When my son was born, 8 years ago, we had a new house….no money….and a brother-in-law living in his nursery. It was a stressful time. We got the brother-in-law moved into the basement, but that didn’t fix the no money issue. I had decided on a “primary colors” theme for the nursery. Then, I decided to make really cheap artwork of some of my favorite characters and hang it throughout the nursery. I was actually pretty proud of it at the time.
Fast forward to his 3rd birthday, when we moved him into a “big boy” bed. My talented brother helped my husband and I build a REALLY awesome bed complete with giant shelving and lighted headboard.
I thought, at the time, that I’d change the bedroom into a “buzz lightyear” palette of lime and navy. So I painted the bed those colors, and made a duvet cover and curtains to match. However, we soon learned that my son couldn’t handle the disposal of ALL of his favorite things. He pretty much lost it over the bed switch. And the thought of losing all his treasured pictures was just too much for him.
Soon after that we had some even bigger financial difficulties, and the addition of another child. Poor kid had to continue living in his eclectic and not cool bedroom.
He’s was about to turn 8 in this awful room, and that’s when it hit me. We’d have to get rid of him to make a smooth transition. Not permanently. Just for the makeover. Then he’d be more apt to deal with the changes. My sweet Mom hopped on board to watch him so we could make an
I asked my husband to snap some “before” pictures while I delivered my son to Grandma’s house. So there aren’t very many (he’s not the photographer in the family) but it’s a pretty drastic change, so I want to show you the “BEFORE” first.
Here’s the bed area. Not sure what’s under those covers…..eek! It’s a mish-mosh of all his favorite toys, and treasures, and, let’s be honest, CRAP! The kid keeps everything!
The white basket in the upper left is the “crap box”. Full of rocks, and plastic kids meal toys, and who knows what else. It’s our compromise. When it’s full….he’s required to edit.
Here’s the giant bookshelf, and a better shot of some of the “foam-core” art. I actually couldn’t get rid of it quite yet. I think it might be making it’s home in our playroom. After all, it is all of my favorites….Sesame Street, Dr. Seuss, and Disney. (it’s the Reluctant Dragon for heavens sakes!)
Here’s a great shot of the mix of the Primary Colors and the Buzz Lightyear palettes. CRASH! Neither one was ever executed correctly. (And I’m SOOOO sad we don’t have an “inside the closet” before picture. Because we really did a lot of stuff in there…. But just imagine that it was A DISASTER!!)
Here’s what it looked like when you opened his door. This bedroom was cramped, and ugly, and a mess. Not okay for a little boy who’s just turning 8 years old.
Tah Dah!!! I LOVE IT!I l-o-v-e it!
He loves it too. It took his breath away for a second. He’s slowly realizing some of the things that are “missing”. But overall, he’s a happy camper. And I kind of want to move in there myself!
It’s kind of Pottery Barn Kids/Teen (see how they use storage in the headboard?) meets IKEA modern, meets the ocean. And I think they get along GREAT!! Should we take a more detailed tour?
We wanted a modern/surfer theme. It was a color palette that my son had agreed to liking. Originally we had toyed with super-heros and other things that he’s really interested in. But we decided to just pick a “color theme” and go from there instead. This certainly wouldn’t be exclusive to surfing. So we feel it could grow with him. Or even change to a new child, if that’s ever necessary.
The bed, although super awesome for storage, is HUGE. So it had to stay where it was located. However, we decided that painting it the same color as the wall would disguise how ginormous it actually is. And it WORKED! We also painted the chair rail the same color as the wall too. Our whole house has chair-rail and it’s really not our style. We would actually take it out…but it would be SUCH A MESS! This is a good compromise for us.
All of his “special things” are now located in that awesome orange box. So it’s not cluttered anymore. And some others are tucked away behind the doors. (yay doors!!) The other things displayed actually go with either the theme or the colors. And it’s MUCH cleaner now!
The bedding started with an UBER cheap duvet from IKEA. And then I added the orange stripe. I also made the pillow on the bed. It turned out really great. (these pics don’t really do it justice) And the technique is really easy. I have a tutorial coming on the pillow. You’re going to want to make one too!
The closet area is so much cleaner now that we got rid of his armoire. I really liked it for baby clothes, but it was nearly impossible for him to keep clean. I wanted drawers.
The closet, thanks to my brother….again, now has built in drawers, double rods, and a single rod on the left. (which we actually don’t need, and have stored our books there) The drawers are plenty to store all his “in season” clothes. With any out of season ones being stored in big bins under his bed. The drawers are a little high for him right now. But we just put a little stool in the closet, so he can see all the way to the top.
I’ve decided one of the keys to making a room feel both “decorated” and “personalized” is to unite the color palette. So the things that match are on display, the things that don’t are tucked away. But still very accessible. This is an autographed CD that my son has from his favorite Children’s artist Laurie Berkner. (she’s amazing, by the way, both my kids ADORE all her music!!)
Anyway, we’ve had this CD sitting in a plastic bag so that little hands wouldn’t smudge the signature. Now it’s on display for him to admire. Not only is it completely special to him….but it MATCHES perfectly. I have a tutorial on this one too! So easy and simple!
Remember this little number? I made him way back in June! (and there’s a really detailed tutorial HERE) It was finally time to give him a home. And he’s very happy there. Go back up to the whole closet pic to see how he looks on the wall. I just think it makes the room look so surfer.
This is my son’s favorite part of the room. He says that, “big kids have desks.” And he’s right. I hope he’ll spend many happy hours doing homework and projects at this desk. I couldn’t believe that IKEA’s new line for 2011 included a desk with orange accents. (and a baby blue desk chair!!) How fortuitous! (that’s your dictionary word for today….now you have to use it in a sentence.)
I was also delighted that Wal-Mart’s college dorm line included gray AND orange. That lamp was a completely happy $5 accident.
All his little collections have homes in the drawers. He was happy to see that I didn’t dispose of his various fake jewels and rocks. (and I don’t mind them so much….as long as they have a home)
The centerpiece of the WHOLE ROOM is this awesome surf board. It is HUGE! And thanks to the genius of my little brother….it hangs about 3 inches off the wall. So it’s very realistic.
It’s made of some kind of wood. I should probably find out what kind….ooops! I made a template and then we used a saw to cut around the outline. Then we used a router to roll the edges.
We decided to paint it with our orange accent color. And it just pops off the wall! I also tried my hand at vinyl…without any fancy cutters. And guess what? You CAN do it! It would definitely be faster and cleaner with a die cut machine. But if you’re determined…you can do it. And this design wouldn’t be the same without it. Sometimes you just gotta try and see what happens.
One more look at the finished product.
AHHHHHH……
Granted, trying to do this in 5 days was a bit of a stretch. And the resulting massive migraine wasn’t fun. But to have it ALL done, with no input from an 8 year old boy…might have been worth it.
If everybody had an ocean, across the USA. Then everybody’d be surfin’. Like Cali-forn-I-A.
Linked to:
That is fantastic! Very upgraded in feel from the mish mash. He must by very proud to show off his "big boy" room.
~Kimberlee
http://www.TheSpunkyDiva.blogspot.com
this was a great date!!!
The room looks amazing. I love the colors & really LOVE the frame Rocketship Run art – my kids heart Laurie too!
Great job!
What a beautiful room. You did an amazing job. I love it.
That looks amazing!
AWESOME!!!
I was a surfer when I lived in Hawaii – so it makes me smile so much to see this! Hope he just loved it
You did an amazing job on your son's room. What a lucky young man. I am currently working on my son's room (age 11) too, but had to take a break from it to get my daughter ready to go to college. Next week I plan to hit on his room hard. I hope his turns out as well as yours did.
Lara-you did such a great job as always! It's no surprise to me! You have such an eye for decorating in unique, clever and awesome ways!
Wow! I think that grey and orange might be my new favorite color combination!
Oh WOW – I love it!! I love the colors that you used too. So fresh and happy looking.
GORGEOUS my friend!
xoxo
Jen
Absolutely amazing, Lara. Will you come do my kids rooms?
… seriously.
elise
Wow!! What an awesome make over…makes me want to go change up some of my bedrooms!
Fun pictures, thanks for sharing this!
Oh goodness it is as great as I have heard. I really hope to take a real life look one day. Please? Please?
Simply fabulous!!!!
holy cow that's amazing. A MA ZING. It makes me want to redo my whole house! (or actually DO my house, because to REdo, you have to have done it in the first place.)
I love it.
So great! The colors are so awesome…which explains why I never would have thought of them! I LOVE the gray and orange…I think I might start brainwashing my son into making those his favorite colors. I'm glad you are hanging onto those classic pictures though!
Good taste …our bedroom colors are gray and orange, and we even have that Ikea desk! However, Will has MUCH cooler artwork. And a MUCH more organized closet.
What a cool, fun room!
This room is great! Love the color scheme! I would have loved it when I was young…
Your son's "treasures" seem to be in control–my daughter's are NOT! She just turned 10 and her room is such a disaster! You have given me hope. (I may have to send her to Grama's too! Why didn't I think of that? This is drop dead gorgeous. So beautiful. Well done.
it turned out awesome!! love the color combo… great job!
jen@eighteen25
Oh My Word!! I love that room!
This is beautiful! You did a wonderful job and it really is something he can grow into!
I am hosting a giveaway over at Sassy Sites. Come on by and join in on the fun! We would love to have you!
-Marni
http://sassysites.blogspot.com/
You did a GREAT job! Love it. I just got done re-doing my 12 yo daughter's room. It's a job!
I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I linked to this post today from the new Home & Garden channel at Craft Gossip.
My hope is to share many of the fabulous projects I see everyday with the vast CG audience. I hope you will not only stop by and subscribe to CG, but will tell your friends about the new category! Hope you see some traffic from it!
Your feature will appear in the main Craft Gossip RSS feed, on the main home page and can be found directly here
http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/surfer-boy-bedroom-makeover/
If you would like a "featured by" button, you can grab one here!
http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/grab-a-craft-gossip-button/
What an adorable room, Ellie! You did such a great job — I absolutely love the color scheme — it's so CUTE!
I am LOVING this color combination!! Feeling very inspired…
Girl, you have ROCKED this room! This orange/grey combo is my current boy fave. Love this!
This room ROCKS!!! I can just imagine how excited your little man was when he came home and saw it. We're getting ready to move our two boys into a room together, so I get to re-do another room. LOVE re-doing rooms.
I can't believe that transformation!!!! It looks absolutely fantastic! I think my favourite part is the surfboard on the wall. And the stripes.
Sarah
Wow! I think that looks like something you would find in a magazine! Ya'll did a fantastic job and that will last him for a long time. I have always wanted to do a surf theme for my daughter but she never bought into it. I know your son must be so happy and you all so proud!!! Job well done!
Wow! What a fun room! My boys would love it. Love your blog.
-Rene
wowzers, that is a huuuuge change. and a well executed one at that. it looks flippin' fantastic!
Congrats! I saw that you you picked as one of the winner's at CSI Project…you TOTALLY deserver it!
Oh my gracious! It is PERFECT! I love the colors, the artwork, EVERYTHING! It's just gorgeous!
Wow! Love the theme you chose, looks amazing!
belle
http://beautifulnest.blogspot.com/
WOW both my boys would say AWESOME! and I would totally agree.
You did a great job, love the color pallete totaly boy!
Wow, that looks right out of PB Teen mag. Love it.
Brooke
Looks amazing- I love the color palette!
this is so awesome! i want you to come to my house and decorate — your little (BIG) boy is so lucky!
WOW! i love it…i recently re did my craft room in gray and yellow! i hope you make it over the MMM tomorrow and link this awesome room up!
AWESOME!!! I love this room! Great job!
WOW you did a fantastic job!!! I LOVE it!!……..Stumbled this post for you!
This room is FANTASTIC! You've inspired me for sure – I now cannot wait to have a house to paint and pretty up!
Wow! I found this from one of the link parties you linked to and am awe struck! I would love to feature it on my blog http://www.remodelaholic.com, check out my blog and see if you'd be interested, it usually brings you a ton of new readers. You should be able to just respond to the comment, my email is hooked up to it. Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you!
Cassity
Adore this room and so does my son. Any chance you'd be willing to share your paint colors? We'd be so grateful!
I adore the afters! I've been wanting to do this very same color scheme in my boys room. I can't wait to show them this!
gave you an award at my blog
kimboscrafts.blogspot.com
OK, first of all, it's beautiful, Secondly, it's perfect for a young boy. Third, it's a great combination of a haven AND an adventure. I have three boys and they would all LOVE it!
This is incredible! Absolutely amazing. It looks very tasteful, right out of a magazine. The colors are fun and pleasing. You must be so excited.
Also, I'm doing a giveaway on my blog and would love for you to enter if you're interested:
http://www.mooreminutes.com/2010/08/fresh-sudsy-gorgeous-homemade-soap.html
Great job! The new room looks fantastic!
I know you're proud of this! Hope your big boy is continuing to love his new room. It looks wonderful!
Great boys room! I'll have to bookmark this post for ideas for when my boys get a little older!
What a great room!! Love the colour combo!
This is an amazing makeover! I love that it's not too grown up but is at the same time. Definitely can go with your son through the teenage years.
(found you today via centsational girl comment section.)
just wanted to stop by and comment on your son's awesome room! I'm in the process of doing my 10 year old son's room and I started with the gray, but then I kinda lost inspiration after that, so now he's left with a half painted room, lol. Any way there aren't too many big boy rooms out there for inspiration, so Great Job!
just wanted to stop by and comment on your son's awesome room! I'm in the process of doing my 10 year old son's room and I started with the gray, but then I kinda lost inspiration after that, so now he's left with a half painted room, lol. Any way there aren't too many big boy rooms out there for inspiration, so Great Job!
I just came across your fabulous room! What a huge change – it looks so great! I love how you did the bedding.
Awesome room! what did you use to hang the surfboard?