When our little girl first arrived we were living in a one-bedroomed flat and so with space at a premium it was important that anything we bought for baby was both space saving and functional. I always had it in my mind that I wanted a changing table. It seemed an ideal way to store bibs, nappies, muslin cloths, all the bathroom paraphernalia and I could also put the changing mat on top for nappy changing time!
I was initially quite keen on buying a changing table with a built in bath but upon further investigation decided against this as such designs tend to be made of plastic (for obvious reasons!) and so in my mind don't look as aesthetically pleasing. Which is a posh way of saying that I personally think they look a little bit cheap and tacky!! I wanted to get a piece of furniture that wouldn't look too ridiculous in the living room as this was where we were going to position the changing table. Plus emptying the integrated bath seemed to be a real kerfuffle so we decided to by a separate bath in the end (see my review on our space saving foldaway bath).
In the end I opted for a wooden changing table from good old Babies R Us! There were a few designs to chose from but I opted for a light wood that would work with the decor in the living room (so that the changing table didn't stick out too much like a sore thumb!) and also conveniently matches Lily's wardrobe and crib (my years as an interior design journo were not wasted). I should say at this point that the wardrobe and crib were not part of the same range as the changing table - just a happy coincidence that they matched - although Babies R Us do offer complete ranges of nursery furniture if you want things to perfectly match!
The changing mat (bought separately) sits snugly into the top of the changing table and there are two deep shelves underneath. As you can see I have put wicker baskets in these shelves to hold all of Lily's bits and bobs. The great thing about this table is that the foldaway bath we bought can be put on the top in place of the changing mat so the changing table doubles as a bathing table.
Obviously there will be a point when Lily is too big to have her nappies changed on the table (and at the risk of teaching you to suck eggs, it is obviously extremely important that baby is never left unsupervised when on the table) but we envisage always being able to use this particular piece of furniture. The shelves will continue to be a great place to store bits and the top surface can eventually be freed up to put other things on (probably toy boxes!!).
A very useful piece of kit and one that will have use beyond its original one. Well worth the money.
PS We got our changing table for about thirty odd quid in one of Babies R Us' sales which was amazing value. There are often bargains to be found there so it's worth bookmarking their website. Online deals are sometimes better than in store and when new lines get fazed out to make way for new ones that's when the deals can be snapped up!!
If you can't find one to buy at Babies R Us, then try this link.
© 2011 Sharon Marie Denman
