget to do it. However, we came PRETTY close. I also learned a lot. Initially, I wanted an Amelie themed nursery.

I would still love to do a nursery or bedroom inspired by these colors, but we are currently renting and it didn't match our budget or color scheme. I had a dream about my daughter where she was on a dark violet colored bed and after that I knew I had to incorporate violet into the color scheme. I changed the theme of the nursery to a more modern Wes Anderson, MCM, white, grey, and violet theme.

Here it is:

Additionally, we plan on having more children and I wanted to make sure the room was gender neutral (all violet items are accent pieces and easily moved) so that a boy/girl could co-exist in there if necessary.

We spent a long time on paint colors and eventually chose...grey. I know. So trendy, but it also matches everything. Very good family friends recommended this Benjamin Moore Owl Gray and even let us test it out prior to buying our own. I love that it is light and airy without being white. It is also a warm grey which is very nice in a children's room. 

So here's a break down of what we obtained:
Crib
I wanted a Jenny Lind crib, they sell for about $150 (amazon) to $500 (Land of Nod online).
We found a white one on craigslist with the mattress and some sheets for a total of $50. I cleaned it up and it's working great.

Dresser
I wanted the Ikea Hemmes dresser for $250. I've wanted this dresser for years. We bought it! Huge splurge. However, it was more needed in our master bedroom and it fit with this amazing round frame we got ($50 target) in there. Violet doesn't have enough clothes yet to fill one of these and we couldn't justify buying another one. We found another dresser, also white, and made for children, (easier for her to use one day) on Craigslist. We also bought a matching bedside table for a grand total of $40.

Guest Bed
Originally, this was never part of my vision for the nursery. However, we have had 4 different guests use this bed in the nursery and I am so happy we have the ability to offer a room to guests. We just put Violet in our room if we have guests. We obtained a Jenny Lind wooden bed from our in-laws. I wanted to paint it white to match the other furniture, but am still debating. I like the warmth of the wood in the room right now. Opinions?

Paintings
I wanted this gold bunny print for her room, from Anthropologie. ($48) This was way outside our budget, so my husband and I painted two canvases on Christmas Day for her, both bunny themed. I love them! My grandparents gave us the canvases and we used paint we already had. We only bought gold-leaf paint.

Anthropologie version $48 by artist Sullivan Anlyan

Additionally, we were gifted a painting by my SIL, Calinai Blay, named Violet Ray. I absolutely love it.

Violet Ray painting



I also wanted some prints by Emily Winfield Martin. I still hope to buy some at some point, but we decided to use her inspiration instead to make some originals for my daughter's room. My husband and I also love the look of paint versus a print and have a great bonding time painting together. My husband bought a $20 paint set to do these pieces. He loves to paint and has also used them for several other projects. This piece is almost done and will be part of a picture frame gallery above the small desk in the room. Pictures to follow!

Mid Century Desk: 
Originally, I wanted the nursery to be very sparse and to not have a guest bed or a desk in there. However, we realized the rocking chair worked better in our living room, which opened up some space. I also had to have some realizations that in our 2 bedroom cottage we need to have our rooms be multi functional. In this case, we needed a small desk to do work at. (sewing, crafts, computer work, etc.) Although I still end up sewing at the coffee table...hmmm. I picked this desk up at an estate sale for $15. The chair is my in laws. Currently, I am working on a picture frame gallery to put above it. 

Book Shelves: 
I was inspired by Pinterest and other sites to have bookshelf ledges to display books. They were about $20 per shelf at Target when I looked. Instead, I found Ikea had picture shelf ledges for much cheaper and my mother picked these up for $2.99 a piece. 

Mobile
I wanted this Land of Nod mobile ($105), but it was not in our budget. I found some other versions online and decided to make my own, easier version. The first version is Land of Nod and the second version is mine. I made a few changes. I love it!

                                 
Other things we obtained:

Swing Chair - free used from a swap meet my step mom went to
Bouncer - free used from a swap meet my step mom went to
Stroller for Car Seat - $26 used from a garage sale
Pack N Play - $18 used from a garage sale
Boppy - used free from a garage sale
Breast Friend - $12 used from consignment
Car Seat - one used for $25 from a garage sale, one for free as a gift from my in laws, another toddler one free from my parents (we were spoiled!)
Rocking Chair - free as a gift from my grandparents (so spoiled, we know)
Rock N Play - borrowed from friends
Within Arms Reach - $50 used from a co-worker

I think that is about it. We had many wonderful gifts from co workers, friends, and family. I would suggest planning out what you want. I drew sketches ahead of time for what I wanted the nursery to look like. I originally wanted an EAMES rocking chair but changed my mind later due to comfort. The rocking chair is actually in the living room anyway! I suggest being flexible and looking for cheaper, DIY options where possible. Additionally, for big items, Craigslist and garage sales are great resources. My daughter came 5.5 weeks early and I am glad I had finished most of my projects prior to her birth. We still have some more to do though!

We saved a ton of money by looking at what I wanted, and then finding more affordable alternatives. We also told people what we were looking for and received tons of help from friends and family. Finally, we had fun bonding and working on creative projects as a family.

What projects/tips do you have for saving on home decor?