On this flashback Friday I want to share my nursery which thanks to my thriftiness and love of DIY was decorated on a dime. The only thing I love more than wearing thrifted threads is decorating my house with thrifted items. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – THERE IS SO MUCH GREAT USED STUFF OUT THERE! And I’m not just talking about an old dresser that needs a paint job. I thrift all kinds of house goodies including curtains, shelves, lamps, knick knacks, etc. If it can be cleaned, I’m buying it.
Ok, back to the nursery. My husband loves Calvin & Hobbes…like a lot. We have the collectors edition complete set in our living room, a NYT article on the duo on our fridge, and a special book with a rare interview with Bill Waterson, Calvin & Hobbes creator, on our coffee table. Surprisingly, the theme was actually my idea. One very pregnant day I was sitting at the peninsula shoveling food in my face when, I paused and said ‘what about a Calvin & Hobbes themed nursery’. My husband’s eyes welled up, and I knew immediately I was locked in. Thank goodness we had a boy.
There was one problem with this theme: Bill Watterson does not license ANY Calvin & Hobbes merch. I would have to get creative – oh darn! Below I have detailed all my nursery essentials from the basic to the crafty.
- Crib – Ikea Gulliver Crib, $99
Initially, I was going to refinish an antique crib from my parent’s house. Mistake. Only after I transported it from Alabama to Chicago, did I realize that it was kind of a death trap. Yes, there is a time and a place for new items and this is definitely one of them. I love old stuff, but many antique cribs do not meet today’s safety standards.
Excited to buy something new for a change, I went with a preggo friend to a fancy baby boutique here in Chicago. Mistake. Before long I was looking at an ornate hand crafted crib with a price tag over 2 grand that was the size of a twin sleigh bed. I waddled out of there and drove my round self all the way to Ikea where I found the perfect crib – clean lines, perfect size, AND converts to a toddler bed. No need to feel guilty about not dropping thousands – all cribs must meet the same safety standards whether they’re $2,000 or $100.
- Changing Table – Ikea Brimnes 3 Drawer Chest, $99
I also found my changing table at Ikea, and in fact, it isn’t even a ‘changing table’. It’s just a dresser that I really liked. I purchased a changing pad on amazon and had my husband attach it to the top of the dresser. Done.
- Rocking Chair – The Land of Nod Milo Glider, $1,299
Ok, so here’s where I drank the crazy koolaid, ignored all my bargaining instincts, and spent a sheeesh load of money. Since I knew I would be spending the next 6 months or more of my life in this chair, I really wanted something crazy comfortable to doze off in whilst feeding my lil one (btw sleeping while feeding your baby is a no-no, but I’m sorry, it will happen when you’ve had 4 hours sleep in 2 days). After sitting in at least 30 rocking chairs, I decided to go with the Milo glider at The Land of Nod. It is pricey, but heavenly.
- Book Shelf – Ikea Expedit Shelf (discontinued, but this is similar)
I shopped this item from my very own house! I had two Ikea Expedit book shelves that I stacked and slid into the corner to do double duty as a side table and book shelf. My hub attach these to the wall to make sure they don’t come crashing down when my monkey starts climbing.
- Rug – Home Depot (here is a similar one)
Also shopped from my own house. It’s simple and grey. I did have it cleaned, but I opted not to replaced which is good because it gets thrown up on pretty much every day.
- Laundry Hamper – Unique Thrift, $4 (similar one here)
Again, babies are tiny, so I really don’t understand why companies make all this giant stuff for them. I opted for a tiny basket. Originally from Target, and it’s perfect. It takes up hardly any room and only holds a couple days worth of stuff which is the maximum of time you want sour milk onesies marinating.
- Threshold Single Storage Ottoman – Target, $60
This isn’t a typical essential, but I cannot imagine living without it. First, it’s nice to have somewhere to prop your feet up (and I couldn’t stomach the $500 price tag of the matching ottoman to my Milo chair). Second, more storage is always a good thing. Third, and most important to me, it’s a place for for my husband, mother, friend, or whoever to sit. It’s nice to have company…adult company. Oh, and it ties in my dark brown shelving unit too!
- Diaper Trash Can Thing – FREE! (similar one here)
Diapers are not as gross as you think. We’ll at least to me. However, I have a dog in the city, so I pick up poop everyday. They do smell pretty ripe, and you’ll want somewhere to stow those little bombs. I snagged this one for free at a baby safety class.
- Cozy Lighting – Alang Ikea Floor Lamp, $40 & Goodwill chandelier, $18
Are you thinking, where is the thrifting and craziness that was promised?? We are finally there! I have two lights in my nursery. One is a very simple floor lamp that I purchased from Ikea. The second is thrifted chandelier. It was 8 bucks. I spray painted it white which added another 3 bucks in spray paint. Then I dug up out 5 tiny tiger stripe lamp shades ($1 a piece) that I found at Goodwill. I almost threw these out so many times! They go perfectly with my theme. Lastly, my husband installed a dimmer switch which I highly recommend. It’s clutch when I need just a tiny bit of light in the middle of the night.
- Art – DIY!, $60
This was my favorite project of the entire room. As I said before Bill Watterson does not license ANY Calvin & Hobbes art. So all C&H art is either bootleg or DIY. I serendipitously found two Calvin & Hobbes comic books at the Salvation Army for a dollar a piece. One day, my mom, husband, and I deconstructed the books and framed our favorite strips. Some of the frames were new, but most were collected over about 5 months of thrifting. I could not love the end result any more. What’s more is we had a wonderful time reading through all the strips and picking our favorites.
- Window treatments – Salvation Army, $15 (mine look just like these)
The white curtains are IKEA via Salvation Army and my wonderful, and also thrifty mother, used a thick black piece of scrap fabric, to add a black panel to the bottom to finish off the look and make them the appropriate length. This isn’t pictured, but you can imagine 😉 I also added this basic ‘black out’ curtain to the back side to shut out the sun. Brushed nickel curtain rod also thrifted.
And there you have my nursery for a grand total of $1694!!!
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