Setting Up a Living Room Changing Station

One thing on our to-do list before baby number two was setting up a living room changing station. We spend a lot of time on our main floor and I didn’t want to have to go upstairs every time little guy needs a diaper change, new outfit, burp cloth, etc. I also didn’t feel like I needed an entire changing table or cart set up on our main floor, so I wanted to come up with something a little more simple yet equally functional.

This setup and makeshift living room changing station served us the entire first year of our son’s life. We were correct in thinking that most diapers would not be changed upstairs in his room and having this was so incredibly practical.

Built ins in a living room with picture frames, wreath, candles, and two baskets on the bottom shelf used as a changing station for baby.

These baskets were on sale at Target and I moved a couple things off our built ins to put two next to each other here. I love that they’re pretty deep, so you can’t see what’s in them from across the room, making it a great hiding spot for changing supplies.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLJxQkFgG5I/

You can check out this video to see them in live action but here I’ll break down exactly what is in each basket and my system for restocking.

Basket with ollie swaddle, extra onesies, burp cloths, pacifiers, and booties for baby

BASKET ONE (LEFT)

Swaddle – We love the Ollie and I wanted to make sure we had one on the main floor during the newborn phase.
Extra onesies – You never know when a blowout could happen, so having some extra onesies for a quick and sudden outfit change is a MUST.
Burp cloths – You can never too many of these within arm’s reach.
Pacis – The more the merrier 😉 These are my favorite for newborns!
Booties/socks – Those little baby feet can be so darn cold.

I used these small containers in the basket to keep pacis and booties/socks separate from everything else since they’re smaller items. They fit great. I also used these same containers (in various sizes) in baby boy’s dresser for storage and organization.

Basket with diapers, wipes, and changing pad.

BASKET TWO (RIGHT)

This basket has all the actual diaper changing supplies and is so easy to pull off the shelf or grab from when the time comes.

Diapers and wipes (duh!)
Changing pad – We change most diapers on the floor or our couch/ottoman (which is very large), so a soft changing pad seemed like a good idea. I love that this one folds up and can also be wiped off easily.
I also added a tube of diaper cream in here!

I’m not reinventing the wheel but I hope this gives you some simple and practical advice on how you can create a similar set up in your own home if you need to. I really like how I was able to use existing space, on our built ins, and just switch a few things around to make this “station”. You don’t need a bunch of stuff and you certainly don’t have to break the bank.