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In all the excitement over the impending arrival of your new baby, it’s all too easy to get caught up in the baby hype and the temptation to ‘go all out’ with your preparations. There are colour schemes to puzzle over, decorations to consider, and bedding and furniture choices to be made. Then, after you’ve gone to a few different stores, flipped through heaps of catalogues, another dilemma arises: do you make this beautiful baby nursery of your dreams, or do you save for your baby’s education? It may seem silly that this is even an issue, but when you start noticing the rising prices of pint-sized furniture, maybe it’s not so absurd after all.

There is nothing wrong with deciding to be frugal when it comes to your baby room. When you think about it, you child will grow out of his or her baby room in a very short period of time, so it makes sense to keep things simple. The following are some tips for creating a budget baby room.

Determine Your Budget

The baby furniture at the shops may be half the size of adult furniture, but not half the cost. So before you go out and tempt yourself with all the cute little furnishings, it’s important to consult your wallet first. How much can you actually afford to pay for baby furniture? By determining a budget first, you can avoid the temptation to buy an entire bedroom set at an upscale baby boutique.

Focus on the Important Things

When it comes down to it, the crib is the most important piece of furniture in the room, and if you are going to splurge on anything, this should be it. All the other furniture – dresser, rocking chair, changing table – doesn’t require the same level of quality and craftsmanship that the crib does. Once you have the crib, you can use it as the focal point of the room and begin collecting more furniture and decorations to suit it.

Recycle Old Furniture

There is absolutely nothing wrong with going and hunting for used furniture for your baby room. Most of it is furniture that you will only need for a short period of time anyway, so why buy it new? Op shops and garage sales often have furniture that is still in perfect working order at a much lower cost, and all you have to do is find it and personalise it with some paint, and you’re good to go.

Buy Lasting Décor

These days there is plenty of baby furniture that can change and adapt to your growing child. You can get cribs that convert into beds for when your child gets older and bigger or a dresser with a changing pad on top that can be removed once your baby grows out of diapers. These items will significantly reduce how much money you spend on furniture for your child as she or he ages.

Many new parents dream of a baby nursery that is cute and ‘baby like’, but let’s be honest, does the baby even care? Your child won’t start caring about what their room looks like for years to come, so skip the cutesy baby stuff and go straight for decorations that your child will appreciate more when he or she is older. Go for more neutral decorations when it comes to lamps, curtains and pictures, and consider using plants and flowers in the theme. This will be much cheaper for you in the long run, and a lot less hassle.