Will's Big Boy Room

Once upon a time, I contemplated pursuing a career in interior design. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm pretty sure that trying to come up with designs for clients that would capture their lifestyle and personalities would cause me enough stress to kill me. I can't even manage to fill the walls in my own home. I have a really hard time conceptualizing what I want my home to look like, so its blank walls continue to look at me longingly.

However, one area I've had a lot of success with is the kids' rooms. There is something so fun about decorating a child's space. There is so much more freedom in decorating a room for a child whose imagination has yet to be tamed (I hope it never is).

With a new baby joining our family, we decided it was time to move Will into a big boy bed and into a new room. I wanted Will’s new room to have meaning to him and reflect his current interests, but I also wanted it to be one that can grow with him over time. He LOVES cars and construction, but I couldn’t bring myself to cover his walls in orange and yellow. So, I started brainstorming. After some Pinterest inspiration, I developed a plan.

I wanted to create a room with the theme of exploration and travel. That way I could incorporate the cars and trucks, but it would be part of a greater concept, one that will hopefully inspire him to be an explorer in life, to love uncovering truth and discovering new things.

When I showed my rough sketch to Graham, his response was something along the lines of… “I like it, really, don’t get me wrong. I just look at it and think, ‘Wow, I didn’t even have a room as a kid for a while, let alone one with matching, themed décor’.” Thankfully, he really was supportive, and I went ahead with my plan.

I didn't want to spend a lot of money on the project, so I created a lot of the decorations myself. I wanted to have it all the way done before Logan was born, but I didn't quite make it. Finally, though, I got the last of the artwork up, and I'm ready to take you on a tour:

This is the view when you enter his room. 

The bed and dresser were old pieces of furniture that we refinished in white. Note: refinishing furniture is NOT my favorite DIY project. It will be awhile before I conquer something that big again. Whew! By the time I was done with those, I decided to leave as-is the table and chairs I had gotten at a consignment sale ($25, wahoo!). I like the blonde wood anyway.

I wanted blackout curtains for the room, but I couldn't find any that were under $50 that were even remotely close to the right color scheme and wide enough to cover both windows. So, I made some. It was another time-intensive project, but I'm happy overall with how the bold navy and white stripes turned out. Just don't look to closely if you ever come over.

In designing the space, it was important to me to give Will a space dedicated to reading. I want him to know that we love and value books in this family. I stole an idea from my brother's house and used IKEA picture frame ledges to create a book display, and on the other side of the dresser I created a "reading corner" filled with comfy pillows. I already had the pillows, and I used mostly scraps & clearance bin fabric to recover them in the right colors, so it was another super cheap project.

The above picture isn't even posed. He just plopped down on his favorite pillow to read while I was taking pictures of his room. It's where we sit and read stories before nap and bed time.

Above the dresser is some artwork I made myself in Photoshop using free clip art. The frames I got on clearance at Michael's for $4 each. The W on the dresser is from his old room, but the colors match the new room better than they ever matched his nursery. Score!

The last project for his room, the EXPLORE letters, sat on my bedroom floor half finished for a month and a half while I adjusted to baby #2. I bought paper mache letters from JoAnn's and spray painted them the same color as the frames on the opposite wall. Then I decoupaged the front of each letter with part of a world map. 

I finally hung them up last week (hence why I'm finally able to post the tour of his room), and I'm thrilled with the way they turned out! 

So, that's the tour! Will loves his room, and I think it will serve him well for a long time.