Anybody else NOT getting the perfect nursery?

ACAsomeday · August 2011

This is a vent...

DH and I are 28 but because he's in college we are still renting (unlike most of my friends and co-workers who are married). The inherent interior design, room shapes, lack of closets, and colors in the house already drive us NUTS. I have some friends and family about to welcome their first babies and putting up beautiful pictures of the world's most perfect HGTV nurseries and its starting to drive me crazy! Mostly in envy. Our nursery is the size of a glorified walk in closet. Just big enough to awkwardly fit in a crib, dresser, and rocking chair. The carpet is PINK and we're having a boy, and none of our wooden furniture matches in stain, let alone being part of a set. I'm used to this lifestyle...but I have to admit, I broke down crying today trying to figure out how to fit a dresser and crib in this tiny room and then looking at my cousins HGTV room.

Please someone tell me your nursery is going to be far from the ideal matchy nursery!!!!

beedawn · August 2011

I totally understand! My FI and I moved into a 1 bedroom apt a week before I found out I was pregnant. Since our bedroom isn't huge and we don't want to cram a crib and what not into our room we are turning our dining "room" into a nursery. It will barely fit his crib, a glider, and a changing table. Oh well, we will be able to move one day and he will have his own awesome room.

Just remember that your position is only temporary. LO won't remember what his nursery looks like.

tonychelle · August 2011

Just think about it this way -- your little baby won't care what his room looks like I grew up in a blue room because my mom was told I would be a boy. haha. I obviously didn't care!

While I do own a house, we haven't created an elaborate/fancy nursery either. Neither of us are big painters, so we're just (planning to) put up a border and those removable stickers. The room is kind of small anyway, so the furniture is taking up most of the wall space anyway, so I think it would be a waste of time and money (that's tight) to do something elaborate.

jjmac · August 2011

I live in a one bedroom apartment. My LO will share a room with me until he is almost 9 months old. My dining room is not closed off enough to turn into a nursery for him, in fact once he gets a bit older I might move my bed into the dining room and let him have my room so I don't have to break him from sleeping in my room when we move.

I'm not super happy about not painting his room and trying to figure out how to fit all of the furniture in my room and still have room to walk. He will get his nursery one day, that's the only thing I have to look forward to lol

shanniebananie · August 2011

HUGS! I know how you feel. We couldn't do anything for our 3 year old's nursery, other than a crib and sheets. We moved 3 times in her first year old life. Check out https://www.ohdeedoh.com/ they really have some amazing ideas ideal for apartment living.

Sporkmoostipe · August 2011

Believe me dear, it's not only you!

I am in a similar predicament....the room that we are debating making into a nursery is teeny tiny, the size what you were talking about. Our biggest hurdle is that the only room available for a nursery is on a completely different floor than our bedroom. (Nursery would be on the first floor, our bedroom is on the second. There's another bedroom in the house, but it's occupied by DH's grandmother, who is very ill and requires care and has no one else to really help her...).

I really envisioned having a nice sized nursery, having it be large and spacious, plenty of room for toys, a nice sized glider, and our computer desk (I'm idealistic, what can I say?), but it's not going to be a reality for us. I don't think we'll have a nursery at this point. I think Danny's; bunking with us.

authorofdreamz · August 2011

Our "nursery" is just the corner of our bedroom. I wish I was able to have a fancy nursery that I got to design and decorate for her but I try to make myself feel better by saying that it wont make any difference to her and will probably even make things easier having her right there in the room.

ACAsomeday · August 2011

beedawn:
Just remember that your position is only temporary. LO won't remember what his nursery looks like.

Very true!!!!!

ArcadianDreams · August 2011

Don't feel bad about your nursery. Your baby has everything he needs. And you may not have designer stuff, but you also obviously have enough common sense to know that there are more important things than a matchy nursery, common sense you can pass on to that baby.

Your husband completing his degree and becoming better established in the world is a far better gift you can give your son than matching furniture.

Tanderson0201 · August 2011

We're in our late 20s as well. We live in a 2 bedroom apartment so we have a room and our 3 year old has the other. The baby is going to share our room with us. Our bedroom is already small so fitting the crib in there with our queen sized bed and FI's computer desk is going to literally leave us with no space. Our lease isn't up until May so we will have to deal with the lack of space for 6 months. Hopefully then we can get a house. So long ramble short - I feel your pain!! I would LOVE to be able to decorate a nursery

smilelari · August 2011

We own our house but we currently hate it. We bought it in 2005 thinking we'd be here for 3-5 years then move on. Well now we're stuck (under water like most people that bought in 2005). Luckily we have 3 bedrooms but the 2 kids rooms are not big. At all (9X9). And now we have no home for the stuff we were keeping in those rooms. Sigh. It's been a very frustrating experience trying to move everything around, sell stuff, etc

honeybee #1 · August 2011

i'm actually really glad to know there are others out there as well. Our LO is going to have to be in our bedroom as well. And get the annoying part - we own a three bedroom house. We have 2 kids from my husbands previous marriage, but due to issues that they have we can't trust them to share a room with the baby. So in our 10 by 13 bedroom with queen size bed, vanity, dresser and three bookcases I get to find the room for everything baby. And unless we want to pay back the 8000 dollar first time homebuyer credit, we're stuck in this house until April of 2013.

So, yeah I get the frustration too.

diddlenation · August 2011

Like everyone else said your situation is temporary. However, if you want to really try and work with what you have it sounds to me like you have the beginnings of an awesome shabby chic room. You could try and find a braided rug with more masculine colors but that will tie in the pink carpet. Go with more of a quilt look rather than the standard baby bedding, hang a shelf on the wall to maximize height instead of floor space and then get some antique like knick knacks to put on it. In my head I am seeing old school bicycles but of course whatever you like would be awesome. Maybe sand down the dresser/strip it and do a white wash finish. Can you take the closet doors off and put the dresser in there to give you a little more space? Personally I think that itty bitty eclectic nurseries are the best. They feel comy cozy!

Anyway, good luck but I think you have lots of options! Hit some yard sales or consignment shops to find a rug and shelf and there rest could totally just fall into place!

adri77 · August 2011

Um, yeah, this baby won't even have his/her own room until he/she is 4 months.....and at that point, I don't even know where we will be living, so the "nursery" will will be a crib and dresser. Nurserys are sooooo not important!

Jing22 · August 2011

Raises hand. We have the money and a house and we are still not doing a fancy nursery because I think it is a waste of money. I'll be spending it on a reputable day care when I return to work, but have saved up funds so I can actually take half a year off with this baby and breast feed and care for her. That is more important than the material things in my opinion.

sbelle3 · August 2011

I just want to add that your nursery will be perfect because YOUR baby will sleep in it! Decorating the nursery sort of bides our time until the baby gets here. You will not care so much once he is here. When I was pregnant with DS2 I was trying my hand as a SAHM and financially we were not cutting it. We were broke as a joke. I was able to find enough things around the house to repurpose (some shelves, a cabinet) to have some decorations. A friend of a friend gave me her old crib bedding so I didn't have to pay for that. It wasn't straight out of a magazine but I was proud to pull the whole thing together for $20. And like I said you will spend precious nights in there with your baby and make memories sneaking in to watch him sleep. The decor has nothing to do with the good stuff.

LurkieLoo · August 2011

I second the Ohdeedoh.com recommendation- they recently did a series of nurseries is SUPER small places- I'm talking in a pantry!, twins in a closet under stairs!, sharing a small room with mom and dad!, even one that was just a sectioned off part of the living room. And every single one of those nurseries" were SO cool that I was taking notes on what I could take from those to put into use in my nusery. With a little imagination and love (and I know you have that!) you can make your nursery even cooler than your friends with their darn neutral carpets and perfectly painted walls Stick out tongue

Another site that might help you organize ideas is pinterest.com- I'm making everything for our son's big boy room to cut costs and Pinterest has helped me a TON- everything from tutorials on how to make things (how to paint old furniture to make it look good, how to make capes- his room will have a superhero theme so the capes are decoration and toys...) to just seeing it all together in one place. I honestly couldn't do it without pinterest because my ideas would be all over the place.

Lastly, I bet even just hanging a few things on the wall will help you feel better and the nursery look more homey- letters for the name (and there are SO many different ways to do them- blocks spelling out the name, paint canvas from Michaels, cover letters in yarn, take pictures of things that look like the letters of the name...), picture frames, wall decals (they are removeable!)... so many cute things!

jamiesjolie · August 2011

I absolutely know how you feel. My husband and I are both 29 (I'll be 30 when LO gets here) and we are still renting and living literally paycheck to paycheck. We both had jobs in the construction industry which fell apart and he made the decision to go to school as well because even though it is tough now it will only make our lives better down the road.

Anyway, we have a room that is a decent size, but we can't paint nor do we have the money to do anything elaborate. I just think "thank goodness I don't have to paint!!" LOL. I HATE painting. As far as the rest goes, like everyone else says the good stuff will be when the baby is in there and I probably won't think about the rest of the stuff. I love the shabby chic nursery ideas.

peanut701 · August 2011

I was in tears over this yesterday (I know hormones have a lot to do with it). I'm 31, DH is 34, we're in a 1-bedroom apt. We're in good shape financially but we're in the highest cost of living area in the country (NYC) and can't afford to buy yet. I was upset not just over the lack of a nursery but also because I don't know how her gear (high chair, activity gym, etc.) is going to fit in our living room. I want baby to have room to play

jillanderick · August 2011

I know exactly how you feel. But just remember, it is temporary. Would you possibly be able to restain the furniture or hang up some wall stickers to make yourself feel better and make it feel like more of a nursery? Or maybe a big rug to take away the pinkness of the carpet?

We're going through something similar. My first DS got a true nursery/bedroom, including coordinating pictures, rugs, etc. It was beautiful. This baby won't get that. We're moving about 4-5 months after baby's born so I can't really do a nursery. The room that will belong to this baby is our spare bedroom/office/nursery for new baby. We've got a queen bed, computer desk, bookshelf and the crib all jammed in. But it's just the way that it has to be at this point. Maybe after we move, I can actually make baby his own room. I am so jealous of all the ladies who get to make beautiful nurseries!

cikangell · August 2011

DH and I are 30 and 31 and still in an apartment, so no worries there. LO is due the day after Thanksgiving, and for all we know we might be moving to a different state between now and then for DH's work- so I can't do ANYTHING to set up the nursery yet. We can't paint, because we'd just have to paint it back. We haven't purchased any furniture, because we'd just have to move it again, and right now the only room we could use is our office, which both of us use very regularly.

The only thing keeping me sane right now when the 'nesting bug' bites me is random craft projects that I might not ever even use. I've made letters for the wall and and painting a few pictures, doing a simple knot-end quilt, etc. Whether it will match any bedding we eventually get is anyone's guess, or go with the furniture, etc.

I just try not to think about it because otherwise I start crying.

curlieq1981@yahoo.com · August 2011

DH and I are in the same predicament. He has returned to graduate school and is currently not working, and with me being the only one working we're living paycheck to paycheck. We had a nice life when we were both working and could buy anything we wanted on a whim. While our LO will have her own room in our home, and it's already been painted we currently are unable to afford our "dream" crib. We're going to strip the furniture that my H had before we got married and paint it white. As for all of the other necessities we're just going to deal with it as it arises. I'm glad to know that others are dealing with this also. 1-2 weeks ago I had posted that I likely wasn't having a baby shower either which makes things all the more difficult to get on our own. I don't need the fanciest, best, brand new items for our daughter. As long as she knows that she is loved I think that's the most important. Material items don't make up for the love and care that you can give a child- just remember that.

ctaylor0402 · August 2011

Dont feel left out! We are right there with ya! Baby will be in our room for at least the first year and then cross my fingers we will have a house but if not LO and our 8 yr old daughter will get to share a room! The crib is taking up so much space in our room, but on the up side I have decided I can decorate the wall behind her crib with letters to spell her name out and maybe a cute picture or something and the Hubby will just have to like it

hehe

purpleXdandelion · August 2011

I feel your pain! DH and I just graduated from college and are both looking for jobs. since we havent found anything yet, we're living with his mom so we havent even gotten a chance to start on the nursery. I'm really hoping we find something before Will comes because I just want to be in our own place and decorate his room and unpack our wedding gifts and start our life. *sigh* just gotta remember its only temporary!

Mrs.NGM · August 2011

I refuse to get into the keeping up with the Jones game. We just bought our first house a year ago when we were both 27 years old. Even still, it's a small ranch, but the mortgage payment is under $1k/month, so we're happy with it, especially considering I just got laid off. None of our rooms have ever had matching furniture, partly because we've inherited some family pieces that are antiques and partly because I don't like the matchy look.

Consider this.....if there were no facebook, message boards, etc. would you be as upset about not having an HGTV nursery? The online world opens up a whole new way to compare if you let yourself. Just focus on your own goals and do what's best for you!

sweetpealee · August 2011

I understand how you feel- some of our furniture matches, some doesn't... LO will be in a corner of our room in our 1 br apt. We plan to move as soon as we are comfortable renting a larger place, but I also think that having our son in the room with us will be easier.

Lemmon_ade12 · August 2011

We live in a two-bedroom apartment, so the kiddo will have a bedroom of his own, but because it's an apartment, neither DH or I have the desire to paint. I'm thinking of either using the quilt with the bedding I like and turning into a big wall hanging or getting some of the vinyl wall stickers. And, as far as matchy-matchy nursery furniture, we're not going to be in that boat either. Even if we had a ton of money to spend on it, I kind of think it's a waste if you can get some of it used. Some of the dressers and stuff I've found while looking on Craigslist actually look kind of cool, so I guess I'm not mourning that too much. So, nope, no perfect nursery here. But, I'm excited to make it feel like "home" for our little guy in my own way :-)

turtlewifey · August 2011

I completely understand how you feel. DH and I are moving when the baby is 6-8 months old. He is military and we don't know to where we will be moving, but we think it might be back to an area where we own a small 2 bedroom townhouse.

For the first 6-8 months, the baby will sleep in a pack n play in our bedroom with a built in changer. After we move, we'll set up a proper nursery but I already know the furniture won't match and it bugs me to no end!

None of the furniture in our house matches because we both brought such a clusterf**k of furniture to the marriage. Our living/dining area has furniture with 7 different finishes of wood ranging from blonde to espresso. It looks like crap.

I was so excited to finally have the nursery be the one room in our house that actually matches, and I've always loved the look of white nursery furniture so I had my heart set on that. Even that won't happen after we move because we have a spare dresser that is a natural wood. It will ruin the piece if we paint it white and I hate the look of natural wood so I don't want an entire nursery full of it just so everything matches. I've already resigned myself to the fact that once we move and we can set up a real nursery, the room will have natural and white furniture....*sigh.*

I dream of the day when I have a house (or least one room) with coordinating furniture...

ACAsomeday · August 2011

diddlenation:
Like everyone else said your situation is temporary. However, if you want to really try and work with what you have it sounds to me like you have the beginnings of an awesome shabby chic room. You could try and find a braided rug with more masculine colors but that will tie in the pink carpet. Go with more of a quilt look rather than the standard baby bedding, hang a shelf on the wall to maximize height instead of floor space and then get some antique like knick knacks to put on it. In my head I am seeing old school bicycles but of course whatever you like would be awesome. Maybe sand down the dresser/strip it and do a white wash finish. Can you take the closet doors off and put the dresser in there to give you a little more space? Personally I think that itty bitty eclectic nurseries are the best. They feel comy cozy!
Anyway, good luck but I think you have lots of options! Hit some yard sales or consignment shops to find a rug and shelf and there rest could totally just fall into place!

See, your brain is the one I need :P I am so bad at coming up with ideas like that! I can always tell what I don't like, but I can't come up with room decor on my own!! THanks for the ideas

ACAsomeday · August 2011

peanut701:
I was in tears over this yesterday (I know hormones have a lot to do with it). I'm 31, DH is 34, we're in a 1-bedroom apt. We're in good shape financially but we're in the highest cost of living area in the country (NYC) and can't afford to buy yet. I was upset not just over the lack of a nursery but also because I don't know how her gear (high chair, activity gym, etc.) is going to fit in our living room. I want baby to have room to play

Glad to know I"m not the only one crying over this :P Darn these hormones!

Froggy76 · August 2011

Our nursery is 8'x8' - what most people would consider a walk-in closet. However, we are going to get creative and make it work. It should fit a crib, dresser/changer and glider just fine. A friend of mine is going to paint a wall mural, and I have a color scheme in mind to make the room look really cute. We're underwater on our house right now because we bought in 2006, so we will just make the best of the lack of space for now!

I'm actually jealous of people who say the baby will be sleeping in their room. We don't even have room for that. We might try to squeeze a PnP in our room in the very beginning, but the room is only 11x13, so things will be TIGHT! I'm not even sure if there will be enough room left for the dog to sleep on the floor in there!

ETA: I also wanted to mention that I had a serious breakdown after going to a local store to look at baby furniture. All these couples were walking around and placing orders for fancy, expensive furniture, and there we were, trying to find something small enough and cheap enough to work for us. It just made me feel really crappy.

vanessa11411 · August 2011

LO won't be having a nursery at all. He won't be getting his own room until next August when my SIL and her husband move out. So we'll be having a bassinet in our bedroom and when he grows out of it, we'll be moving the pack n play upstairs.

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