One more thing can be crossed off the ol’ nursery to-do list! Changing table? Check!
I remember before Clara was born a co-worker told me that changing tables were unnecessary since you usually end up changing the kid wherever is most convenient – like on the floor or the nearest piece of furniture – rather than going through the formality of walking all the way to the nursery. This was after we had already bought & refinished Clara’s changing table/dresser so the comment stuck with me, thinking I’d fallen into some first-time parent booby trap.
Surprisingly enough, we used Clara’s changing table religiously. Maybe because our house was small or because it was all one level. If we were at home she got changed on that table. And that routine stuck with us even when we moved to our second house, which was twice as big (but still a one level ranch).
Stairs might be a diaper changing game changer, though. So in this house we plan to keep some changing supplies downstairs for convenience. Anything to make your I-have-a-newborn routine easier, right?
We offhandedly mentioned when we started the nursery that we were considering using my dad’s old dresser that’s currently in our closet, which could double as a changing table. It’s not a permanent closet solution for us (we’ll eventually add a built-in closet system), and we kinda liked the story of our son having his grandfather’s 50-year-old dresser. But after completing the built-ins we realized that the eight drawers of storage they afforded us were awesome, and it was probably overkill to add four more on the other side of the room – especially when some sort of open, easy-access toy & game storage would be more useful for us over there.
So we scratched our heads for a little bit, and then we broke down our criteria:
- It needed a wide and flat surface to accommodate our changing pad (at least 15″ wide)
- It needed to have open storage mixed in with the possibility of adding a few bins or baskets to hide diapering stuff for a fleeting period of time
- It most likely needed to be wide (around 60″) to make sense on that long empty wall, while grounding the large bike prints that we planned to hang over it. Sort of like the storage cubbies in the photo below from our last sunroom…
It was literally looking at that photo above (we were checking to see how closely we had hung the prints together) that we had our A-HA! Why not the Expedit? It met all of our criteria and wasn’t serving a permanent function in its current home in our office (where we someday dream of adding an L-shaped file-storage area along with a floating desk/meeting table). And yes, this all happened right right as the news of the Expedit’s demise (or reincarnation?) hit the web – so it was sort of an all-signs-point-to-Expedit moment.
We unloaded everything (contributing more to the disaster that is our office) and I dragged it upstairs to see if the nursery should be its new home. And I say “drag” literally because I didn’t feel comfortable asking Miss Preggers to lift it. It was heavier than I remembered!
We put it in place on the wall opposite the built-ins and well, it was a bit underwhelming. Granted, it was very very empty and even the changing pad would eventually get a colorful cover. But it wasn’t a compelling case for the Expedit.
We leaned the bike art up to see if that helped, which it did, but we still felt like something needed to be done to make the Expedit a little more upgraded and not as blendy with the wall, rug, and doors.
So we had an idea. A hack, if you will. To add some contrast, and sort of nod to Clara’s white-and-wood changing table, we decided to wrap the outside of the Expedit with stained wood. This would also tie it into my homemade bike art frames, as well as the wood-topped built-ins across the room. You know, kinda like this…
That’s not Photoshop above (I wish I was that good!) – it’s the real after. I thought it would help for you to see that before I dove into the How-To part of the post. So let’s rewind to that, which started with me dragging the Expedit back out to the garage.
Our measurements revealed that three 1 x 6″ boards would be wide enough to cover the Expedit, leaving about a 1/2″ of an overhang on each side. This was nice because it would give the changing pad a bit more surface to sit on (it was the exact width of the original Expedit). We bought basic whitewood because it’s the same stuff we used to make our living room console table, which has held up great for the past few years, and the price was right ($5 for a 6 foot piece). We also wanted a slightly rustic wood look, like we achieved with the console table.
Here are all of the pieces once they were cut to size at home on our miter saw.
To attach the boards into big panels, I used my Kreg Jig to create pocket holes and then I could join each set of 3 side-by-side. It’s the same technique I used for the console top, so you can read more about it here. Note: I often make two holes if they’re going to be hidden when using the Kreg, just so if my first attempt at joining doesn’t line up perfectly, I can try again without having to break out the drill again.
Here are the finished boards all joined together. It’s also after I gave them a quick sanding to soften the edges and any ridges between the boards. I only bought two pieces for the bottom since no one will ever see the missing middle piece – so that explains why those are hanging out by themselves at the bottom of this shot.
Before staining, we decided to take wood conditioner for a spin. Its job is to “prepare” the wood for staining, reduce unevenness/blotchiness, and enhance the color. This small can was $6, so it’s not much of a “risk” – and richer and more even results sounded good to us. It goes on much like stain – you brush or wipe it on, let it penetrate for a few minutes (I gave it 15), and then wipe off the excess. You just have to be sure to stain within 2 hours of the application.
We used the same Minwax Dark Walnut stain that we’ve used elsewhere in the room for consistency (like on the counters of the built-ins and the bike art frames) and only needed one coat. For demonstration purposes, I stained a piece of unconditioned scrap wood (it’s the same exact type of wood, just a leftover piece) to see if there was a difference in using the conditioner. Both Sherry and I were pretty surprised by the comparison. I definitely felt the stain soak in more on the conditioned wood during application, and the color is noticeably richer/warmer on the conditioned wood.
When the stain and my two coats of Safecoat Acrylaq were dry (that’s our favorite poly alternative because it’s non-toxic and locks in any potential fumes or offgasing) I could finally begin attaching these wooden panels to the Expedit. I decided to go with a simple wood-glue-and-nails system, so that I wouldn’t have screw heads to hide after the fact. I prepped the Expedit surface by roughing it up a bit with sandpaper and then applying a bunch of wood glue.
Then I used my nail gun to secure them in place with some 1.75″ brad nails (thank goodness for the thick frame on the Expedit).
Then I did the same with the sides for sort of a waterfall-edge effect.
I let those dry overnight before attempting to flip the piece over and attach the bottom pieces. You can see how I just put them on either end in this shot, since that middle slice will never be seen.
After letting everything dry for a couple of days, I dragged it back upstairs and started on the next step – adding legs and casters. Sherry and I thought two of these chunky $5 casters from Home Depot would be a nice touch, while some stationery legs (made from 2 x 2″ pine and Kregged to the back and middle) would keep it from rolling around mid-diaper-change.
If you’re scratching your head about where the casters were on the after picture, well, they weren’t there. Because we decided they weren’t right for this application. The height they added made the changing pad uncomfortably high (we thought we’d like that added height, but it was a good deal higher than the changing pad height that we were used to in Clara’s room) plus it would’ve meant the art above it would have to hang even higher than the doorway tops, which we thought would look off.
But we really liked the look of it, so we wanted to share the idea in case it worked better for someone else’s application…
It was just a matter of unscrewing a few things to get back to the sitting-straight-on-the-floor look (which also has the benefit of not creating a spot for dust and toys to collect). Then Sherry helped me hang the art and fill the shelves.
Update: There have been a few questions about the height of the changing station. The Expedit itself is 31″ and the wood frame added a few more inches, and the pad itself sits on top of the dresser, so the baby is around 34″ from the ground on the Expedit with the pad on it. Clara’s dresser with the pad on it was around 33″ from the ground – so that range seems to be what we prefer.
The stuff on the shelves is mostly placeholder items (another bin or basket for diapering supplies will definitely end up in the mix). In fact they’ve already been tweaked a little in the rest of the photos in this post. But you hopefully get the idea of how this’ll function for us.
It’s nice to have some concealed storage, plus some open toys and books that he can easily access. The 3 Sprouts dragon box was a gift from Sherry’s friend Cat during Clara’s dragon-loving days that Clara brought in and said was for her brother because he likes green (yes, Sherry melted into a puddle). Who knew those bins were perfectly sized for an Expedit? Apparently Clara did.
We might need to get a few more large baskets to house diapers and wipes more easily, but other than that, this changing area has shaped up quite nicely. Well, except for the fact that the changing pad cover is just leftover fabric that Sherry tucked around it – so we have to buy/make a real cover soon.
The funniest part of this entire endeavor was when Clara brought in a baby onesie from a to-be-washed pile in the guest bedroom and said Barnacle wanted to wear it while we took his picture. Apparently we have an accidental tradition of dressing up not-real-babies in the nursery before the real baby arrives, since this happened in Clara’s crib after we set it up.
Oh and for anyone wondering how the changing pad is secured in place, it’s the same one we used for Clara, and it has two over-sized snaps on the back that attach to snaps that get screwed into the furniture or wall from the back. These are pics from making Clara’s dresser (which you read more about here) but we were easily able to remove them and screw them into the back edge of the Expedit.
We’ve also used heavy duty 3M command velcro to adhere the bike art firmly to the wall beyond the screws-into-studs/anchors hanging method that we used. So the little guy shouldn’t able to knock it off the wall or even pull it off (not that he’ll ever be unsupervised up there anyway). We did joke that it could get peed on, but the slick poster board material will hopefully work in our favor. We also have a hilarious tiny tent-like item that was a gift for keeping the spray at bay, if you will.
We’re really happy with how this little upgrade turned out, and we’re hoping it has some lasting value as toy and book storage when Barnacle gets older. I’m already picturing it stuffed with bins of legos. And the cost of our update was around $45 – the wood was $39 and the wood conditioner was $6 – since we already owned the stain and returned the casters (you can add $15 to cover those if you don’t have ’em).
The nursery is feeling much more complete now that we’ve dealt with that formerly empty wall. And Sherry’s putting the finishing touches on her mobile project for over the crib (this is just a photoshopped version of what she’s going for), so she’ll be back with those details in the next few days. It’s amazing how much more homey a room feels without two big blank walls staring back at you.
Aaaaaand I just realized the fun part of diaper changing is pretty much over. It only gets uglier from here. Speaking of which, we haven’t forgotten that we need to add a place for dirty diapers (we’ve had luck with this method for Clara, so we might go that route again). How’s that for a note to leave off on?
Do you guys use changing tables, or are you bed/floor/random-other-spot folks? Have you done anything fun to an Expedit lately? It’s amazing how many hacks there are. Can you believe Ikea’s retiring them (or at least tweaking and renaming them)? Will the new name stick, or will we all still call them Expedits?
PS: Wanna see another fun furniture hack? Check out this cool paint pattern we added to a thrift store desk.
Update – Wanna know where we got something in our house or what paint colors we used? Just click on this button:
Alexa says
Looks great! We love our Expedit in our daughters room – mostly full of books and two of the 3 Sprouts bins. We added a painted board to the back of our Expedit to match a dresser, both painted blue. Our changing table is still in frequent use after nearly 2.5 years. Ours is set up in the extra large hall bath which is great for messy cloth diapers.
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds really sweet!
xo
s
Julie says
Wow, how perfect! You two are “use what ya got” geniuses. Thank you for the constant inspiration.
Susan says
Best IKEA hack I’ve seen in a long time. Love those Expedits!
Lindsay says
love it! We don’t have room for a changing table, so we use the changing pad on our bed. I LOVE the 3 Spouts dragon storage box. I think I’m going to have to buy it since when my LO was in the womb, the hubby called him Dragonhunter which he got from some FB thing that had nature baby name suggestions http://www.pinterest.com/pin/215469163394794056/
YoungHouseLove says
That. Is. Hilarious.
xo
s
Kay says
Wow! Beautiful and very creative upgrade to this pretty basic IKEA piece. Nice work, you guys. We also used a dresser for our changing station and used it religiously as well (I think your observation about the one level ranch house aspect is key). Now that he’s out of diapers, it’s great to have a functional piece left behind rather than a changing table that’s not really very versatile.
Rebecca Foxworth says
The solution to a downstairs changing table is as simple for you as it is for us. You know those Target faux-leather ottomans? Yeah. We just put changing stuff inside and sat it in an easy to get to place (for us…that’s near the couch). Boom. Problem solved. We were always there with one hand on the baby, so “roll off” wasn’t an issue.
YoungHouseLove says
Smart!
xo
s
MG says
That’s so funny. I’d never dream of changing a baby just “wherever” on a regular basis. And I’ve had 4 so far. I don’t know anybody that does that! Glad you found a solution. I love the wood detail.
Christine says
That is exactly what we are using for a changing table (except the smaller 4 cube Expedit). I couldn’t bring myself to buy an actual changing table piece of furniture since I wasn’t sure we’d actually use it that much, so about a week after my due date (we didn’t even have the crib until around then), I decided to see how my bedside Expedit would look, and it worked out really well.
We didn’t use it too much in our old townhouse (two stories) because we changed where ever we were, but once we switched to cloth diapers (and then bought a ranch), that became the dedicated spot.
YoungHouseLove says
So glad it works for you! Others have been saying that maybe it’s a cloth diapering thing (to have a zone and not just do it everywhere) so it could be why we use it so religiously instead of just doing it anywhere.
xo
s
Tammy says
So was it coincidence that the onesie Clara picked out had a bicycle on it to go with your prints? I think not – that girl has skills! :-)
YoungHouseLove says
It was so funny when she came running in with that!
xo
s
Amber says
I’m in love.
And I am totally the same way about the changing table. We just used a dresser in our ranch style home but now that we have two stories (and another child that we couldn’t exactly leave alone), it’s easier to do diaper changes downstairs (if someone has already mentioned this, forgive me!) SO we put a dresser downstairs with diapers and wipes in a drawer and it is perfect!
Obviously, we still have a dresser upstairs with a pad for middle of the night fun but the downstairs hidden system makes life easier during the day.
Everything looks so good!
~Amber
Amber says
Annnddd, the person above me mentioned an idea. Sorry! That’s what I get for not reading everything…and another note, we didn’t change him on the dresser downstairs, it just housed supplies for diapers and coloring and cords, etc…:)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, no worries! It’s a good idea Amber!
xo
s
Amy E says
Hey, I know this has nothing to do with your post today, it’s more about your bedroom paint, but I couldn’t find that post so I thought this would be easier…hopefully that’s ok :) Anyways, I love the black pepper color you chose for your bedroom, and was thinking of painting our master bedroom the same color, but here’s my question. The rest of our house colors are more neutral brown/tan and light, airy blue. I think the black pepper would be a lot darker, and definitely more gray than any other paint we have in our house. Would you guys recommend going with the black pepper paint, or sticking more to the coloring we already have? I know it’s hard to know, since you haven’t seen our house, but in general, is that a big no-no? Thanks in advance for your help!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah, it sounds like it could blend right in. It’s sort of the dark and moody counterpart, but if airy blues and other neutrals are in other areas, it’s just sort of a deeper blue to go with those tones. Maybe get a test pot if you’re not sure though?
xo
s
Lisa says
Yum! That wood looks so luscious.
erin says
for my daughter we had a changing pad on top of a dresser too, with some shelves above it to hold all the diapering supplies. we used it pretty religiously with her. we also had a TINY house at that point, so we didn’t really have any place to keep extra diaper stuff. my son on the other hand has always been changed on the floor or the bed. the dresser we used for our daughter went into her closet when we moved to our new house and since we spent the majority of our time in the family room, that just seemed to be the easiest place to change him. we have a basket of diaper supplies under an end table that’s easily accessible. we never used one of those “peepee teepees” with our son. he was always the type to pee the second the diaper was pulled back, so there was no time to put anything on. we would just barely pull it back and then put the diaper back and that usually took care of things pretty well. my daughter though was worse at peeing on us than our son was!!
Lauren says
It looks great!
I have a question, though: Why do Americans (an Canadians, from what I have seen) change their babies sideways? It’s probably just about what one is used to, but it has always seemed so strange to me. Over here, changing tables are a lot deeper, and you change the baby with the feet facing you.
YoungHouseLove says
So funny! To me that would be really hard since I’m used to it sideways! Does anyone else from the states change their kiddos feet-first? I guess it’s all about what you’re used to, huh?!
xo
s
schmei says
That’s funny! I noticed the way it was setup and presumed you two must both be right-handed. Hubs is a lefty, and we arranged our changing pad the other way (he changed 99% of the diapers in the early weeks) and I just got used to changing that way.
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, we’re both righties. Although Clara is our brilliant little leftie-girl ;)
xo
s
Cara@theProjectAddict says
Wow, I have only seen babies changed sideways too. I will have to try the Canadian way and see if it is easier.
Mallory says
Growing up, my mom just changed my sisters and me on the floor or the bed with our feet towards her. But whenever I babysat, other people had changing tables (usually with shelves above them that added to the awkwardness) where I was forced to change the babies sideways. It wasn’t so bad if they were little babies, but once they were a few months old, it got exponentially more awkward.
Andrea G says
That is funny! I’m from the States and in my family we always change babies with their feet facing us and it never really occurred to me that people have a preference between horizontal or vertical babies!
Heather says
Yep, in Australia everyone changes with the feet towards you, I can’t imagine trying to change a baby from the side! I’ve always wondered why American do it sideways and always thought it the change tables looked awkward as lots of people have them so you cant stand on the short end to change so have to change from the side.
I guess it all depends on what you are used to, but I always find it interesting the way different countries do things. BTW love the hack!
Gaby says
Is the tent-like gift the pee pee teepee? Goofy name, and a kind of useless piece of baby boy equipment, unless you like soggy projectiles! You might be amazed at the, um…distance your little guy will achieve. Nursery looks beautiful, and I can’t wait to see your little boy in it, so I can only imagine how excited you all are.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, some others have said the pee pee teepee is terrible too! So funny that it flies off/doesn’t work! The consensus seems to be a wipe or a washcloth or just having the second diaper super ready at all time. Will have to see how it goes…
xo
s
Sarah Kate says
I love this addition! I think it fits in the room perfectly!! We have the Hemnes 3 drawer chest from IKEA in our nursery on top of which is a changing pad. It’s 38″ tall which is a height I actually love even though I’m short (5’2″)! With our 1st baby, we changed him on the changing pad every time. But when our 2nd came along…We only change her on the changing pad if we’re upstairs. It’s so much more convenient to change her on the floor in the living room rather than taking her upstairs and leaving our crazy 2.5 year old unsupervised! We have a small basket with a few diapers, wipes, and a travel changing pad in the living room and it works out perfectly!
Jyl says
Ha ha ha ha. The pee-pee teepee! You’re about to learn how far your son can spray a soggy fabric cone! (Mine got about 5′). They didnt work for us, but blowing a puff of air down the front of the diaper, and then a little gentle pressure to check for a new warm spot kept us all a little cleaner. It feel weird, I’m not gonna lie, but it worked for my cousin’s baby boy too.
I *love* your nursery, guys, great job!
YoungHouseLove says
So funny! Never heard that tip before!
xo
s
Annie Marshall says
Love it. An idea for downstairs is a pack and play. I have 5 kids, when my youngest was born it was a shock and I found a changing table was very necessary to keep my other little ones out of the mess. I couldn’t always leave the room so we kept a pack in play in the living room. It made an easy place to change and keep the supplies. Also it was a safe place to lay the baby if I had to grab something and the other littles were in the room ( my twins were 2 at the time.) I didn’t need it long but it worked and as soon as we didn’t need it we packed it aways and just used it for trips.
YoungHouseLove says
Great tip!
xo
s
Sam says
We used a pack-n-play downstairs for daytime naps and changing (it had a detachable changing platform). We also had a little diaper “caddy” downstairs to store wipes, diapers and cream. It worked well in our two-story! I agree with other comments about using a wash cloth vs. the pee pee tee-pee. We’d also place a cloth diaper on the changing pad to catch drips so we didn’t have to wash the entire pad after every squirt. :)
Kim says
We live in a raised ranch so for the most part we used our Changing Table – but it is really the top of large dresser that has the two different heights. the lower middle section has the pad and the two higher sections held the hand sanitizer, wipes, creams, kleenex etc and the drawers held the diapers. When we were searching for a house – we saw one cape where the owners created a built in changing station by building out a box over the radiator in their downstairs bathroom. It blended right into the decor but was completely functional, Would love to see you guys create something fun.
We just kept a basket in our downstairs room with a changing supplies for those quick changes when we were not near the bedrooms.
One quick tip for boys – we always used the gerber or walmart brand cloth diapers for burp cloths, spills, nursing cover etc because of their big size. With our first we also kept them handy to provide cover when changing a diaper. The tee-pee things never worked for us.
Rebecca says
Love this hack! Have you guys considered staining the corners and top/bottom bars of the crib and leaving the slats white, to mimic the look of the changing table? This room is looking very cool while remaining nice and bright/airy. Yet another great room in your home!
YoungHouseLove says
That could be fun! We stained the drawer on the bottom so I think we have that two-tone thing going on, but maybe if the little guy beats up the top edge we’ll be itching to stain and seal it or something…
xo
s
Jessica @ Decor Adventures says
What a great makeover! I was thinking you should put some legs on it, but glad it will work for you on the floor.
We have one as our entertainment center that I’d love to hack up. I’ll send a link if I do!
The space is looking really nice, perfect colors :-)
Emily says
How do you decide what to put on bookshelves/on top of furniture? I’m having the hardest time trying to come up with ideas for what to put on top of our two dressers in our master bedroom so they are functional but also nicely decorated. We’re also working on our nursery and I am stumped as to what to put on the shelves. You seem to fill them up so easily/quickly and they look amazing!
YoungHouseLove says
You’re so sweet Emily! I think I just play around and step back and try something else, and leave the room, and come back and switch things around. It’s a whole lot of noodling. But once things are done there are certain “patterns” I notice about what seems to be pleasing to the eye, so I was actually planning to write a post about that for ya!
xo
s
Keeley says
Our son is 19 months old and we lived in a 3 level townhome when he was an infant. We had a changing table/dresser in his bedroom upstairs and we kept a Pack and Play/bassinet for changing on the first floor. We moved to a larger home when he turned one and now we tend to go upstairs to his room for #2 changes, but we use the ottoman in the living room for #1 changes. We keep a basket with diapers, wipes, and a blanket to cover the ottoman in the living room. It works for us.
YoungHouseLove says
Love all the tips/advice/suggestions guys. Thanks for sharing!
xo
s
schmei says
That is really nice! My FIL built a beautiful sewing table for my MIL a few years ago, but he just upgraded her to a bigger one (she’s an amazing quilter and needs a lot of room) and we got the old sewing table – it’s the perfect height for diaper changes and has a nice shelf for supplies, and then when we’re through with diapers it can return to life as a sewing table! Good thing we have that because otherwise I’d be lobbying the hubs to re-purpose our Expedit.
As a boy mom (and about 6 weeks away from having TWO boys in my house) I will say that the bike poster is nigh-guaranteed to get peed on in the early weeks. Don’t doubt the range these little guys have! But if you wipe it off pronto you should be OK (or you could just take the posters down for a few weeks… the super-spray time is thankfully short lived).
Larissa says
The changing table was a huge debate with my husband before our 1st was born. I insisted we needed something to change the baby on. He insisted we would just change the baby wherever. I won. :) For a long time we used the bathroom counter. It was great having the sink right there for warm water on our cloth wipes. Now we just use the top of a dresser. I am definitely for having a designated area that has everything I need.
P.S. Add me to the “peepee teepees don’t work” club. It’s pretty funny to watch them fly in the air, though, so you should definitely try them just for entertainment value.
Karen says
That rug in there is sooooo cute! Makes it cozy.
Phoebe says
When our daughter was in diaper land, we lived in a two story townhouse. The trek up and down was really tiresome, not to mention I was always afraid that in my sleep deprived state I would tumble, baby in arms, down the stairs! We got a cleaning caddy (http://www.amazon.com/Casabella-4-Gallon-Rectangular-Bucket-Translucent/dp/B00167V9II/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1393263484&sr=8-3&keywords=cleaning+caddy — not very attractive and i’m sure you could come up with something cuter) and stuffed it full of changing essentials, and slid a mat (we had one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Frog-Prince-Portable-Changing-Fabler/dp/B002VBK7X6 but it looks like they don’t sell it anymore — boo!) inside and just toted it around wherever we needed it. It worked really, really, well.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip Phoebe!
xo
s
Elizabeth says
As a previous poster recommended, I like having a basket or space on top of the surface for items like wipes, diaper cream, etc. Our little boy arrived in December, and I’ve learned that when changing a baby boy, time is of the essence–you don’t have time to dither in between diapers! My husband has yet to figure this out, and consequently gets sprayed more often:)
Nursery is looking great…I’m enjoying watching it all come together. This baby is our first, and designing the nursery was one of my favorite parts of my pregnancy:)
VTMamateurs says
Can’t imagine life without our changing table(s)!! I still use it for dressing my 3 year old.
Cara@theProjectAddict says
I really love the wood solution. It looks nice and more custom. We have a one level house too and ALWAYS use our changing table. I think with cloth diapers though it is easier too since you need to be close to your wet bag anyway.
Danielle Rogers says
I was told that changing tables were a waste but I knew I wanted one anyway. For me they are not a waste! You spend so much time changing diapers that I think its really nice to have a functional, comfortable, designated spot. I hate when I have to change the baby on the ground. So uncomfortable! When we lived in a two story, I had a changing table upstairs in the bedroom and down stairs in the office area. It worked great! So I’m totally with you guys on the changing table issue! I LOVE the way your ikea hack turned out. So pretty! Good job :)
Karyn says
With my first baby, we went the whole “Babies R Us matching furniture route”. It was such junk that after my second baby, we threw it out. I couldn’t even donate it. So for our third baby, we went the old dresser route. I prefer the height if this far more than the official changing table we had. And I do change her in there all of the time. I do have wipes and diapers stashed in a basket in the playroom though. Sometimes playing is too fun to walk all the way upstairs :)
Carrie says
We had a ranch while our oldest kids were little and used the changing table (which was made from an old dresser that came with the house) a lot! It was so easy with the bedroom so close. When we moved to a 2 story when the younger kids were little, we never went upstairs to change a diaper. Just had a stash of diapers/wipes/changing blanket in a basket in an end table in the living room and changed the kids on the floor. I was always glad I had the changing table upstairs though because I loved it and it did get used for night-time changes or when we were upstairs. Now that all 4 are out of diapers, my oldest daughter has the converted dresser that does not look like a changing table and loves it. I think your new setup will work great.
Staci says
I absolutely love this hack! I’m a huge fan of ikea hacks, and even though this one is relatively simple, it’s awesome and really vamps the piece. We have the smaller version of this in our daughters nursery and now I am seriously considering trying this out. Oh, and we’ve used our designated changing table with both of our babies. It just seems to work so much better with the organization and everything you’d need right there, including an extra outfit for those messy changes. The nursery is looking great! :)
Jill H says
Thank you so much for this post! Our baby is due in July, and we’ve been debating between buying a dresser/changing table or somehow repurposing one of the few random dressers we already have in the house (why we have extra dressers, I’m not sure). This post + the link to Clara’s dresser makeover + showing the snaps attached to the back sealed the deal. Thank you!
YoungHouseLove says
So glad Jill! Good luck with everything!
xo
s
Cathy C. says
I went back through, and have found where you said you were going to switch to reusable wipes, but never found a post where you actually did… Just wondering if you guys ever did make the jump? If not, do you think you will this time?
What about newborn cloth diapers? I remember you used disposable with Clara for the first 8 weeks or so…
I love the hack, I am pretty tall, so would probably like the legs, but I can see how lower is nice too!
YoungHouseLove says
We always meant to but never made the cloth wipe leap! Hoping to give them a go for this baby. As for newborn diapers, it just goes so fast (and they poop so much) that we’re happy to stick with disposables for that first few months and then move onto using the all-in-ones. Just feels intimidating to spend the same amount of money for newborn diapers to only get a few months’ use out of them, and then get to use the all-in-ones for the next 2+ years, ya know?
xo
s
Melissa says
love, love, love the hack. Also love that you did not go traditional baby blue, not that I thought you would, but the colors in the nursery are lovely.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much Melissa!
xo
s
jp says
I like the elegance the dark wood adds to the white Expedit!
I just wanted to share a stain alternative for projects like this where the wood is less than perfect. All those knots – oy!
We recently redid our wood stairs that were in too poor of condition to simply stain. We used latex paint and thinned it with a little water. We were able to match the color of the paint to the existing laminate floors and the semi-opaqueness of the thinned out paint hid a lot of the flaws while showing a bit of the grain. A couple coats of poly and they look amazing.
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds really cool JP!
xo
s
Meg says
This may be one of my favorite projects yet. so simple and so perfect. we are redoing our basement (contractors are working right now!) and I was looking for a way to beef up our expedit storage and this is perfect. I have been reading your blog for years and this has to be one of my top 10 favorites! Thanks for the great idea! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much Meg! Good luck with yours!
xo
s
Miranda says
That changing station looks awesome! As for keeping a few diapers and wipes on the lower level – DO IT! We’ve always kept a supply on our main level for quick changes (we just kept them tucked away in a little basket on our bookshelf) and then went upstairs to the change table for um, the messier jobs.
Bethany says
We have an Expedit that we use as my son’s changing table, too – it’s worked awesome for us! We have 4 bins and keep one empty as a mini-hamper – we love being able to throw dirty clothes in there when we’re putting on PJs. He’s now 17 months, and it’s amazing how many times we’ve changed the contents of the cubes and what goes where. The beautiful thing about using the Expedit is that it grows as he grows! Yours is much fancier looking with the wood additions, though :)
YoungHouseLove says
It has been so awesome to hear from all the other Expedit changing table users out there! Thanks for chiming in, guys!
xo
s
Jana says
I think Dana from House Tweaking uses an Expedit as a changing table too. Looks good guys!
It’s pretty hard to avoid being peed on by a little boy. It’ll probably happen at least once ;). Maybe he’ll miss the posters though :)
YoungHouseLove says
You’re right, I went back and looked and Dana is part of the Expedit changing table club! I love her nursery. Such a sweet space for that little girl!
xo
s
Viviana says
The nursery is looking great! Such inspiration for my bun in the oven’s room! P.S. My sister has a boy and had the pee pee tee pee and she said it always fell off. She would just throw a wipe down on top just in case which came in handy quite a few times. Good luck!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Viviana!
xo
s
tyra says
i wonder if your co-worker was referring more to a true “changing table” the ones that come in “nursery sets” at places like target…vs a changing pad on top of a functional dresser/other piece of furniture. i would never buy a changing table, but would fore sure have a changing pad in a permeant location….
p.s. obsessed with your hack! love the wood/white combo!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s definitely possible!
-John
Carrie says
I know there were plenty who told us not to get a changing table but we were definitely ones to use a changing table with our little boy. We had the dresser upstairs with the pad on top and the pack-and-play downstairs. It was just more comfortable for us rather than changing him on the floor. To each his own.
Someone has probably mentioned this already (I haven’t read 360+ responses) but to eliminate spray from a little boy, put a burp cloth or the next diaper over his parts as soon as you take off the dirty dipe. The “peepee teepees” were more cute than useful. Oh, and make certain parts point down when you put the diaper on. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip Carrie!
xo
s
Jess says
What a great Expedit hack! We have three of those units in different rooms of our house and I’ll have to keep this in mind as a way to refresh the look in the future. Excellent job!
I am with you on using the changing pad religiously in our house. My son is 19 months old and we still use his changing pad in his room for all diaper and clothing changes. We also have a one-story ranch house so it’s not a big deal to go to his room every time. I also love keeping everything in one place in the house.
We use a 3-drawer hemnes dresser from ikea as his changing table. I agree that it’s nice to have more function to the changing table so that it can be used for other things down the line.
Steph says
We used the Expedit for my son and a regular old dresser for my daughter and l like the Expedit much better. Way more room for supplies and it’s at the perfect height! I love the wood additions!
YoungHouseLove says
So glad to hear you liked it! Wow, even more than a dresser? Is it weird that I’m oddly excited to change diapers now. Yup. It is.
xo
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Liz says
This is one of my favorite Ikea hacks…I love how the wood ties in with your built-ins.
I received the same advice about not needing a changing table, and I’m so glad we listened. We’ve never missed it! On each floor of our house we have a basket with diaper changing supplies and this amazing changing pad. It’s HUGE (my tall 2-year-old still has plenty of coverage) and has withstood about a thousand trips through the washing machine/dryer. http://www.amazon.com/Kushies-Deluxe-Flannel-Change-Bubbles/dp/B00568MOOG/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1393265921&sr=8-6&keywords=diaper+pad
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds awesome Liz!
xo
s
Emily says
Love the contrasting white, green, dark wood. That dragon basket is the icing on the cake. We used dresser top changing too and loved it. Now we are change pad free!!! I think cloth diapers are a great motivator for potty training. ;)