8 budget-friendly nursery decorating tips

From the Resene decorating blog

Once you have organised all the necessities of a baby’s life, like somewhere to sleep, clothes and nappies, you may feel there’s not much budget left for decorating the nursery. Here are 8 budget-friendly ideas on getting your nursery looking great in time for the birth.

1. Stick to a theme

Picking a theme and sticking to it means that you won’t waste money going off on a tangent and buying items that end up looking odd in the room. If you spot something early on that you like – whether it’s bunnies or reindeer, clouds or rainbows – then everything else you acquire will fit right in. Don’t limit yourself when it comes to ideas; this is the one time you can go all out and indulge yourself. If you want flowers sprouting up the walls and over the ceiling, go for it! If you want to go all cutesy with a full woodland of animals, this is your chance.

A neutral gender neutral nursery

Gender-neutral colour schemes are flexible and on-trend. The darker colour on the lower walls, Resene Westar, makes the room feel cosier. The upper walls are in Resene Quarter Merino. The mobile hanging from the coat hanger on the left was made by painting wooden Christmas decorations in Resene Romantic.

A neutral wallpapered nursery

Use wallpaper to create an easy neutral scheme with Resene Wallpaper Collection design 219291 featuring cute bunny motifs.

You may want to keep it simpler early on, when your baby is young, then break out the theming when your child becomes a toddler and starts to voice their own preferences. They’re only babies for a short time, so get in before they start complaining about your decorating tastes and only want sports heroes and characters from the latest animated blockbuster movie.

2. Choose an adaptable colour scheme

Colour makes a huge difference to any room of the house but especially a nursery. As with anything, there is a fashion and at the moment it’s away from rose petal pink and fresh blue and towards more gender-neutral schemes based on colours like soft sage green or warm greys and fleecy whites, such as Resene Secrets, Resene Flotsam and Resene Merino. One benefit in using more versatile colours like these is that they will last the distance and grow with your child. They will continue to act as an adaptable background for changes of colour in accessories or bed linen. Pastel tones are certainly psychologically soothing so are a great choice for any room where you want to create a calming environment – even if it’s for your nerves rather than the baby’s.

Baby’s rooms or nurseries can be small, and light colours make small spaces feel larger.

A galaxy themed nursery wall

This fun galaxy wall uses ‘planets’ painted in Resene FX Nightlight, a waterborne glow-in-the dark paint.

3. Get creative with testpots

If you’re after something a bit more interesting than plain walls, check in with your inner artist, buy some affordable Resene testpots and some masking tape, and paint your own mural. If you’re uncertain of your ability, stick with something simple like a mountain range profile, or some fun stripes. Go online to find some inspiration.

Don’t forget the ceiling. Babies spend much of their time on their backs so think about painting the ceiling a colour – maybe taking the wall colour up and over the ceiling. Or use Resene FX Nightlight glow-in-the-dark paint to create a starry effect that will glow then slowly wane once the lights go out.

Create a fun feature wall out of wallpaper

Create a fun feature wall with Resene Wallpaper Collection design 30801.

A fun blue and orange nursery wall

You don’t need much skill for this look, just a roller and two paint colours. This room uses Resene Ruby Tuesday orange and Resene Point Break blue, with the blue roughly rolled over the basecoat of orange.

4. Or use wallpaper

If you really, really don’t think your creative skills are up the mark, check out the huge range of fun and whimsical wallpapers at your local Resene ColorShop. Chances are you’ll only need two or three rolls if the nursery is a compact one, or you might use wallpaper as a feature wall.

5. Upcycle with paint

One’s person’s trash is another’s treasure and nothing is truer when it comes to old furniture. Whether it’s a bedside table, an old change table or a set of drawers or shelves that can often be bought for very little second hand, Resene paints or wood stains can be used to smarten up anything. Use Resene Enamacryl for projects like this – it’s a hardwearing, waterborne enamel so easy to use and clean up after painting. It has a gloss finish but if you want something more matte, use semi-gloss Resene Lustacryl. Semi-gloss and gloss finishes will be much easier to wipe clean than lower sheen finishes.

Upcycled furniture for a nursery

Upcycled furniture for a nursery - 2

Upcycle furniture or accessories with paint for a cost-effect result. This old crate has become a toy box with some cheap castors added and using Resene Alabaster stripes with spots in Resene Hi Jinx, Resene Pretty In Pink, Resene Blackout, Resene Spotlight and Resene Bellbottom Blue. It’s finished in Resene Aquaclear urethane. The chest of drawers has been given a fire-engine theme and is painted in Resene Enamacryl tinted to Resene Rocket (red), Resene Blue Jeans (blue), Resene Cotton Wool (white) and Resene Bright Spark (yellow).

6. Make your own mobile

With a bit of twine or fishing line, and some simple blocks or shapes you can make your own mobile to hang over the cot. Paint threadable beads or old Christmas decorations in different colours using Resene testpots and string them either directly from the ceiling or tie them to a securely suspended coat-hanger.

7. Make your own art

Buy some cheap frames and stretched canvases from the local craft store or homewares budget chain, and go to town with those Resene testpots. You could do little hand or foot prints, use simple animal stencils… whatever takes your fancy.

8. Keep safe

Keep clutter at bay so that you don’t trip on anything, or bump into anything, or sit on something unexpected when you’re on night-feed duty. Always plan for more storage than you think you will need.

Did you know… that Resene has a specially compiled collection of colours to suit all ages and stages of childhood with its Resene KidzColour range? It includes everything from soft slipper pinks to fiery reds and bold blues, as well as some fun metallic paints.

Top tip... Use Resene Zylone Sheen Zero paint for your baby’s room. It gives you a lovely low-sheen finish, is very low odour and has no added volatile organic compounds.