copyright 2009, The Washington Post WASHINGTON -- When family and friends found out I was pregnant, one of the first things they said after offering hearty congratulations was, 'You must be so excited to do the nursery.' Given my job as a reporter who covers home design, and the fact that I love decorating projects, it's a perfectly sensible statement. But to be honest, designing a nursery didn't appeal to me. My house is a sea of soothing neutrals, and the thought of injecting lots of color made me nervous. Plus, I didn't want to spend time and money on a room that I would probably redo in a few years. Then I found out we were having a girl. I have nothing against boys and would have been thrilled to have one, but do you know how much cute stuff there is for little girls? A lot. And most of it's incredibly sweet and pink. Within days of finding out the sex of our child, I had created a design plan for the now-former guest room. But before I started spending money, I decided to seek out some expert advice. I contacted three area designers who have recently designed nurseries for their own homes to find out what they chose and why. Going Traditional Samantha Friedman had definite goals when she designed the nursery for her first child, Eric, born in July. 'I wanted a traditional crib and furniture, but I also wanted something fun and funky,' says the suburban Gaithersburg, Md., designer. 'I also didn't want to spend a lot of money on this room, and I wanted a room that could grow with him.' Today, the room is a cozy and fun space that combines traditional elements (dark wood furniture) with a modern look (a color scheme that includes orange and turquoise and a stenciled animal wallpaper). 'I really wanted to take an adult room and make it suitable for a child. Kids' rooms don't have to match the rest of the house, but for me, that's more soothing.' Friedman saved money on the crib bedding and splurged on things that would have staying power, such as custom shelving and window treatments. 'As we were putting the stuffed animals up there, I was imagining as he got older there would be soccer trophies or algebra books,' she says. Custom window treatments, which are usually pricey, were important to Friedman. She lowered the cost a bit by using a cotton fabric that was $12 a yard. 'The window is really big in the room, and I needed something that would go with the bedding,' she says. 'The drapery made all the difference in the world.' Being Green McLean, Va., designer Shanon Munn thought long-term and eco-friendly when she designed a nursery for her daughter, Silvy, now 2 1/2. 'Doing a room is a significant investment, and I wanted something that would be as appropriate now as it would be when she's a teenager,' she says. She first considered a solid-color area rug, but 'I went with a tightly patterned wool rug, and I'm so glad I did. I can't tell you how many accidents we've had on it, and it always cleans right up.' She saved on bedding, accessories and artwork, and spent more on the larger elements. 'I had no problem spending on the core pieces because I knew they were going to be around for a long time,' Munn says. Rather than buy all new furniture, Munn reused old pieces when she could. She found a tattered 1960s swivel rocker on Craigslist and had an upholsterer remake the chair to fit her style and needs. For a changing table, Munn uses an antique kitchen island that could easily be used as storage in another room down the road. 'My philosophy is using pieces of quality that have longevity. I didn't want to get rid of a changing table and a glider that were very specific to a nursery in two years.' Saving Money Designer Alison Naden's strategy was choosing simple, inexpensive pieces that could be easily replaced. Unlike Friedman and Munn, she didn't find out the sex of her baby ahead of time. Her son, Sullivan ('Sully'), is 8 weeks old. 'It was just meant to be a really simple, understated nursery,' says Naden, of Purcellville, Va. 'I didn't want there to be a theme. I was going for something simple that could change when he got older.' She bought a crib and two dressers from Ikea because the finish of the woods coordinated with an existing wall of shelving. She liked the crib bedding from Ikea so much she bought six duvet covers in the same pattern, which a friend fashioned into a window valance. She completed the windows with red curtain panels from Ikea ($40 a pair) that she had lined. Although she saved on the furniture, she splurged on the window treatments. 'It creates such a strong design feature,' she says. 'I knew that in order to add softness to the room it was going to have to be with window treatments. She hung an extra set of the red panels on each side of the bookshelves to hide items that Sully doesn't use yet. The center shelves, which store toys and books, remain open and accessible. --Finding Inspiration Though each designer had a different style, their design philosophies were surprisingly similar. The most important advice: Spend money on the things that will last the longest, and pick the paint color last. 'Picking paint first backs people into a corner,' says Munn, who chose the yellow-green wall color in Silvy's nursery because it went with the other things in the room. 'I always start with an inspirational element, like a fabric or a rug.' 'Every paint color is available to you, so it really depends on what you are trying to accomplish,' said Naden, who pulled the pale avocado wall color in Sully's nursery from the bedding. 'Start someplace else. Start by finding a pillow, a blanket, a light fixture, stuffed animals ... something that you love.' As it turns out, I did find an inspiration piece that I loved: wallpaper. It's sweet and feminine but not infantile, so it should last well beyond the nursery and toddler years. Based on the wallpaper, I found simple, inexpensive bedding and a soft, patterned area rug. I am repurposing an old dresser bought at auction for $10 and repainted to use as a changing table, and I installed a vintage French chandelier I got on eBay for $36. I splurged on fabric for the window treatment and on a white, slipcovered swivel glider, which I will have stain-treated and eventually move elsewhere in the house. As the nursery is coming together, I am loving every inch of it. But even now, I know all of the prettiness will undoubtedly pale in comparison to our baby girl when she arrives in January. I hope she likes pink. 