New ‘Big Boy’ Room

Description

When we bought our new family home in march of this year, I knew I wanted to make the transition from ‘baby’ room to ‘big boy room’ for my two year old son Joseph. After scouring Pinterest, Houzz, and every major retailer, I knew exactly what I wanted. The problem was, what I wanted was more on the champagne side, and after the expenses of moving etc, I was working on a non-premium beer budget!

Design Inspiration

Basically what I did was come up with a reasonable facsimile for basically everything I wanted. To begin, I wanted a room that could pass as ‘toddler’ friendly as well as grow into ‘young boy’ friendly. My main inspiration began with The Land of Nod. I absolutely adored their Uptown twin bed and accompanying furniture in the Midnight Blue colour http://www.landofnod.com/uptown-bed-midnight-blue/f12695. After looking at the price tag however, I knew it was not an option for me. I looked everywhere for something similar and came up with nadda. Then I discovered Ikea’s unfinished wood Tarva line of furniture http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/90219612/ and decided I would create the look I wanted myself! I was able to score the twin bed, nightstand, tall boy and Trofast storage combination for approx $350 all in! Winning!!! My next challenge was to find the paint colour needed to replicate the “Midnight Blue Colour.”

Decorating Style

I like to think of my style as Shabby Chic and modern rustic. I like to mix old and new, but make it comfortable, warm and welcoming.

Project Details

After endless google searches, I came across “Hale Navy” by Ben Moore, which seemed to be a close second for what I was looking for. I purchased a gallon for $47 (used the Behr brand instead), and was on my way. Three coats of paint later, my vision was complete. I was pumped with how it turned out, and for a fraction of the price of what I originally wanted.

My next challenge came in the way of bedding. I had fallen in love with Serena and Lily’s Ronan Duvet and bedding set http://www.serenaandlily.com/Kids/Designer-Boys-Bedding-Ronan. Again, price wasn’t on my side, so I had to get creative. I visited Target online and basically found everything I wanted to accomplish the overall look of the Serena & Lily bedding, and again, for a fraction of the price!

I added to the look, by including two throw pillows from the Trevor bedding collection I found on clearance at Pottery Barn. The greens & blues matched beautifully with the rest of the bedding. The only ‘reasonable facsimile’  I wasn’t able to come up with, was the typography pillow from Serena & Lily http://www.serenaandlily.com/Kids/Kids-Throw-Pillows-Lime-Letter-Pillows so when I noticed they were having a 20% off sale, I decided bite the bullet and indulge to fully complete the look I was going for. The bloody pillow ended up costing about half of the cost of all the bedding, but it was worth it!

My son was going through a serious dinosaur/gruffalo/monkey phase at this time, so I decided his wall décor should reflect that. I had come across various prints on Etsy etc, but decided I would take the less expensive route, (again) and find prints I could print out on my own. Once I had the prints I wanted, I hopped over to Walmart, printed them out for about $1.50 and then stuck them in some Ikea frames I had lying around. The quality of the prints wasn’t perfect, but unless you really got up close and studied them, you would never know.

 

Lastly, I decided to paint a green accent wall as well as paint the doors to the closet the same green. The room was initially all in Revere Pewter, which I liked, but needed to make it a bit more kid friendly. I was

Favorite Items

I have to say my favorite in the room would have to be the furniture. I was so happy to be able to closely replicate what I really wanted with a reasonable facsimile.

Advice

If what you want to do/buy is out of your budget, get creative to make it happen. If you look hard enough, there is usually a reasonable facsimile. :)