I've been thinking a lot about how we want to set up the nursery this time around. I've seen so many gorgeous rooms for the little ones that I think one day I will even write a separate post about what I love. But often, when I click on certain pieces (like furniture or decor) in those pictures, I realize that they are way out of my price point.
In fact, the last time I shopped for nursery furniture was more than 5 years ago. Back then we scored a pretty nice set of a crib, a changing table and a dresser on clearance for only $199 for all. Well, when I say nice, I exaggerate a bit. The crib is pretty solid even though it's huge. The dresser and the changing table are made of glorified MDF pieces. Over time, they both been covered with nicks and chips. The top of the dresser was completely destroyed when our humidifier broke. And the actual dresser is small. The changing table on the other hand is big but broken.
The room we are working with is not big. It's about 9x11 but it also includes a closet, so it's more like 9x9 left to work with. Since we need two cribs this time (and our old one is gigantic, so we'll have to sell it to get new ones, more than likely, minis), we decided to minimize the amount of other things we want in this room. Yet, it still needs to be very functional because, well, life is not going to get any easier when we have two bundles of joy in our arms. And I want it to look pretty :)
One of the must-changes on my list is to get a new, bigger dresser and to put a changing pad on top instead of having both a dresser and a hanging table. Since we decided to go white this time around (to make the room seem a little bigger), I've been looking at big white dressers. I've been drooling over something like this. But the price tag??? It gave my heart palpitations! Do people really spend more than $500 on dressers nowadays? Or this one. Pretty but man...
Not that I was going to buy new anyway... But when I turned to classifieds, it gave me more sticker shock of it's own. For example this nice dresser was listed for $350. It's gorgeous but $350??
And there are plenty of similar examples. We were even looking at this IKEA dresser (even though I'm often hesitant to spend money there because most of their pieces are not made of solid wood. It does look nice though) but it's still a bit more than I want to spend. I found the same one on classifieds with the description of it to be 3 years old, not very stable any more and having some (minor) scratches. The price? $190. Really? For an unstable 3-year old dresser?? What happened to the good old pieces from Grandma's attic that need some love but go for only $50? I think, I'm still living in the wrong generation... Sigh...
We will hit more yard sales and thrift stores in the next few weeks (I did try to avoid painting but my heavy-duty professional mask should do the trick to protect the little ones...). Stay tuned and, maybe, I'll share the deal of a century with you some time soon... In the meantime, I'm thinking, we need to bump our budget a bit for this room because the cribs with mattresses alone will be more than half of my $750 original budget.... But hey, this girl is resourceful, right? :)
So how much money would you spend on a nice, solid dresser that should last your family many years of love?
That white dresser is very nice! But quite quite pricey unless it is solid wood.
ReplyDeleteI bought my oldest the IKEA "Malm" 6 drawer and a bedside table 10 years ago and they both look new today. I did buy glass to put on the top to make them easier to wipe and protect from spills.
I hope the weather is being kinder to you and the 2 babes!
I bought a few pieces from IKEA that I just love and some that ended up being a piece of crap. That's why I'm always hesitant with their store and prices.
DeleteAnd thank you! :) The weather is still nasty but since we fixed our swamp cooler, I can finally breath here.
I love the idea of white! I don't think $350 is that horrendous for a solid wood dresser. I spent $200 on sale 15 years ago for my 3rd son for a solid wood dresser and it has held up beautifully. It will likely see many more generations in our family :)
ReplyDeleteI could spend $200 on a nice, solid piece but $350 really make me cringe :) I hope I can find something more in my price range...
DeleteDressers are expensive! I know some people use Craig's List. Do you have something like that there? Great deals can be found if you're diligent to search daily, and quick to jump on new offers. It's too stressful for me, but my oldest and his wife got a great couch and matching loveseat for $50 that way.
ReplyDeleteThat's where I got the picture from :) I found some awesome deals on classifieds over the years, that's why I had a total sticker shock to see that their prices are not much different from the major retailers.
DeleteLena, Have you tried unfinished furniture and painting it white?? I use to do that all the time...how ever I have no clue if there are unfinished places anymore....Or do you have ReStores as they are called here.....it is a place that people donate to Habitat for Humanity and either Habitat will use it for some houses they fix up or they sell it for money for future Habitat for Humanity homes...I have bought a few things there....it's a neat place to go and search for things....
ReplyDeleteWe are looking for new bedroom for furniture for us and we are in shock to....
(((HUGS)))
We actually have one Habitat for Humanity store, and I was just thinking about it yesterday! It's a bit of a drive but we definitely want to check it out. And good luck to you on finding a new bed set!!
DeleteFrankly, your babies will probably be premature and smaller than an average baby, so you can get away with putting both of them in your big crib for awhile before you have to buy 2 new cribs. A friend had twins back when we were both preggo age and that's what she did and it worked fine until the babies got more mobile.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't spend a lot on cribs or dressers, unless they are convertible into youth beds and dressers and you'll be having them around for years to come.
I also never saw the need for a dedicated changing table furniture. We had a low long dresser sourced at a yard sale years before and we just used that. My "baby" is now 18 and the "table" is now holding tools out in our shed. lol
Oh, we are looking at the convertible cribs, for sure. I used our changing table all the time but there is definitely no need for it. That's why we want to just get a dresser and use a pad on top of it.
DeleteBut as for cribs, I'm kind of set on it. I'm a part of the group "Got twins" on babycenter and, unfortunately, I've read too many stories when babies who are seemingly too young, would suffocate each other! I know it doesn't happen all the time but it still does... And with two, I think, I can't be too careful. But we will put them close together, so they can "communicate" when they are a few moths old.
Good idea to use a dresser with a mat on top because you can use the dresser afterwards. That is exactly what we did. The cot was second hand (mine when I was a baby) but bought a new mattress and the pram was also second hand (my second brothers) Are any of your family and friend getting rid of anything that their babies have grown out of?
ReplyDeleteCarolx
No, unfortunately not. There aren't that many babies in our family... :) I asked my friends around but nobody gets rid of any dresses at this point, unfortunately.
DeleteYou are so talented when it comes to decorating. I can't wait to see what you come up with.
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you, my friend!
DeleteOn "The Frugal Girl" blog she explains in a lot of detail how to paint furniture. You might buy odd used pieces and then paint them all white.
ReplyDeleteYes, she is. She's amazing :) I know how to paint furniture, I just wanted to do as little painting as I can while pregnant...
DeleteHmmm.. good question. I spent around $200.00 on the girls dresser from Wal-Mart. They share and it works great! I'm not sure how much i'd spend on one... i'd probably have heart palpatations spending what some new dressers go for now! lol!!!
ReplyDeleteI would spend $300 on a new dresser but I would expect solid wood for that price. I'm not crafty so the thought of repurposing furniture is daunting to me. Keep on looking. You will find what you want.
ReplyDeleteHi Lena, You are going to have a lot of years to use the dresser. Personally, I would go ahead and buy the best dresser I could find. Really good furniture is not necessarily new. There are some fantastic used pieces out there. If you buy a used one that needs painting, well, it doesn't have to be done before the babies come. You can always clean it well then paint it after. (Or better yet. have someone else paint it for you. The act of painting it would be a spectacular baby gift)
ReplyDeleteSometimes the best thing I can do is just simply do the math. Using the $500 dollar dresser as a base, let's assume 1 child uses it for 18 years. It becomes a $27.80 per year storage unit. If both twins use it for 18 years it becomes just $13.90 per year. Additionally good furniture lasts a very long time. A dresser and clothing armoire bought when one son was small served him until he moved out as an adult. Next his younger brother took it over and he is still using it when he comes home college. ( Did I mention we have had it for 27 years?) I don't remember it's original cost but I would imagine over time it is maybe 20 dollars a year. Assuming our youngest moves out after graduation and doesn't take it with him, it will retire to the guest room and last a good bit longer
Now all that is left is for you to find what you want!