{E-Decorating} Trent & Brad’s Modern Boys’ Room
You might remember Tonya & Cody’s master bedroom board that I did — well they wanted more and had me design a board for their young sons’ shared room! And you know I love working on kid’s rooms!
Trent (almost 3!) and Brad (8 months) are the cutest little boys and have been moved together into a room of their own to share! Trent got a new “big boy bed” and Brad has been moved out of mommy and daddy’s room, and so Tonya wanted to put away the primary plastics, and create a fun, non-themey bedroom for her boys to create lots of memories in! It has to be kid-friendly, functional, and calming enough to not over-stimulate them — mom and dad need their rest, too!! Here is a collage of their room as it is today:
As Trent is well out of diapers, and Brad is getting bigger every day, we decided that it would be very impractical to go out and buy all new furniture for growing boys. Especially because Trent’s toddler bed is less than a year old, Brad only has a couple years of diapering left, and it is all in great shape. So all the furniture (glider and ottoman, toddler bed, crib, dresser and changing table) has to stay. Plus Tonya really likes both boys’ bedding, and that is where I started with the colors; green, blue, tan, cream and brown. I couldn’t help myself, though, and had to add a couple pops of orange for cheery fun, and to make the room feel less theme-y by adding an extra element. Plus orange is such a great color for fun little boys!
After discussing the room with Tonya, we decided that these were the needs for the room: paint, art, curtains, side table, seating, rug(s), lighting and accessories. Here is the plan that I came up with for the boys’ fun new bedroom! Here is the new floor plan with all of the new goodies:
As you can see, Trent’s bed has been moved to the opposite wall, and the glider and ottoman go where his toddler bed was. This will balance that far end of the room a little better, and create one side for Trent, and one side for Brad. Brad’s crib and changing table will both switch walls, and go on the wall where the dresser used to be. We’ll switch the dresser to the opposite wall (to Trent’s side), and add the new bookcase under the window on his side. We’re also giving him a side table and lamp next to his bed, and we’re adding some fun new seating (in washable twill covers) for both boys – what one has, the other will always have to have, too!
Here is the shopping list!
And here is how it all works together:
1. & 2. Paint: The colors I chose for the room are a blue/grey called Feather Gray, and a slightly lighter version called Iced Cube Silver, both by Benjamin Moore. My thoughts on this are to paint thick, floor to ceiling horizontal stripes with these all around the room. The room is actually pretty big, so if that is too large of a project, I would recommend only doing the stripes on the wall without a window (which would be on the right when you walk into the room). Keep the bright white on the trim and on the doors, and paint the ceiling a barely-there light green, such as Benjamin Moore’s Bavarian Cream.
3. These are large (12″ or larger) initial wall decals, in a sporty font, and there would be a few of them around the room in a color that is as close to Feather Gray as possible. We’d place them high and low — wherever you need to fill a space. You can find customized wall decals like this here.
4. To add a little ambiance lighting, and to get Trent excited to read on his own in bed, I’d add this plug-in wall lamp next to his bed, above his new side table. The “spider-web” cover is a safety feature on this children’s wall lamp.
5. You always want to encourage learning in children’s rooms, and that’s why I’ve added this Modern Alphabet Print to hang above the dresser – except I’d frame it in white instead of black. It has animal silhouettes for each letter in great colors, and the animal names are listed at the bottom of the print as well!
6. To add a little softness to the room (and some fun texture!!) I love to recommend FLOR tiles for a custom-shaped area rug. The room is a rectangle, but with the closet in there, it’s a fat “L” shape, and a FLOR rug would let you create any shape you want and fill the room as much as you want. This is the cowhide patterned Stampede rug in Taupe. So fun!! Especially for a Wyoming bedroom.
7. The window curtains need to be long and thick (to block out light for naps), so I chose some heavy grommet-top curtains in a fun orange color for some warm color contrast. They’re made of cotton sailcloth (durable and easy to clean, plus it adds great texture), and the color is Foxtail Orange.
8. You can always add the best patterns into a room with throw pillows – so this boudoir pillow would go in the glider, which has been moved to the corner. It is in a gray stripe, working with the painted stripes on the walls, and adding neutral color to the warm woods throughout the room. Stripes are always welcome in a boys’ bedroom!
9. And what boys don’t love cars? This vinyl wall decal would be a great addition to the entry area (on the wall by the door), giving a little edge to the jungle animals in the bedding.
10. A glider/rocker in a nursery is not complete without a lamp – great for late night feedings or rocking baby back to sleep, and this one is sleek, on a dimmer, and will look great with Trent’s new wall lamp.
11. Trent’s new side table next to his bed will be great as he grows – it’s a mini-locker in white, and I’m sure he will love storing his treasures in there!
12. I love these IKEA stools and extra seating or surfaces are always great – and now each brother gets their own stool for story time or playing with their friends (when Brad is old enough, of course!). Plus they are so inexpensive, durable and they come in great colors!
13. We thought that the boys could use a little extra book or toy storage, so I searched for something will multiple bins and that would match the rest of the wood in the room — these bins can be stacked as high as you want (be sure to attach them to the wall for safety, though!), and they can fit books, toys, baskets and totes and will make clean up a snap!
14. & 15. We all know that boys are rough & tumble, so some tough, toss-’em seating is a great place for the boys to crash and when crashing, you always want something soft like these bean bag chairs with washable twill covers in tan and orange. How fun, right?
I think that a children’s room is a great place for some whimsical art, and I added some, but Tonya already had these stick on children’s decals that matched her boys’ bedding (you can see it lining the room at the ceiling) – I think they would look great in a gridded pattern right above each boy’s bed, like the picture below (which is from Project Nursery).
And there you have Trent & Brad’s shared bedroom – I hope Tonya likes it as much as I do!! I think the color swap will make the room feel more cohesive, and the added color and sporty accessories will make the room feel less theme-like.
If you’d like your own E-decorating package for a room in your house, visit this page, this page, feel free to click on over to my Etsy shop, or e-mail me at lindsay @ lindsaychristensendesign . com to get started!
Read MoreThe Best Dressed Room in the House – and FREE art!
Have you heard of “Feed Your Soul,” the free art project on Indie Fixx? I honestly cannot remember how I found it, but I’ve run across it a few times and they add new downloadable art every month. Great, right? You just download the PDF files to print and frame! Or in my case, print and pin up with a thumb tack because I have no spare frames – something I’ve always thought I need a good stock pile of. Do you have any good online sources I should know about?
I downloaded a few different prints to keep on hand, but I just had to put at least one up – so where else but the best dressed and most finished room of the house? Harper’s room of course. I love the little pops of green that I have around her room, so I printed out this watercolor tree print by Angela Vandenbogaard. I just took a tack and pinned it right up over her dresser. Isn’t it cute?
When you visit the site, what you’ll find is a lot of whimsical art that is easily placed in a girl’s bedroom, but I am seeing a lot of art like this in the main areas of the home all around the blogs these days.
There are lots of different pieces to choose from. It would be a great way to add an inexpensive frame collage on a blank wall, especially when printing the pieces in various sizes! Enjoy and have a great week!!
xo, L.
PS – this is my 100th post!! I smell a Likely Design 1st GIVEAWAY coming up!!!! Stay tuned!!!
Read MoreWelcome to our new home!!
I’m having a lot of fun navigating around here — similar to the old Likely Design, but I feel like there’s a lot more that I can do here. Ah. And it feels nice.
Grab a cup of coffee (or tea) – I love “Made by Girl’s” blogs and coffee print – and get to clicking! I’m working out a few little bugs still, but I’m enjoying playing with my very own customizable blog.
I seriously feel so free – the possibilities here are endless!! 
And if you like my template, scroll to the bottom to check out the website on where to get it!
(image via Made by Girl, linked to source).
Read More{Parties} Harper's Polka Dots & Butterflies 1st Birthday Party!
I can’t believe I’m posting about this, time flies so quickly, but I threw my baby girl’s 1st birthday party last Saturday!! It was so fun, and although she won’t remember the party, I had a great time planning and crafting to put it all together. The theme was based on a party package (a PDF printable that they e-mail to you and you use how you want!) that I bought from happypapers on etsy. It’s the “Cupcake Birthday Set” and I picked it because I loved the colors; pink, green, orange and blue! The set included an invitation, 2 patterns, center box, gift bag, gift tags, a party hat and goodie cone — all for $5 and e-mailed right to you! Although it included invitations, you had to write on theirs, I used their patterns to create one on the computer, which I just printed and mailed!
Another theme from the invites was cupcakes, so I jumped at the chance to make our own cupcake toppers, as well as a big cupcake (or mini-cake) for the birthday girl!
I made 3 different types of cupcake toppers — “H” toppers, “Harper” toppers, and “1″ toppers! And we had chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, and yellow cupcakes with white frosting. We made Harper’s with yellow and white, to avoid the chocolate stains!
I filled the Happy Papers center cone with pink and green Jelly Bellies!
I also used the patterns to create a lot of other decorations, including a month-by-month photo decorations to hang from the dining room chandelier, and a “Happy 1st Birthday Harper!” banner!
And how cute does the birthday girl look in her tutu?? These are from Fairy Wonderful! I bought 2 and stacked them. They also have an etsy shop.
The outdoor decorations are my new favorite things — they are the Martha Stewart Pom-Pom kit and you can buy them at a Michael’s craft store or find them online! And yes, they are now hanging in Harper’s room!
Isn’t the location gorgeous? It’s my in-law’s guest ranch — Mahogany Ridge Guest Ranch. And yes, you can come vacation here.
On the menu was “Paella” — the quick version from last month’s Cookie magazine. Unfortunately I can’t find the recipe on their website, but it was sure yummy! We also served Tater Tot Casserole, lots of hors d’oeuvres (guacamole, cheese ball, shrimp/cream cheese/salsa, deviled eggs, cantaloupe, baked brie — all thanks to Glenn’s sisters, and both of our moms!), along with Hansen’s sodas and pineapple orange punch! There was a lot of food!!
So much food, that Glenn’s sister’s dog (it was her birthday, too!) partook in the cupcakes!
Daddy helped Harper blow out her candle…
And mommy helped her open her presents!
It was so fun, and Harper got a lot of great gifts! Thank you to everyone who helped make it happen and who was able to share her special day!
Be on the lookout for a tutorial on how I made some of her birthday crafts!
I want to send a shout-out to the ultimate kid’s party stylist, Kim at her super inspirational blog The TomKat Studio! Her ideas and crafts are sooo adorable and were a big inspiration for me for Harper’s party — and she is so sweet to boot!! Thanks, Kim!!
Read MoreAntique Store Score!
My dining room is finally a room that makes me happy. It started out as a tiny little bright nook with an ugly light, and now with a hand-me-down table and chairs, an eBay find, a marked-down pendant lamp, lots of wedding and Christmas gifts, a little paint and a new $50 antique store score (yippee!) it has turned into a lovely little room in our house.
Here is the move-in condition – yuck:
And here is what it looks like today! We picked up that sideboard at the antique store the other day for $50! We inherited the table and chairs from my husband’s parents after the table couldn’t withstand being outdoors in the winter here. They originally purchased it for their deck but the grout started to crack when it froze (yay for us!). The chairs go with a wood and green vinyl card table that they weren’t using, but we thought they went nicely with the table.
If you’ve been reading recently you know that the pendant light was a Pottery Barn markdown, and I am so happy to get the old light out of there! The bamboo sliding panels in the background cover our sliding glass door – I found those on eBay! I despise vertical blinds and didn’t want curtains there so I looked to eBay. We painted the stripes on the wall back in December and love the look. The best part is the paints are different finishes so it gives it a wallpaper feel (the green is a semi-gloss and the ivory is a satin – a great trick for painting stripes!).
I also picked some lilacs from my backyard for some fragrance…I love fresh flowers! Especially free ones from my own yard!
Almost everything else (except the sideboard itself) was a wedding or Christmas gift so this room was made-over for about $200! And that includes the cheap wine in the wine rack. It sure was yummy, though! We filled it with our wedding china, table linens, serving platters and specialty glassware. I don’t have a lot of white in my house, but I have an abundance of white dishes. It’s a great base for entertaining, plus it doesn’t compete with the colors of the food! And it never goes out of style!
And last night my sister-in-law told me she saw a big truck being unloaded into our local antique store…I guess I have to make another trip this week to see what else I can score!
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About Me
I'm an interior designer and a draftsperson, but I live in the country. I like it that way. I'm also a firefighter's wife, mom to 2 cute kids, and a homeowner and I like that even better. But right after that is a pretty and affordable space...and I mean a REALLY affordable space. Because I believe good design can be for EVERYONE!
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