Designing a Budget Conscious Neutral Nursery Complete With DIY Projects.
Our budget conscious gender neutral nursery (baby room) with white and timber furniture and pops of green throughout the décor and decal feature wall. We designed a natural themed nursery as we liked the idea of not finding out the sex of our baby until his birth.
Finding out we are going to be parents
Mike and I started our 2020 with the thought of heading overseas for a much-needed family holiday.
However, when Covid hit we like many others decided to join the Covid baby boom and try our hand at parenting.
We cannot tell you the joy and excited we felt when we found out we were expecting, even with our super busy schedule we known we could make it work as we had a lot of love to give and could not wait to be a family of three.
Three months Pregnant
We had just put an offer on our current renovation and were anxiously waiting to see if we would become the new owners.
Within a few days and number of price negotiations later we found out we would soon be the owners of a two story, hoarders house, our current renovation project.
Not only did we need to start the renovation project at around three months pregnant, but we also needed to begin an entire spare room makeover into a neutral nursery as our little one who was due to arrive earth side March 2021.
Cue wardrobe makeover and renovation project
The neutral nursery room renovation and design included the need for a built-in wardrobe make over. Which we had to start with first as we knew we would need to disassemble the old wardrobe and re square the walls before we added a newly designed one.
Bose reno’s built in wardrobe makeover and renovation project. 
Much like the bedroom in a whole we kept the new built-in wardrobe neutral in colour and design to ensure it would suit and gender and continue to suit his needs as he grew up.
Click here for our Built-in wardrobe makeover for the nursery and video.
We were lucky enough to have a budding designer in the family, my sister-in-law Zak. I gave all my ideas to and helped us to bring them to life.
It was amazing to find that my sister-in-law had also kept my nephews cot (he is now 14) and had previously been used by my other nephew also who is 9 years of age.
Hand me down items are such a beautiful way to add sentimental statement piece to any room and all we needed to purchase for his cot was a new mattress and a sheet set to which we used our fly buy points to cover the cost.
No fly buys rewards do not have cot mattresses but what they do have is gift vouchers and with the points we had accumulated we were able to get a $200 Target voucher which not only paid for the cot mattress but also a mattress protector and Vtech baby monitor.
Our DIY nursery room projects
We opted for a white cupboard with a removal change mat and base. I thought white could continue to suit our baby as he grows, and the change mat can come off to make it look like a classic yet stylish chest of draws.
To add a point of difference to the draws I researched leather handled and showed Mike my preferred look and we went about searching the web for the materials.
The leather straps were an easy find on Ebay and as I wanted leather strap shelves as well, I was sure to order enough for both projects.
The silver fixing screws were found on wish and were also quite affordable and didn’t take to long to arrive. Costing only $14.00 for a set of 24.
We searched the local second-hand timber yard for the shelving and brought 2 pieces of Blackbutt off cuts that Mike was able to sand down and also join to make the desired size.
Mike later added the leather straps and we hung them in place. Please see here for our leather shelving project and guide.
I opted for white walls and ceiling to go with the wardrobe doors and window shutters. However, I did not want the room to look clinical.
Therefore, we found some beautifully textured leafy decals on Esty which made the most wonderful feature wall.
One of my favourite pieces in the room is the cloud mobile. Made simply from felt pieces, cotton balls and good old needle and thread. I made this mobile for our little man during the later months of my pregnancy, and I couldn’t be happier with the result.
The mobile cost no more then $20 to make including all materials. See here for a free print out of the clouds and tear drops so that you can easily make one of your own.
Click here for your free Cloud mobile template
I purchased the felt and thread from our local Spotlight store and the wooden top piece from wish for a few dollars.
Mike made the beautiful timber stand for the mobile and we purchased timber from our local Bunnings store. The result is beautiful and something we hope our son enjoy throughout his first year of life.
Nothing can compare to the joy of bringing home your little bundle of joy from the hospital. Our family was so excited to meet MJ they spent the morning decorating our house for his homecoming.
We were overwhelmed… his last day in hospital was the end of Covid restrictions at the time which meant that he was able to meet his loving family members.
It was a day to remember. One we will never forget and always be forever grateful for. We are loving every minute of being parents to our beautiful son MJ and look forward to teaching him how to use the tools of the trade as he grows and also help him to develop his own knowledge in what ever he finds interest in as he grows.
Stay Safe…
Mike, Nat and MJ
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