How to create a beautiful nursery on a tiny budget

I think it’s safe to say that every parent wants to give their little babe the very best of everything. Unfortunately for some, the budget is tight right before a baby comes along. Ours was practically non-existent after having to finish sheeting the internal shed walls and buying the family car on minimum wages.

I really didn’t want to skimp on my dream nursery style so I became pretty thrifty and managed to pull off what I think is a beautiful gender neutral room for our little bundle. Here’s how.

Let your parents spoil you if they want
Chris and I have always struggled with how much our parents want to contribute to whatever’s going on in our lives. First it was the wedding, now it’s the baby. For some, accepting help from parents when you’re about to become a parent is a little harder than it sounds but we eventually swallowed our pride and let them do what they’d been dying to do… spoil our little Fitzrigglet.

Our parents all bought the big ticket items being the cot, change table, car seat, play pen and a mum and bub lambs wool set. The rocking chair was a gift from our bestie and is something we’ll use in the living room when the time comes. We knew they were going to go nuts so figured they may as well buy the items we really needed, that would get the most use.

Get creative and try your hand at DIY’s
Pretty soon, you’ll go through your nesting stage of the pregnancy and will find yourself waddling around completing the most bizare jobs. This is when I was most efficient and the nursery really came together.

Ikea Spice Rack Shelves

Somewhere along my Pinterest scrolling, I found an Ikea hack that uses these timber spice racks as shelving. I figured this would be a great way to keep those essentials right above the change table and have since put them all throughout the house for little stashes of goodies.

No Sew Mosquitto Net

I spent months looking for the perfect mosquitto net to keep our little babe safe from the bugs out here. The prices were insane and they really weren’t anything like what I wanted. So, off I waddled to Lincraft where I found this great netting fabric in a beautiful crisp white colour. By attaching one bracket to the wall above the cot, I was able to drape the netting over the bracket, and attached it to the bottom of the cot so no little hands could grab it or pull it onto themselves. This really is my favourite part of this entire room and cost me less than $50.

Cactus Framed Art

I created this little framed artwork one day on my lunch break. I had been looking for far too long for the perfect little artwork for this room and had no luck. So I found this image of the cactus online, added the coloured backgrounds, and framed it in a cheap, Kmart frame. It was too small to look right on the wall so I perched it next to this salt lamp of the dresser.

Pom Pom & Tassel Mobile

I got hooked on making tassels from knitting wool one weekend and spent and entire two days in front of Netflix, making them. I then realised I need to actually use them. Some of them were added to the bottom of the mosquitto net, and the rest went into this very simple mobile I made. I ventured out into the summer heat to find the perfect smooth stick to use, wrapped the ends in the wool, hung a few single threads and attached the tassels to the end. Feeling like it wasn’t quite finished, I added these pompoms I tried and failed at making, so I tied them along the strands. All in all, I think it turned out awesomely.

RELATED: Good news for parents suffering newborn sleepless nights
RELATED: Mum’s genius hack to stop losing your temper

Recycle and repurpose as much as possible

Flat Weave Round Rug

I found this bargain rug a few years ago from Urban Outfitters and used it in the studio of our last house. Since moving, it had been sitting in storage with no real home or purpose here. I pulled it out, gave it a wash, threw it in front of the cot and it worked perfectly. The simple monochrome pattern actually became the inspiration for the rest of the room.

Dresser & Toy Box
I had found these cute little timber drawers for super cheap on the Ikea website that I had my heart set on. So off we head, on the 2 hour trip to get the drawers and a few other little bits and bobs. As it turned out, the drawers were more suited to a dolls house than an actual house and there was nothing else within our budget. We had an appointment to go to following and were running out of time. I did the standard pregnant woman thing and started crying, while Chris pointed out the cubed shelving units. WOOHOO! Day saved and no more crying wife!

The baskets we found at Big W and will be perfect for storing those tiny items of clothing, swaddles and spew rags. The bottom shelves are for toys so as our little Fitzrigglet starts moving, they can access their toys, and we can chuck them away quickly when we want to tidy up. We also figure that we could always tip this up the other way and use it as a bookshelf as we grow and in the meantime, the top makes a good side table for the rocking chair and home for the more decorative pieces.

Create a Baby Shower Wishlist
Some people are uncomfortable with asking for gifts at a baby shower. Some people are uncomfortable not knowing what the hell to get expecting parents for their baby shower. I know, that I would never arrive empty handed, that’s just me. But I would also rather get something needed that will be put to good use. So I made a Pinterest board with ideas and inspiration IF people were looking for ideas on what we liked, wished for, or needed. For me, it felt like a softer approach than having a registry. I was sure to choose things that range in price from $5 to $50 to make if helpful to all. We received a few pieces that we really hoped for and the guests were stoked that they contributed so practically.

You can read more tips from Caity on her blog Create your fate.

Want more celebrity, entertainment and lifestyle news? Follow Be on Facebook,Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.