I think if you are going to enjoy decorating a nursery and being in the space, go for it. If that's not your thing, it's easy to go low key.

I had the room painted green when I moved in (before pregnancy) knowing it would be gender neutral for an eventual nursery. I used a low dresser we already had for clothes and put changing pad on top. We bought a glider and crib. Both critically important. And I bought a few "decorative" items...cute lamp, wall hangings, etc. All in all, pretty easy and not expensive.

I have not significantly redecorated yet and my son is almost 4. He got a plain, high quality bed when he was almost 3 that will last him many years. I change out sheets to suit his current interests.

BEST INVESTMENT EVER - darkening blinds or curtains. We have ugly curtains and I wish we'd spent money to get something nicer. This has really helped our son not fight bedtime in the summer, not wake up too early in the summer, and was a great help for naps. Worth every penny.

well, my baby has to sleep in what is currently the dining room...so...

But the more in think about it, the more I'm looking for cheaper items. I was like "wow that pottery bark dresser is so beautiful!" then realized it's probably a piece of junk, and an ikea one will work fine with a changer on top.

We ARE having a dimmer installed. I figured it'll be useful for the next owners, too.

I don't want to do too much because eventually we'll move, and it's hard to imagine a nursery as an office or dining room more than the other way around!

Thought it was a waste.

Purchased a new crib that was the same wood tone as the changing table we got hand me down. Painted an old dresser and put decorative pulls on it. Walls and window treatments neutral did not get a glider - too big for our space.

In retrospect - I would not have purchased the expensive pottery barn rug.

Best investment - blackout shades and light dimmer switch.

Anonymous wrote:We kept it simple. Went with neutral colors, assuming we would have two kids eventually (we didn't, but that's another story). Yellow walls, white trim, sage rug, burgundy black out shades. Super comfortable chair & ottoman. My old flea market dresser (changing pad on top for the first 12 months). Crib. Book shelves from college. We "decorated" with valances, crib skirt, sheets, and a throw pillow from PBK. Art work that complemented the room that we already had.

The crib converted to a toddler bed and we didn't change anything else for a while. When DD got a twin bed, we swapped the valances for something a bit more age appropriate (stars instead of safari animals), went with a white bed skirt. She has some plain flannel sheets, and some of my sheets from childhood and college. A variety of duvet covers to switch things up. A quilt from her granny that she loves (and I tolerate).

One of my favorite things is we put in an "art gallery" for her art. It is essentially a clothes line with fancy clothes pins. She can hang the art she brings home from school, swapping things out as she wishes.

What a cute idea! I'm totally stealing this.

Definitely go for function and affordability--IKEA excels at this, except in the glider department. We got a dresser that doubled as a changing table, bedside table with drawers, shelves, crib, mobile, a few months later modular storage cabinets that mount to the wall since we had little closet space. The glider we took a chance and purchased off amazon.

In terms of art, we hung up art we already had and weren't using--mainly pieces with animals. We definitely like being in the room, it has a mild theme, and we didn't spend a fortune.

We kept it simple. Went with neutral colors, assuming we would have two kids eventually (we didn't, but that's another story). Yellow walls, white trim, sage rug, burgundy black out shades. Super comfortable chair & ottoman. My old flea market dresser (changing pad on top for the first 12 months). Crib. Book shelves from college. We "decorated" with valances, crib skirt, sheets, and a throw pillow from PBK. Art work that complemented the room that we already had.

The crib converted to a toddler bed and we didn't change anything else for a while. When DD got a twin bed, we swapped the valances for something a bit more age appropriate (stars instead of safari animals), went with a white bed skirt. She has some plain flannel sheets, and some of my sheets from childhood and college. A variety of duvet covers to switch things up. A quilt from her granny that she loves (and I tolerate).

One of my favorite things is we put in an "art gallery" for her art. It is essentially a clothes line with fancy clothes pins. She can hang the art she brings home from school, swapping things out as she wishes.

We went gender-neutral in primary colors, with yellow as the main color. It's simple and won't require any major changes as she gets older, since it's not especially "babyish." The crib will convert to a toddler bed, the dresser (no changing table) will continue to be a dresser, and there's an IKEA cube shelf with baskets for toys and a small table. There's no real theme, but it's bright and cheerful.

Not having a nursery. Keeping all the baby's stuff on shelf in our dressing room and bassinet by the bed. We'll see what we want to do when we move to someplace bigger but for now, baby will have all she needs-- warm bed, clothes, diapers, boobs.

We went for neutral walls (gray) and a tree and bird theme (wall decals). These decals can come right off if we get sick of them, or if our child wants something different when he gets older. But, for now, it is not a crazy baby theme that we (the adults) will get tired of soon.

Anonymous wrote:My son is 2.5. We got rid of the jungle animals at 18 months and moved to Thomas the Train. Other than his Thomas toddler bed, I've gotten rid of most Thomas because honestly, it's a little creepy. I can't decide whether to go with cars (his obsession) or baseball (mine), so his room is in limbo. I hate that I keep changing it before there's barely time for any dust to collect - so I'm holding off until I'm sure. Or he can decide by himself!

You understand that this is over the top ridiculous, right? Good luck if you have a girl and change decor at every whim.

We lovingly set up a room for my first daughter. No theme or anything, just folded all the clothes perfectly and put them away, put up a few things on the walls, etc. Then after she was born we hardly stepped foot in there...she slept with us for the first six months or so (we even dragged the crib from the nursery into our room), and I didn't like feeding her in there because it felt too cramped and the chair in there wasn't comfortable, and I wanted to be out in the main living area so I could socialize with visitors and have more space. Oh well! It was a nice room and I'm glad we didn't do anything fancy or spend tons of money on it. It's funny when I look at the pictures of it before she was born, and then after, when it was basically empty because we had moved all the stuff into other rooms.

We went for simple. Spring green walls and white curtains. Ikea crib, other repurposed furniture, framed prints, adult and child rocking chairs made by my great-grandfather. Worked great, and now at 2.5 the only major change we've made is changing the crib to a toddler bed.

I spent a ton of money on beautiful made in the USA furniture, custom linens and drapery for my son's nursery. I put a lot of time and effort into it. He's 2 now, and moving to a big boy room. I've realized what a waste it all was.
I'm pregnant again, and if it's a boy or a girl, I won't change a thing in there, and it's not gender neutral. It just doesn't matter.
I still love the room, but when you are feeding a baby every two hours for an hour, you really don't care if you are sitting on a custom chair or on a pile of dirty laundry. All you want is sleep.
The one thing I did that surprised me was use beach towels to cover up my changing pad. Poop would get on them so often that it was easier to just throw a towel down and, then do a load of towels every day or two.
Don't worry about having a nice nursery. It really doesn't matter. I would recommend a comfortable chair or even better a bed for sleeping in there though.

My son is 2.5. We got rid of the jungle animals at 18 months and moved to Thomas the Train. Other than his Thomas toddler bed, I've gotten rid of most Thomas because honestly, it's a little creepy. I can't decide whether to go with cars (his obsession) or baseball (mine), so his room is in limbo. I hate that I keep changing it before there's barely time for any dust to collect - so I'm holding off until I'm sure. Or he can decide by himself!

Judging by the rest of my house, it's unlikely that I'll develop a sudden knack for decorating and have an amazing nursery with proper scheme, decor and ambience. I'm going for neat and tidy.

What did everyone's nursery look like once you were in the swing of things - 3+ months after delivery?
What did you purchase in great anticipation, but then freecycle or give away quickly?
Do you stare lovingly at the monkey decal on the wall while nursing or do you think about picking off his little smarmy face - lol?
At what age, did you re-decorate to reflect your kiddo's personality and interests (or your own)?