Nursery makeover (on a tight budget)

Hooray! I am finally finished putting together our little man’s nursery. Whew. I have to admit, from a decorating standpoint, it isn’t one of the rooms in our house I am super in love with (like my living room), but I am satisfied that I accomplished my mission of creating a peaceful, serene space that invites relaxation and creative play. Just to re-cap … here is what we started with:

As you can see, this room was a catch-all for everything (and also a great place to build forts) :). Now, it looks like this:

I kept the wall color that was there when we moved in – it’s Balsam Beige 96221 (from Walmart) – and I also kept the curtains left by the previous owners (I washed them, of course). I did trim the tassels off the valances (to make them a little less “frou frou”) and I primed and spray-painted the tiebacks in a nickel finish to match the ceiling fixture.

I decided that, with the neutral color scheme going on in the room, a retro vibe would probably work best.

I reused our daughter’s crib. I made it look new again by going over the worn spots with fresh stain. I bought the crib skirt and fitted sheet from Target, using gift cards I received at my baby shower.

One of my favorite pieces in the room is this thrift store artwork I created for above the crib.

Another favorite is this homemade mobile I created from white ceiling hooks, 4-lb. fishing line and model planes purchased at Hobby Lobby.

The large plane is the same type of aircraft (C-130) flown at my Air National Guard base. I love using items in a room that have special significance.

Speaking of significant pieces in the room, I took this F-16 photo while on active duty at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. It hangs above little man’s changing table. He loves to look at it!

On the other side of the room, I hung these tin plane prints, which I purchased for about $12 apiece at allposters.com.

I also love this book nook I created. I bought the shelves at Hobby Lobby for half price ($20 each, I think), using a gift card I got for Christmas. For the deets on that project, click here.

These decorative baskets, which I bought at Home Goods, function well as diaper and toy storage.

This Target basket was previously used as a hamper, but now works as blankie storage.

Overall, the only items I purchased new for this room without any gift cards were the recliner chair (from TJ Maxx) and the changing table (from ebay).

I did spend $89 total transforming little man’s closet space. I kept the cost low by using old parts from other closets. For the deets on that makeover project, click here.

So … what do you think of our little man’s space? Honestly, it is one of the few rooms in our house that I can say is totally finished and organized. Sometimes, when I start to get overwhelmed with all the chaos and mess around here, I like to go upstairs and sit in this room and just … breathe.

I’m linking this up to Beneath My Heart and Seven Thirty Three.