When you’re expecting a baby you have to also expect to tighten the purse strings! There’s no escaping the fact that you are going to have to shell out on a few major items. That being said, there is always a bargain to be found! Just when you think all hope is lost and you’re going to have to hand over the dreaded credit card, help is at hand.

There aren’t many larger financial outlays, when it comes to having a baby, than nursery & baby furniture. Sure, you can beg, borrow or steal, but if your keen to furnish the nursery with brand new furniture, rest assured, you can do it for less than £500.

The Cot

This is where your baby is going to sleep. Hopefully, peacefully for a solid 12 hours. However, this is unlikely and so you want to do everything you can to make sure your baby has the best chance of reaching that magical 12 hours. In all honesty, a cot is a cot. You can get white or various shades of wood effect. (Or indeed, a solid wooden one but that will blow the £500 straight away!) The crux is the mattress. Make sure you find a mattress that comes highly reviewed and recommend. We steered away from foam mattresses because they don’t last as long, apparently. We went for a spring mattress that will hopefully last a little longer.

This mattress is currently £59.99 and has 9/10 star rating.

There are of course, more sturdy cots available. Some seem stronger than others, and the best way, again, to tell, is by checking out the reviews. We’ve done this for you, and found this cot to be a great option, especially as it’s only £79, currently with £20 off!

Wardrobe & Chest of Drawers

I would imagine that many of you will be limited to just 1 of these items due to space in your nursery and that’s actually a blessing in disguise. Not only will you save some money, but it will mean that your partner can’t buy quite as many clothes! I found that a wardrobe is the best option. You can hang clothes up or use the drawer (which most have) for the other various bits and bobs. (Muslins, nappies, blankets, baby grows etc).

I’ve found this great looking wardrobe, which has good reviews. Along side this wardrobe, you will need a changing table and these shelved change tables are a great option to save money.

The wardrobe is currently £220 and the change table £69.99

Wall Decor

My biggest tip, and I’m not qualified in the slightest to comment about home interior, is to keep the walls neutral; white, sand, eggshell (which is basically white), cream etc. The trick is all in the accessorising! Paint the walls, remembering to cut in. You’ll a couple of coats of paint, which will be about 2 5l tins. After a little hunting round, B&Q have some great offers on their paint. Worth a look! £20 will cover it if you get one of their deals!

We have added some wall stickers on top of the neutral coloured walls in Ted’s nursery to add some character, fun and colour. Wall stickers are amazing! They’re not just easy & quick to use, but you can change them far more frequently than you could if you had to repaint the walls. There are literary 1000’s of wall stickers to choose from, and you can spend a fortune on them but all you need is a little set to stick in a corner to add that little bit of excitement to the room. We reckon £25 is plenty to spend and we’ve found a website with plenty to choose from here.

Soft Furnishings

Every bedroom/nursery needs some comfy bedding. I must pause momentarily and let you know that we personally, would’t recommend bumpers. We feel that they don’t let air circulate properly, resulting in the cot becoming warmer and warmer. It was our personal choice not to have bumpers and that’s why they’re not included here.

Our biggest tip is to make sure you get black out curtains. How can you expect your baby to sleep in a light room? We’re fans of neutral colours for curtains again, and accessorise. Here’s some ideal curtains and only at £49.50

I’ve also purchased the boy a car rug to go not he floor. To be honest, it doesn’t really fit but it’s colourful and adds to the room. I always think that nursery’s should be fun, which is why I love this rug I found at Marks and Spencer. It’s £45 though… will our budget allow???

A lamp shade is also important. I found that when I added the boy’s light shade, the room felt complete. Weird. This does;t have to be an extravagance though. These paper lamp shades are fun, colourful and only £3.73!!!

A lamp is really important as well. You’ll be in the room during the night frequently (especially if you’re baby is as bad a sleeper as the boy was) and you won’t want to put the mains light on. It’ll be too bright and disturb your baby even further. In fact, we got some touch lamps with have 3 settings of brightness on them. These were and still are amazing. the dim setting is perfect for night feeds and perfect for reading a bedtime story just before bed in dim light to make them sleepy. Here you can get 2 touch lamps for just £24.99.

Ok… so… it’s time to add it all up and see if it comes under the £600 mark!

£59.99

£79.00

£69.99

£220.00

£25.00

£20.00

£49.50

£45.00

£3.73

£24.99

= £597.20

Wahoo! There you have it. With a bit of thought, research and using some savvy offers, you can get yourself a stunning nursery for under £600!