Big Boy Room!

Richard is going through a lot of change right now. Moving into a new house..... becoming a big brother...... so we knew we wanted to make his "big boy" room very special so it wouldn't be so hard to give everything to baby brother. His room was already painted blue, and I knew I had a primary color palette in mind. This was a huge contrast to the muted earthy colors of his baby room. We wanted his input, and his one request was for Lightening McQueen. I am not a huge fan of licensed characters for decor, because it's hard to change things out when your child decides on another favorite every few weeks. I ended up getting him Cars bed sheets and a "window treatment" find which I will explain later. The more sensible plaid comforter set was exactly what I had in my vision, and he was with me at Bed, Bath & Beyond when I found it to give his approval.

 

Right before the move, we set out to find a twin bed frame and nightstand (and new mattress set). Being set on thrifting / DIYing, we headed to Salvation Army to peruse their vast furniture section. We found a solid (a.k.a. well made, real wood) bed for $14.99 and side table for $9.99. With a little sanding and stain or paint, they were going to be great!

Jon painted the bed red, and added some scrap wood in white to create a "rustic barn" look. I could tell how much he liked making this for his son. 

We had these colorful metal chickens from Pier 1 in our kitchen long ago, and they are another example of something I tried to sell at one point. They didn't really fit in the new kitchen, so I thought they'd still be doomed. Luckily, we tried them in here and just love how well they fit. I suggested we make a shelf out of scrap wood, and Jon brought a pallet home from a selection behind his work. With a few cuts, it was all set. We added Richard's railroad crossing sign to it as well.

The nightstand got painted a steely blue. The vintage metal basket, yet to be filled, I found at the Habitat for Humanity store for $2.00! The little metal lamp was another one of my parents early antiquing days purchases. It has special meaning because we used to go to the same resort in Northern Wisconsin for Summer vacation...... my Grandparents, cousins, etc.... were all there the same week. The owner of the resort ran a little antique store for a while (before my time) and this was where the lamp was purchased. My Dad replaced all of the glass in it.

When Richard turned one, his birthday theme was circus. I had bought this tent for the party, but we never really had the room in our old house to have it up all the time. He loves that it is up now and as you can see it corrals his stuffed animals. He likes to take naps in it or have quiet time. The giraffe was his final potty training reward. The Cars curtain was a rummage sale find for a quarter! It is actually a flat bed sheet, and it was the only piece they had. I washed it up and cut the seams along the top so that a curtain rod could go through it.

His activity corner features a bulletin board, clip boards for current artwork (purchased for under a $1 at some sale..... they used to hang in my studio with necklaces on them), and my "miniature shelf" from when I was little. I used to love to collect little things, and Richard seems to be following in the tradition. He was so excited to fill this up with his most important treasures!

Lastly, his bookshelf is from Pier 1 and it just happens to be my very first blog post from 2008! I can't believe I have been blogging for so long! I sure hope I have evolved and improved since then!

As with the other areas of our house that I have shown, it was fun to pull together a bunch of different pieces that were previously used somewhere else, to complete the look. And, I love that the new pieces we added we were able to "upcycle" and give a new life to!