The Somewhat Neglected Boys Room

Friends, my dear sweet boys have been patiently waiting or me to give their room a proper makeover. After seeing all the progress last year on our master bedroom and bathroom, their sister’s room, the kitchen, finishing up the living room, and finally adding some impactful changes to the front room, their room is pretty much the last area upstairs that hasn’t be touched much. So today, I’m sharing the ‘before’ of the boys room with you AND the design plan I have for it. Note: I don’t think it is a horrible state right now. It just isn’t finished. They were things I bought or put together when we first moved in to make it look okay for awhile. That ‘awhile’ is expiring.

The room is tiny… I think 10’x11′-12′ or something?  The bed is something we have had for years but it still is sturdy:

The closet is mirrored (blegh)…

And this side of the room is ALWAYS A MESS. There just isn’t enough space for toys and books and the closet isn’t organized enough to hold the excess.

So, I actually like the color palette I’ve started with here, but I’m going to change things up a bit. I want their room have some hand-built elements, but also to be classic and timeless (something I won’t feel the need to redo for several years). An important aspect is for the room to reflect their personal interests, like travel, camping and outdoor fun, animals, and sports. The color palate also coordinates well with a few pops of bright color that will add some whimsy back to the room.

First things first, we will remove the old ceiling fan (it is a cheap, outdated white one), install wood planks like these ones that Donna from Funky Junk did:

          …and install a new ceiling fan/light. And YES I know ceiling fans aren’t ideal but seriously, summers here in Missouri are brutal. It is super humid, very hot, and in our old house, even with A/C and newish insulating in the attic, we HAVE to have the fans running all summer nights long. Removing them completely isn’t really an option. This one is nice because the finish is contemporary (which is sorta the vibe I want for their room), the shape is classic, and it it doesn’t hang too low or have much decorative details (a positive in my mind). It is the Kichler Rivetta Light Fan in Brushed Stainless Steel.

I will also give the walls a fresh coat of light gray paint: Benjamin Moore Horizon.

The bed is no longer going to look like that orangey-yellow pine. I’m going to sand it a little and stain it with General Finishes Java Gel Stain to get a rich dark finish.

 

Some of the changes that will happen have actually already started to happen. For example, we moved the book shelf into the closet and put a desk I built along that wall. Some map art is hanging above the desk right now too. But I’ll show you that later.. 😉 I also am on the hunt for the right size chair for that corner. I want it to be comfortable for them to sit and read in, not too big (since it is a small space), and NOT gliding. The current chair glides and it has totally marked up the wall. (The one pictured below is from West Elm)

I love Land of Nod for kid’s room inspiration and liked their shelving options… which I will probably find a way to build. I think it would be fun to have a book one by each boy’s bed, and then maybe some hexagonal decorative ones at the end of their bed next to the closet.  

I will also build another trundle storage for under the bed like what I built for my daughter’s room, since it is such a great space saver and offers tons of storage. Then in the closet I’m going to try to tackle a major overhaul. I want to create one of those fantastic closets with space for shoes, hang shirts and coats, shelves for baskets of toys, and maybe even some drawers. I want to start with probably something basic from Ikea and customize it to fit the space. I’ll keep you updated but these are thoughts I have bouncing around. Loved the look of this organized closet without doors from Simply So Organized.

As far as textiles for the room, the old rug was from Urban Outfitters but it is too flimsy and gets rumpled all the dang time. We need something a little more substantial and I love the look of this wool one from Land of Nod.

 

Speaking of Land of Nod, I fell in love with all their bedding and a few pillows…

I found some other pillows from Pottery Barn Kids and H&M Home that I thought coordinated well. We will see what I actually end up choosing, but the colors were about right, to give you an idea.

And of course some bold curtains (these are from Target).

 

So that is the plan! I have no idea of my timeline right now since I have lots of projects (mostly small) in the works and Vintage Market Days coming up in a few months, but I wanted to share the state of things now. It is a great way to hold myself accountable! 🙂

I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on my lofty plan… I say lofty because there are a few DIYs I mentioned that I’m not really that excited about haha!

UPDATE! TO SEE ROOM REVEAL CLICK HERE!