Hey Friends!

I’m ready for the big reveal! If you didn’t catch my last post {here} I am sharing my son’s big boy bedroom makeover with you today! I started the process by making a list of goals. Here’s a quick recap:

Problems:

• His room was ALWAYS messy (queue the knowing nods of moms everywhere).
• His small bedroom looked even smaller because of dark furniture.
• He was outgrowing the themed elements of his room (because Lightning McQueen, tractors, and Ninja Turtles are only a passing phase.)

Solutions:

1. Organize the chaos.
2. Lighten up the dark accents.
3. Simplify the “themed” elements of the room.

I already shared with you how I solved problem #2 with Rustoleum Chalk Paint (and a full review of that product can be found in my last post {here}). So with today’s post I want to share the full reveal and how I solved problems #1 and #3.

Get ready for it. Here’s the before. (Cover your eyes. Or don’t. Because then you can’t see how desperately I needed to fix this problem.)

Now here’s where I’m just going to stop myself. I know full well that cleaning all this junk  up (I mean….precious treasures) would solve problem #1. It is, after all, a complete mess. So I’m just going to say that his room could have been much nicer looking if I’d ONLY organized better instead of doing everything else I did. Organization does make a world of difference so if you are looking to make your space more inviting and less chaotic, then I would highly recommend simplifying, clearing out the clutter and trash, and investing in a good organization system. If nothing else, it is simple enough to stack things when you’re in a pinch. 😉

Here are a few more before photos for the full effect.

Ok, now let’s get down to it. Solutions!

PROBLEM #1: CHAOS

SOLUTIONS:

• Remove extra un-necessary surfaces to collect clutter.

He did not need two side tables. So I simply added one to the garage sale pile and left the larger desk to serve as both a homework station and nightstand. I also removed the wall shelf above his desk because it visually cut the wall making it appear to be a smaller area. Plus, he has an entire wall dedicated to his Lego creations and one more shelf just meant that he wasn’t forced to choose his favorites to display, thus adding to the clutter.

• Make better use of wall space.

Next, I chose to display his bulky treasures, like these guitars and lasoo, which were always taking up valuable storage space in his closet. This allowed me to add storage to his closet for smaller items by collecting things in baskets on his shelving system. Plus, he can now easily plunk on his guitars without knocking everything over getting them out of the closet! Score!

• Get Beddy’s bedding!

This step was instrumental in organizing my son’s room. As you can see from the before photo, his bed was never made and he is a blanket hoarder. Seriously, the child never has less than three blankets laying all over his room and the novelty of making his bed wore off around the time that he figured out 25 cents isn’t very much chore money. So Beddy’s bedding was my solution!

Their bedding system works like a sleeping bag making it 100% easy peasy for my 6 year old to make his bed. Simply zip the sides down on either side, climb in and cover up for the night, and then zip it back up in the morning! The entire comforter fits like a fitted sheet ensuring that it won’t end up on the floor each morning. And, since I do love that my son loves a cozy blanket, we also went with the buffalo check bed mate for those cold winter nights.

He has had this bedding for several weeks now and I can honestly say that he loves making his bed now. He thinks he’s so cool to zip it up and be done. 🙂 My daughter even wants one because she wants to be cool like her big brother. Momma win!

If you’re interested, check out the Beddy’s products {here}. Owen has the Game On Gray comforter and Check Mate Blanket.

• Develop a system that works for your child.

My last step in the organizing process was to develop a system where he can keep his treasures without causing mommy to go crazy. My son LOVES art and every single project he does is his masterpiece. I don’t want to stifle that! But, let’s be honest. They aren’t all masterpieces. (Like that beautiful picture he drew on the back of the restaurant placemat that we had to bring home. With food stains on it.)

So we struck a deal! He gets to keep one masterpiece a week in his room. After the week is over he decides if it gets tossed or saved in our memory box. We shall see how this one goes. But I want to make him a part of keeping his living space tidy. Hopefully his future wife will appreciate this. 😉

 

Problem #3: OUTGROWING THEMED ELEMENTS

SOLUTION: Streamline and simplify.

By making his decor more generic, removing the “baby” decor (As he called it. Apparently Lightning McQueen is now for babies…), and sticking with his lasting interests I was able to create a space that will hopefully grow with him for years to come.

He has had a great interest in planes for quite some time and my husband helps foster that with an interest of his own. So the plane decor stays because it means something to him and is more than just decor. It is a bonding experience for father and son. (PLUS, aren’t those vintage glider wings AMAZING? I can’t say I’m sad to keep that unique element. 😉 )

So there you have it folks! I also did a few other things in this space that I’ll quickly catalog:

• Added some black elements to help ground and tie in the decor.
  • Spray painted the curtain rods black
  • Buffalo check pillow accents (which we already had)
  • Black globe to go with the around the world plane theme
• Simplified the curtain situation. The other gray curtain were too long and frumpy for a boy’s bedroom. After a failed attempt to make my own roman shade 😦 I went with these blackout curtains from Amazon {here}. They are only $10 a panel so I’m counting that as a win.
• I painted all of the furniture {sources in my last post HERE} and also sanded and re-stained his Lego display shelf to lighten it up but keep the wood element.

So, let’s have some before and after shots shall we?

 

 

 

 

So what do you think? What is your strategy for keeping kid’s rooms feeling cleaned up and put together?

Be blessed my friends!

Sarah

{Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.  — Lady Bird Johnson}