Design on a dime.

Hand-me-downs are all second children know. Furniture, clothes, toys, books, gear...you name it. Like most parents, if it isn't broken and the puke stains are minimal, we're reusing it.

Sorry, kiddo. I did buy you new white onesies, pacifiers, and bottles, if that helps.

While I was of the EVERYTHING MUST BE BRAND NEW mindset when it came to Calvin's nursery, I've taken a significantly different approach to Baby Girl's. And I have to say, it saved us a truckload of money and still turned out pretty darned cute.

In fact, we did this room so inexpensively that I feel compelled to walk you through it.

Furniture: $94
We're reusing the crib, side table, and chair from Calvin's room. The changing table was necessary because of the room's tiny size, and that was purchased on Craigslist for $90. Nate painted it using the same (very spendy) paint used on the trim throughout our house, but that will be reused elsewhere so I'm not counting that cost. The dresser, which is tucked away in the closet, was my brother's growing up. I spent $4 on new drawer liners.

Bedding: $117
I fell in love with this bedding from The Land of Nod when I was decorating Calvin's nursery. When I found out I was having a girl I knew it was still exactly what I wanted...plus it has both pink and red in it, which really helped with the whole red chair debacle (clearly wasn't thinking about future babies when I bought that). But buying the entire set would have cost me close to $300. So, I hopped on ebay, where I found the (gently used) bumper for $15. Instead of buying the quilt to bring some of the floral pattern to the chair, I bought the window valance ($19) and had my mother-in-law sew it into a pillow cover for a lumbar pillow I already own. The white quilt on the chair is one my grandmother made for me and helps break up all the red. The only other items I bought from the set were the sheet ($24) and bedskirt ($59).

Wall Decor: $135
I find this to be the most expensive part of decorating. Frames are expensive, art is expensive, and it's hard to fill four walls without breaking the bank. Unless you're me and you buy 1950s American Girl magazines at an antique store before you even have kids because you're so sure you will have a girl one day. :) $10 for those. $15 for the alphabet print in the center, which I got on Etsy. $30 for all three frames, which are from Ikea and tie in with the existing blinds. I paid $15 each for the two Ikea photo ledges, which I used to display the books Calvin has outgrown. And my favorite part: the embroidery hoops above the changing table. $25 for 10 hoops (on sale) and about $25 for 1/4 yard of 10 different fabrics. The hooks next to it were already there, and the yellow shelf is repurposed from Calvin's nursery (and before that, the kitchen in our first apartment).

Accessories: $39
I got the lamp at Goodwill for $3. The shade was $7 at Target. The bear, picture, and blocks on the shelf are all things we had. (I won't count the books on the yellow shelf because I really bought those for myself.) The big basket on the changing table was $14 at HomeGoods, and the other basket is something I had lying around the house. I made the mobile for $15, including the purchase of a butterfly paper cutter and ceiling hook.

So the grand total for this entire room is...$385.

Granted, it's an incredibly small room. But I still find it necessary to point out how far I've come since my days of working/shopping at Bloomingdale's, where $385 would have maybe gotten me a pair of pants.









Can't wait for December 27, the day Nate and I will finally meet the little girl who will call this room her own! (Yep, a c-section it is.)