As a mom of two young kids who are less than 2 years apart, I know a few things about creating a Nursery room on a budget.

I was afraid they would wake each other up so we kept their rooms separated. This meant that we had to design two nursery rooms in less than two years.

If you’re like me, then you’re looking for ways to save Money on your baby’s room. This will allow you to spend money on other important things your Baby will need down the line.

In this article, I’ll give you all the tips on how I saved on our kids’ nurseries so you can do it too.

But before we dive in, let’s take a look at some FAQS about creating a baby’s room. 

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How much should you spend on your baby’s nursery?

You should spend about $900 on a baby’s nursery if you’re buying only the essential items. The essential items you need for a baby’s room include a crib, a crib mattress, a bassinet, a dresser, and a changing table. 

When it comes to a baby’s nursery, less is more. As they get older, the decor will change, so don’t spend too much money in the beginning on it. 

To learn more about what you’ll need for your baby’s first year check out 17 Ways To Have A Baby On A Tight Budget + Minimalist Baby Budget Checklist

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How To Create Your Baby’s Nursery On A Budget

Pick a simple theme that’s cheap to design 

You can create an adorable baby room on a budget if you stick with easy-to-design themes. 

Some of the simplest nursery room themes you can create on a budget are sea and sky, woodland, and neutral. 

With simple blue paint and wall sticker decals from Amazon, you can create the water and sky theme. 

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Go neutral (easy to customize)

Always go with a neutral baby nursery when possible. It’ll make it easier to customize down the road. 

Colors like gray, white, and light brown are cool neutral colors. 

As your child gets older, they may want to change their rooms. They won’t always want that mermaid theme. 

You won’t have to worry about repainting the room if it’s neutral, to begin with. This will help you save money on your baby’s room.

Shop for secondhand decor

Shopping for second-hand baby room decor is a great way to design a nursery on a budget.

You can get most of your baby’s room decor on cheap places like the Facebook marketplace, eBay, and Amazon.

Some things I’ve bought in those places include a toy shelf, a kid’s bookshelf, and a crib. As long as the items you get still work fine, it won’t matter if they’re new or not.

Don’t repaint the walls – adapt the existing color to your design

You can easily design a nursery on a budget if you don’t repaint the walls. Instead of repainting, adapt the colors you already have into your theme. 

For example, if your walls are blue, the nursery’s theme could be water and sky. If the color is green, then you can do a nature scene instead.

Adapting the existing colors to your design will save you money on buying fresh paint. It’ll also save time and labor costs.

Make an accent wall with removable wallpaper 

Another way to save money on your baby’s nursery is to use removable wallpaper instead of paint.

Wallpapers like these ones on Amazon make it easy to create different designs without all the work. 

The best part is that they’re removable so you can swap them out at any time you want a new design.

Use cheap wall decals to create the design 

Another way to go about decorating the walls is to use wall decals. For my first son’s room, I got these sea creatures’ wall decals from Amazon. They worked well with my theme of sea and sky. 

For my second son, we went with a woodland theme so we got woodland animal decals from Amazon as well.

The designs came out great.

It doesn’t cost much to create a baby’s nursery on a budget if you’re creative with your designs.

Use framed wall art as accent pieces

Not interested in using wallpaper or wall decals? Don’t worry. You can still design a beautiful baby room on a budget using photos on the walls.

Get cheap picture frames from dollar tree and paint the trim with acrylic paint to make them pop. Your baby’s newborn photos as well as other family photos can be hung on the walls as accent pieces. 

You can also get wall art from Etsy if you don’t want to use your family photos.

Skip the crib bedding

When talking about designing a nursery, most people will mention crib bedding. The truth is that crib bedding is a waste of money.

Your baby doesn’t need a quilt or blanket until they’re over a year old due to the danger of SIDS. It’s also not recommended that they use crib bumpers and canopies for the same reason.

So any crib bedding you get will be stored away gathering dust for a whole year. It’s not the best way to design a nursery on a budget.

Take the money you’re going to spend on crib bedding and use it to buy other baby essentials instead.

Skip the breastfeeding/baby rocking chair

If you want to save money on a baby room, you should skip the breastfeeding/rocking chair. 

There’s no question that a rocking chair in the corner of a nursery is the cutest thing ever.

But do you really need to buy one? The answer is no.

It’s actually not recommended that you breastfeed in a nursing chair. This is because they don’t keep your back straight enough (Source). Breastfeeding in an inclined position will eventually lead to back and shoulder pain. 

Instead of a rocker, get a reliable breastfeeding pillow. My favorite breastfeeding pillow is the Bbhugme pregnancy & breastfeeding pillow. I’ve used it with all my kids. It was created by three Swedish chiropractors.

 It was designed to force your body into the correct posture while breastfeeding to prevent back and shoulder pain. It’s worth every penny.

Get Hand-Me-Down items

All new parents dream of buying brand-new baby gear and clothes for their baby. 

But buying everything new isn’t the most effective way to create a nursery on a budget. 

Before you go splurging, ask around to see if friends or family members have baby items they’re looking to give away.

You’ll be surprised to find that the baby items you receive will be like new. That’s because baby things aren’t used for more than a few months before they outgrow them. 

Don’t Decorate With Expensive Toys

Another way to save money on a baby’s room is to avoid decorating with expensive toys. When I say expensive toys, I mean those fancy rocking horses and giant plush animals. 

They will cost you a lot of money and your kids might not even play with them. 

Someone once bought my first son an expensive rocking horse from Pottery Barn. He refused to even sit on it, and we ended up returning it.

So save your money for toys they’ll actually use when they get old enough to show interest.

Repurpose Old Furniture

Consider repurposing old furniture to save money on your baby’s nursery. When my second son was born, we repurposed an old tool storage dresser to become his clothing dresser.

That tool storage dresser was over 80 years old. It belonged to my husband’s great-grandfather. Repurposing that dresser saved us money but it also preserved a family heirloom.

You may not have a piece of antic furniture lying around your home, but you can find a new life for other items you don’t use anymore.

Shop from Goodwill or baby resale stores 

I’ve seen a lot of baby and kids’ items being sold at Goodwill for a fraction of the price. 

If you’re low on cash, Goodwill is a great place to shop for nursery items. You can find clothes, baby bottles, swings, and even bassinets being sold there. 

I know some people who got most of their baby essentials for cheap in resale stores. 

Get 2-in-1 furnitures

If you really want to design a nursery on a budget then consider getting 2-in-1 furniture. It’ll help reduce furniture clutter and save you money as well. 

I recommend getting the Dream on Me changing table and dresser combo from Amazon. 

The changing table area can also be used to hold items like lotion, diapers, etc after your baby outgrows a changing pad. 

Get a convertible crib

If you get a convertible crib, you won’t need to also buy a bassinet and a toddler bed down the line. 

I recommend getting the All Stages crib by Babyletto. It starts out as a Bassinet, then converts to a mini crib. When your child is ready, it becomes a full-size crib and a toddler bed. 

The Babyletto all-in-one crib will save you tons of money down the road on your baby’s nursery. 

Use your local buy-nothing group

I absolutely recommend joining a buy-nothing group in your area. I’ve gotten so many baby items from there and donated a ton too.

For my second baby, I only used secondhand items from my buy-nothing group. I’ve received clothes, swings, breastfeeding pillows, and even a stroller. 

If you don’t mind getting hand-me-downs then this is one way to create a nursery on a budget. 

DIY some of the decorations 

Consider DIYing all the wall decor to save some money. 

For just $20 dollars, you can get wall art and other printables on Etsy. This will allow you to decorate the walls without spending too much money. 

Final Thoughts on Creating A Nursery On A Budget 

There’s no doubt that your baby’s nursery should be a relaxing and beautiful environment for sleep. 

That doesn’t mean you need to spend money you don’t have to make it that way. There are a million ways to save money on a baby’s nursery, and this list is just the beginning. 

Make sure you use all the resources available to you to get that nursery of your dreams on a budget.

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