Classic, Collected and Simple Little Boy’s Room
WE DON’T DO CHARACTER ROOMS
Let’s keep this affordable little boys bedroom timeless. There is a time and place for fun kids characters and themes.I like to keep them in birthday parties and maybe a t-shirt here or there, and in actual toys. Like the Pokemon stuffed animals on their beds, my husband has fully gotten them into Pokemon and all things boys and we have a generous Pokemon stuffed animal collection that they actually play Pokemon wars with. Is that the right term? I don’t actually know.
CLASSIC FURNITURE
I have loved Mid Century Modern furniture ever since we bought our first home and I was second hand furniture shopping. That was before this style went bonkers and came back in a big way. When we signed up to be foster parents and needed furniture for the bedroom this dresser was given to us by family. I (GASP!!} painted it white and blue back then and honestly have no regrets. I recently stripped it when we exited the baby boy stage, and I haven’t stained or finished it yet. One day, one day I will get to it. The mirror I picked up for $20 at a vintage store nearby. The beds I ordered new, and the bookshelf across the way was a side of the road find about a decade ago.
MIXING PATTERNS AND ADDING TEXTURE
The quilts on their beds are actually the ones I picked out when our older boys came to live with us. I will keep them forever and ever amen. My kids’ kids will sleep under them. They were a splurge, at $50 each, and one was actually a gift from someone who thoughtfully asked what I needed or wanted most when we adopted three kids at once. My immediate response was, there are these quilts and I can only afford one, maybe you could buy the other one? And she said yes immediately. I will never forget that kindness.
The quilts are a smaller/busier pattern, so I went with a big pattern on the floor and the pattern on the curtains is a mid sized pattern. I added yet another pattern with the sheets, and I am absolutely in love with it all. With so many patterns going on I kept the shams and pillows solid and three of the walls solid. I knew I wanted to have fun with the fourth wall though.
THE MURAL AND TOY STORAGE
It took me a couple of years to figure out what I wanted for the mural. I even ordered a large fabric mural from amazon, it wasn’t a great choice honestly. Eventually I cobbled together ideas from multiple sources and my own head and a friend who is an incredible artist came and made it come to life for us. I added the dinosaurs from Hobby Lobby a few months later. They were on a garland, I just took them off the garland and used command picture hanging strips to fix them to the wall. That way when they get pulled off the wall it’s not a big deal. They are just velcro so I just put them back. This is a great way to make decor accessible and indestructible.
THINGS TO PLAY WITH AND READ
We have a two story home, so there are multiple areas of play available to our kids. In this room we have the bookshelf with a couple of baskets of toys, and a small selection of books that I switch out often for variety. We also have a selection of stuffed animals and action figures on display. Kids rooms should have toys on display. Not all kids toys are obnoxious, and you do have a say in what toys you allow into your home. We don’t have space for giant configurations of racetracks or giant structures so those aren’t options for our kids.
In their closet we have a Lego table, which is just a small DIY desk that we cut down to be ‘sit on the floor and play’ height and I glued on Lego plates from Dollar Tree. Stick a couple buckets under it and they are good to go. Also in the closet is the dress up station. We have hooks for all the things that hang, and a couple of buckets on a lower shelf over to the side for things that don’t hang like helmets and such.
BUT my favorite toy in the room is the swing. They swing in it, spin in it, climb it up to the ceiling and jump. It’s fantastic and wonderful. Pro Tip, fill it with pillows, not the inflatable cushion that comes with it. They pop so fast!
It’s actually really easy to mount something to a ceiling. You just find the studs/joists and screw an eye hook into them, hang the swing from the eye hook. What do you do when joists aren’t exactly where you need them to be? You just take a 2×4 and mount the 2×4 to the joists with long sturdy screws. You then drill a hole into the 2×4 smaller than your eye hook and screw it in. Then you attach whatever hanging device you want and let them have a blast!
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Similar quilthere
Another similar quilt here
Pod style swing here
Couldn’t find our rug but this one would be amazing and it comes in lots of color ways – here .
Not quite as cool as our Ikea curtains but these are very similar and awesome! here.
These beds are very similar – just with straight spindles instead of slanted ones here .
100% cotton sheets- cotton lasts wash after wash – unlike the ones with synthetic fibers here .
Ceiling fan- this one is super similar, make sure you get the right size for your room!
Command picture hanging strips – here.
If you have any questions feel free to email me or reach out on Instagram or Facebook!
Cheers!
Melinda
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