Design on a Budget

Like I said in my updates post yesterday, we found out a few weeks ago that we are having a baby boy! I couldn't be more excited about this, although I always pictured myself only raising girls. I thought that finding out I was actually carrying a boy might disappoint me. Much to my surprise, I was immediately "OK" with this news, and soon I was downright excited! I really can't explain my feelings toward this news other than excitement and anticipation. Scott seems excited too, with one exception. His only reservation is that having a baby of the opposite sex from our first means one thing: shopping! If we were having another girl, we would be set! Elliott would get an upgrade to a new and improved big girl room, and baby #2 would slide on in to the already prepped nursery. Since baby #2 is in fact a boy, it means that things are taking a little more planning and some creativity :)

We are on a budget, but at the same time, home decor and baby stuff in general is just so fun to buy! Lucky for Scott, I've always been a bargain shopper......I don't know if it's the thrill of the hunt (or just years of having to be frugal with our money), but I love a good deal! In fact, I probably never buy anything that isn't on clearance (other than food, but only if it's a necessity and there isn't a cheaper option available). Clothes, furniture, and other home goods just make me feel so good when I can tell you how much I saved in comparison to how much I spent!

So, like I said, adding another little one to our family is taking some creativity and bargain shopping. Let's start with the big stuff. Furniture. We have a crib (Elliott's current toddler bed), and an armoire for the nursery, plus a nice glider rocking chair. Essentially, this could all be used for the new baby, leaving us to furnish a room for Ellie with a bed (twin size) and at least a dresser (maybe a nightstand if we found a good deal).

Thanks to Craigslist (and my awesome parents who found us this steal), we got a 5 piece bedroom set, which needed just a little bit of TLC, for just $100! This set included a nightstand, dresser, dresser with shelving unit, headboard, and bed frame! The only work that we ended up doing to these pieces was a fresh coat of spray paint (thanks mom!) and some new drawer pulls. Easy Peasy! And, since we have a small house with even smaller bedrooms, there are more than enough pieces of furniture to go around now......maybe even too much! These pieces will be split between both Elliott and Liam's bedrooms:

We found Ellie's mattress and boxspring at a local mattress discount store.......$200 isn't exactly a steal in my opinion, but the set is brand new, and should last her some time. We really weren't keen on a used mattress of any sort.

Both rooms will be getting a fresh coat of paint. And once again, there's no real way around paint prices, at least not that I know of! We simply bought two cans of paint + primer in one, at a local hardware store. It didn't break the bank, and fresh paint will more than liven up both rooms!

Finally, I've been slowly shopping around for decor pieces, curtains, rugs, and other accents to give both kids a space that looks nice, feels comforting, and makes all of us happy. Things like this aren't exactly necessities, so this is where I really try to pinch pennies and find bargains. I end up picking up a clock at Ross when I see a good deal, or a few smaller items at Hobby Lobby when I'm there.......before I know it my $5 and $10 purchases have furnished a whole room! So, while there's too many little details I've picked up over the last few months to share each steal of a deal with you, here's my latest haul. I walked into Fred Meyer looking for a few storage baskets for toys in the living room, and walked out with those and much more! They were having such great sales, and there were clearance shelves and racks in every department! Here's what I snagged:

The storage baskets are for the living room, to contain toy explosions. The blue containers and light fixture (such great deals!!!) are for Liam's room. We're going with dark blue, brown, and a loose sports/football theme for his room, but I'll get into more of that in a later post. The blanket, curtains, and coat rack are for Elliott's room. We're just throwing together LOTS of fun, bright colors for her new big girl room......can't wait to share when it's all put together!. And finally, the baby boy clothes and the Barbie might have been impulse buys.......but they were still on sale! Ha!

So there's just a little bit of what's been occupying my mind and budget lately. I love a good deal, but I'm also anxious to finish a project once I start one! The hardest part is moving slowly as we gather everything that we need for these two rooms, but I know that the end results will be worth is! The rooms should be painted this weekend, and I can't wait to start pulling it all together after that!