Big Boy Room Makeover

Check out the awesome big boy room I put together for a five-year-old.

It’s got a great balance of kid and parent friendliness, which makes it an ideal space for everyone. This space has come a long way from when I started this project. Check out the before pic below:

The before pic shows what I think parents typically do to their kids’ bedrooms: go with a theme of some sort, in this case, sports. So, there were sports pennants hanging throughout the room and I’m not sure if you can tell, but even the light fixture was a baseball. The carpet, window treatment and wallpaper border were all outdated.

I was able to create a sophisticated, yet kid-friendly space that can easily grow with the child and that parents actually enjoy looking at.

Check out some of the details from this great space:

Ryder Bedroom Detail 2

Here are my tips for creating kids’ rooms that parents will love too:

1. Stay away from the themed sets of any kind.

Whether it’s your kid’s favorite TV character or a more general theme like ballerinas or trucks, avoid the matching sets that contain the duvet cover, window treatment and rugs. First and foremost, it’s just not a practical purchase. As a mom myself, I can confidently tell you that no matter how much your son loves Sesame Street this year, next year, it will be something different. This will continue throughout their childhood. If your child is so obsessed with a TV character that you feel like you should purchase bedding, only buy the sheet set. Your child gets to sleep on his or her favorite character, but Mom and Dad don’t have to look at it everyday. You can’t tell, but the sheets on the bed here are Thomas the Train. It’s a great compromise.

Second, let’s face it: themed sets are not very stylish.

However, this is not to say that you can’t incorporate a theme into the room or that your kid’s interests should be ignored. We went with a sports theme in this room, the same theme used in the room previously. However, rather than hang pennants throughout the room, I hung three on a rod. It draws the eye to the set rather than spreading them out all over the walls. Or, rather than the sports-themed wallpaper border, I chose to hang actual balls on the wall. They make a bigger statement, and my five-year-old client thinks it’s awesome to have them on his wall. He’s also very into the Cavs right now, so I placed a LeBron bobblehead on his nightstand. Small touches like this add the child’s interests and personality without overwhelming the entire space, and they’re easily changed out when those interests change.

Another idea to incorporate a child’s latest interests is to put a picture of their favorite character in a frame, which again, is easily changed out later.

2. Use what you have

While this tip made my job a bit more difficult during this remodel, I think it’s important to use items that you already own if possible when putting together a child’s room. For this particular space, the bed, dresser, bookshelf and nightstand were already owned before the project started. There were changes made to these things: the nightstand, which was originally housed a very old television, was painted red (the five-year-old’s favorite color), and the bookshelf was stained to match the new decor. While these things certainly require money to change (and time if you’re a DIYer), I find that these kinds of projects are generally cheaper than buying high-quality, new items, and I also feel like people are more likely to do something a bit different or daring (like the fire engine red nightstand) if they’re reusing a piece they already own.

3. Decorate with your child’s things

Using your child’s things as decor is easy, inexpensive and super cute. It’s also easy to change these things out later, which as you know from this post, I find very important. In this space, I used an outgrown tee-ball glove on the shelf of the nightstand. It’s a personal touch, fits with the vibe of the room, and can be swapped out at any time.

Other ideas for decorating with your child’s things: Put a favorite toy into a shadowbox. This works well with small items like toy trains or cars. Or, put a removable hook on the wall and hang a superhero cape or tutu. These sorts of things make a space personable without being overwhelming.

At the end of this project, the five-year-old told me he “loves his new, beautiful room,” and Mom and Dad are thrilled too. It’s a win-win.

If you’re looking to remodel a children’s space and are interested in my services, Contact Me.