Room to Grow: Decorating a Boy's Bedroom

The time had come... the room that I created for my kids when they were toddlers just didn't work anymore for my [almost] eight year old son. You see, my son and daughter shared a room from birth until the oldest turned six [I highly recommend this for all parents of young children regardless if they are the same sex or not. I wanted them to truly bond and I really didn't want any "NO BOYS/GIRLS ALLOWED" attitudes... so this was my solution. It worked. They are super [super] close... so far!]. Anyway, my son was finally ready for a change. Just not too much of a change. So here is the journey we took to create a pre-tween room that will grow with him.

Here's a quick little "before" moment. [I would have more before photos for you... but my laptop crashed and we haven't retrieved any photos from it. Frankly, I'm too sad to think about it so I'm in denial right now.] Anyway, I painted the bunk beds a dark espresso color which made them look a hundred times better. Then we had a little [ahem...] discussion about the polka dot walls. He wanted to keep them, and yet... he wanted them to be different [ummmm. Say what? I promise that my kids always prove to be my most difficult clients every time!].

So we kept them [kind of]. I repainted almost every. single. one. Fun, fun, fun [sarcasm], but I must admit that they look pretty darn good in the new subdued and more sophisticated color scheme so I'm glad we kept them! Then we began the task of decorating. I did this room on an EXTREMELY small budget, so here's a little recap of the DIY projects that were involved. First, I made "HI" for his room because if you know my son, then you know he loves that word. Not sure why, but it's his favorite word... so it's only appropriate to greet his "guests" with a giant Hi! Read Think Outside the Box: Beyond Initials to see how I made this industrial looking welcome sign out of paper mache. Also, check out Add Detail to Plain Roman Shades to see how I did a quick [and super inexpensive] update to his previously plain white shade.

Then I made a little reading corner for him [let's just call it that... but I can't actually say that he reads there. Come on, how many boys actually use a reading nook?! I usually trip over him in the living room floor when he's "sprawled out" with a good book!] Anyway, I love this spot... however it's used! I hung paper lanterns [which were in his old room too] to play off of the polka dots.

I also created a little area to showcase the things that are near and dear to this boy's heart: sports and horses. I [reluctantly] started a sports gallery wall for him, but now I love it and can't wait to add more great action shots in the future! Here are my tips for creating an interesting display in Do You Display Them?

I also think it's really important to display kids' art whenever possible. I still recall when my dad had a chalk drawing of mine professionally framed and hung in our kitchen when I was twelve. It was amazing! In the same spirit, I framed and displayed some art that worked in his room. I also created an area for him to rotate his own artwork in and out as he pleases. This fabric-covered bulletin board was super easy to make. BTW- isn't that tree great?! Yup. He's an awesome artist.

Alright, so this photo isn't the best, but that shiny thing on the wall is a lamp. While on Pinterest one day I saw a tricked-out, high end bunk bed. Among other fabulous features, it had wall sconces for each level. I showed  my son and he was IN LOVE! We happened to have a plug-in swivel arm wall sconce that wasn't being used so I hung it up and made his day. Night light. Reading light. Make sure there are no monsters in the night light. No matter what, he's covered!!

And we can't forget that I gave his dresser a not-so-ordinary makeover using magnetic paint. Read Make Kids' Dressers Fun with Magnetic Paint to see what I did. *Design note: I'm not thrilled with the fabric on his bulletin board. I went ahead and used it because I haven't found anything better... but it may be changing soon.*

I was also thrilled to get rid of his toy box [also known as the black hole where all toys fall to the bottom never to be seen again!]. I replaced it with three super inexpensive under-the-bed storage bins. If you want to know more about them you can find out in my Crap with Potential post.

 And that's it! I am really, really pleased with the end result. This room totally shows his personality, and I was able to get the job done for less than $200.  Not bad. He's happy. I'm happy. It's a room that will grow with him [not sure how long the polka dots will stay... but we'll see!]. Mission accomplished.

And I had to throw this photo in too. Here's why my photo shoots take so long- my design "assistant" keeps trying to steal my camera :)