After the initial excitement of knowing that you are having a baby and looking at all the incredibly cute things you can buy you get to the sudden realisation that considering the newest member or your family may be the smallest member of the clan but they come with so much stuff. Not all of this stuff is pretty or looks like it belongs in a Pinterest worthy nursery. We are talking muslin cloths, (you can never have too many), clothes, nappies, towels, dribble bibs, creams, baby wipes, a whole mess of crap that needs to be squared away in order for you to stay sane. There are lots of articles talking about the negative psychological effects of clutter, here is a link to one of them.
With Sebastian I did not have a changing unit I thought of it as a really frivolous add on purchase, my lower back paid for this decision. I had already made space in our bedroom and wanted to kill two birds with one stone, have a closed cupboard for all the ‘stuff” and have a changing unit. Most of the nicer changing units out there were overpriced and had open shelving, I wanted to hide away these items. I set myself a budget of £30 and hit the junk shops.
What I found for £30 exactly was a 1980 drinks cabinet. It had lots of storage and it was the right height for changing.
I painted the unit in Annie Slone Old White. I have since discovered Sarah Jayne Chalk Paints after working with them on a collaboration and I wish I had used them on this project as it is much easier to achieve a flat look with their paint it is not as gloopy and there is no need to wax afterwards, ahh well you live and learn.
I picked up some nice colourful replacement handles from a local store and bought a changing wedge, these wedge mats do actually help the rolling over in the middle of the nappy that will start happening sooner than you think.
I wanted to have a small store on the side that was open for grabbing things as needed so I painted everyone’s favourite Ikea spice rack. The Bekvam has to be the most hacked Ikea item do you agree?
Having this on the side allows for a couple of chaging essentials that can be restocked so the unit was functional and still hid the clutter.
We are pretty happy to have this in the bedroom and when it is time for it to go I plan to get a snuggler seat for book reading.
Charli Russon
This such a great little renovation project. It looks great and can easily be used as a great piece of storage furniture long after nappy changing times. I'm also loving the art work – where is that from?
C x
Hannah Wood
Wow oh wow I would never of thought of doing something like this just shows what you can do.
Mellissa Williams
I love the mismatched cabinet knobs, so cool and a useful addition to any nursery too
RachyReviews
What a lovely up-cycling project, it nearly makes me want to have baby number two as I miss sourcing all the items, being very frugal and sewing the fruits of our labour (Literally!). This has really given me some inspiration, thank you!
Rachy x
http://www.rachyreviews.com
Laura Ferry
What a great idea for creating a baby changing unit and so personalised compared to ones that you'd buy in the shops. I need to get upcycling! xxx
Elizabeth
What a fab project! I've heard good things about that chalk paint – I ought to give it a try sometime. PS – you might want to fix the typo in your blog title. 😉
Jenni
Ahh this is so lovely, we never used a changing table, I bought one but because he ended up co sleeping with us it was in the wrong room
Nicolette Lafonseca-Hargreaves
We co sleep too I never had an opinion on it until Sebastian and now I am so pro co sleeping
Nicolette Lafonseca-Hargreaves
Thank you on both countsbthat sleep deprivation is real
Anonymous
I love this I like how it does not look to much like baby furniture
Melanie Williams
What a lovely idea. Very nice to make a personalised piece for a baby room x
dennda
Your project looks lovely and you had a great idea of converting that old drinks cabinet into a changing unit. I have a friend who just had a baby and I know how much more money she spends now, and changing tables are very expensive.
Joanna Davis
Your project looks lovely and you had a great idea of converting that old drinks cabinet into a changing unit. I have a friend who just had a baby and I know how much more money she spends now, and changing tables are very expensive.
Bethany Sibley
That’s so cute, and a great idea. With so much room to customise it as your own to satisfy everyone’s needs.
Msddah A
This is so cute and I love the pic of the pregnant mom at the end. Great post
Kirsty Ralph
I never even considered making my own change table but it seems so much easier to do than I would of have though. I really love the idea of upcycling old units.
Helerina
Your changing table looks gorgeous, it looks so much easier to do than I would have thought. You would never guess it was a drinks cabinet in a previous life.
Rhian Westbury
Such a good project and a great way to save money as you're right babies need so much stuff it can all work out pretty expensive x
Sarah
A really lovely upcycling project, it looks pretty and I love the drawer knobs! A changing unit is definitely something you feel you need to buy as a new mum, but they're so expensive! So upcycling your own is a fab idea x
Yeah Lifestyle
This is such a great idea and I totally champion having a changing unit as I did by back too bending down on the bed / floor etc when I had my first child.
Leigh Travers
Oh wow, this looks absolutely fantastic! I love the mismatched handles too – so cute!
Becca
I keep coming back to your article and wondering if I should make one of these for myself – I don't have a baby, but I think this piece of furniture is super cute! x
Dena Jayne
Such a fab idea, I love up-cycling!
Hollie Brooks | Audenza.com
What a great idea! Babies are soooo expensive, you have to get creative to make the most of a budget! Hollie x
Donna Ford
Nifty idea! Wish I’d known to do this before my sons were born x
Stacey Sheppard
Such a clever idea. I debated whether or not a changing unit was an essential purpose and I'm so pleased I had one. I picked up a second hand one for a bargain price and it served us so well. The open shelving did make it a bit of an eyesore though. Yours is much prettier and far more practical. Love the idea of adding the spice rack!
Juan Sandiego
You've definitely given an old drinks cabinet a new life! I must say I've never tried chalk paint, but I'm going to take note of Sarah Jayne paints as you say.