ORC Week 3 – Nursery Design Essentials

We’re in Week 3 of the Better Homes and Gardens One Room Challenge! The obvious next step in our room design is loading in the furniture, but with the current state of the world I CANNOT GET OUR DRESSER YET! And it’s driving me crazy! I’m so excited to get started on it, but IKEA stores are closed and the shipping is double the price of the dresser! So it will wait…

Til then, I thought I’d share some important elements to incorporate into your nursery if you’re a first time parent. We learned these with our first little one and are glad we have the knowledge with number two on the way in just two months. And if you think you already know everything then just skip down to number five. It’s genius!!

{Note: These photos are from our firstborn’s nursery. We were living in an apartment and had a very small budget. But you’ll see the big pieces making a reappearance in our Baby Girl’s Nantucket Nursery!}

1. Comfort Over Design

I know, I know, that’s not what you expect from a design post. But when you’re sleep deprived at 3am, you’ll be very grateful you went with the comfortable rocker instead of the super sleek minimalist psuedo rocker.

Same goes for the fabric. Make. Sure. It’s. Washable. Accidents (of all sorts, just trust me) will happen.

Upholstery can take awhile to break in too. The first time I sat in our rocker, I completely second guessed my decision. I started sitting in there to drink my coffee every morning and it got much comfier. It really help me settle into the space – literally and figuratively!

If you’re nursing and/or having a c-section, you’ll really appreciate a foot stool in those early early days. It will make you so much more comfortable and easier to rock. (Super excited about my DIY footstool that will hopefully be ready to share next week!)

2. Storage

Not just any storage, but practical storage that keeps all your essentials within an arms reach. So have the diapers, wipes, diaper cream – whatever you need, within an arms reach of the changing area. We use one pull out bin to hold everything. It’s there when you need it and tucked away neatly in between changes. You do not want to have to monkey with a diaper box with a wiggly baby on the changing pad.

3. Keep it versatile

You’ll be surprised how quickly your little ones start to gravitate to certain areas of interest. Given our love for all things coastal and nautical, we did another nautical theme for our little guy’s nursery. But guess what? He could care less about boats. His one true love is construction. LOVES construction trucks.

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So when he turned two, we spent less than $100 and made over his nursery into a room more suitable to his tastes. I’m really glad we kept things fairly basic so it was easy to swap out the boats and whales for yellow construction trucks.

Now’s the time to add your own flair, but be prepared if you kiddo has zero interest in what you chose! Be okay with it and encourage their personality to shine through – you could have a budding designer on your hands!

4. Blackout Curtains.

Need I say more? Ours are not full blackout, but have pretty substantial lining. If you find the perfect curtains, but they do not keep out enough light… you’re in luck. You can purchase blackout lining from Hobby Lobby and add to the back. It’s really just a few straight stitches or iron on tape!

5. Automatic Hand Sanitzer Dispenser

We discovered the beauty of a motion sensor hand sanitizer dispenser in the hospital. My husband Amazon’d (that’s a verb, right?) one to our house before we were discharged! It’s seriously so convenient. There are a variety of finishes available. Ours has a logo on it, but will soon be covered up thanks to my Cricut machine.

Hang it near the changing table (but not over it, because motion sensitive…) and you are set! The refills last about 6 months.

Nursery Essentials

What are your must-haves for a nursery?

Come back next week for {hopefully} some big updates to our Nantucket Nursery! I’m crossing my fingers to make the footstool and and some fun [free] art!

Catch up on our One Room Challenge Week 1 and Week 2 posts til then!