hi, i think it's entirely up to you what you go for in terms of 'nursery' furniture or 'furniture' as only you know your budget. there some lovely ranges out there but equally you could still find something beautiful. we didn't go for nursery furniture. i got ds's 3 huge wardrobes and cotbed from ikea (about ??200 altogether) plus 2 matching chests for storage . i then bought a cot top changer from babies r us. we just went all out on soft furnishings instead.

in regards to white furniture, personally that would be a 'no no' for me. we have white furniture in our lounge (pre parenthood decision) and i do regret our decision now. it shows up every bit of dirt & dust (can't even read the newspaper on our table without it leaving marks and fingerprints everywhere) so i dread to think what state it will be in when ds is more mobile. :roll: xx