Before and After: A Cheery Nursery Filled with IKEA Hacks

We’ve all got that one space in our home that we haven’t really put much thought into because it’s just not been important—a junk drawer, a spare closet, or maybe even a full room. That’s what Lexi Cavazos and her husband had in their home: am extra room that they’d left the way it had looked when they moved in. “The room was a small beige-on-beige spare room we had used for storage and foolishness,” Lexi says. “It had busted blinds and a mysterious stain on the carpet. We called it the ‘vanilla box.'”

Once Lexi found out she was pregnant, she says, “we knew the days of our ugly storage room were over. We were excited to transform the ugliest room in our house to our baby’s beautiful nursery!”

They hired a pro to remove the old carpet and install new oak floors—bye, mystery stain! That ate about $2,000 of the $5,000 budget; another big chunk went to the IKEA PAX storage unit, which they custom-tailored to the space. Two wardrobes on either side fit clothes; the middle holds books and toys. “We wanted the unit to be future-proof, so we considered what our baby would need now and 10 years from now—hence the full-size shoe rack and removable second tier clothes rack,” Lexi says.

A new ceiling fan is much more modern-looking than the old one, and gives off much brighter light, too. Another huge, impactful upgrade? Custom shades to replace the broken blinds. These lemon-print ones are from Etsy.

While most of the walls are now crisp white (Benjamin Moore’s Super White)—which also helps the room feel brighter—the wall behind the crib features a beachy wall mural that Lexi says looks like an actual local beach. The couple added their own spin with a cute hot air balloon model. The room’s doors are painted a complementary blue (Benjamin Moore’s Jamaican Aqua). “The extra aqua paint was used to paint several Ikea spice racks that we fashioned into bookshelves,” Lexi says—she got the idea on Pinterest!

A white crib from IKEA is fitted with clementine-printed sheets to complement the new citrusy shades.

“Everything was chosen to have a sparkle of sweetness,” Lexi says. “We love the room for the cozy feeling it emits, and for the excellent storage. More importantly, our son loves his room!”

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