PeaHen Pad: Boy's room makeover

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Boy's room makeover

I wish I could blame the Quarantine (and all the closeness) but I really can't. Separating my two boys was long overdue. Having a son in their early teen years was proving too much for my younger son who could no longer deal with all the teen angst. The pediatrician advised us to give the teen his own room (if we were able.) I guess I didn't really *need* my own craft room/gift wrapping room so I turned it into a room for my son. Now my teen has a HUGE room all to himself and he is loving his own space. They both in fact love that they can be apart in their quiet spaces and come together to play when they're in the mood. It was emotional for me to see them want to split up, but in the end it was the right decision. And now that they are being home schooled they are finding their quiet rooms even more useful.

Here is an idea of what the craft room looked like at one point. Although under the window once lived a bunny cage, and then an office space for my husband. Because of this room change, you can imagine, most every other room also changed. I had to move my husband into my office space, the older son's room needed some reorganization, the game room also became the craft room (and also the work out room.) So many changes!

BEFORE

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The first major change was giving the walls a new color. I used the Benjamin Moore Paper White that I had left over from the downstairs. It was a perfect way to save some money and not have to go to the Hardware store unnecessarily. My son's initial wants were a "Green" room. Instead of going all green, I added Emerald Green velvet drapes and painted the closet door and the backside of his main door Green.

BEFORE

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These built in counter tops at first seemed like too much storage for one kid, but it turns out having all this workspace during homeschooling time has been really beneficial. He has already made several art projects here and even has his own space for his laptop and an entire workspace for Legos. I was glad not to have to purchase a dresser and desk for him.

BEFORE

A while back the light fixture broke in this room. The glass behind the metal frame cracked so we put in the light fixture that I originally bought for my office. It's a bit feminine but my son doesn't seem to mind at all. In fact he has found that the metal outside provides the perfect place to tuck old rubber WWE characters.

NOW

BEFORE

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The metal futon was already in the game room and to make room for my craft supplies in there I decided it was best to give him this bed. And it has a nice trundle for sleep over friends. His old bed remains in his old room so my older son can also host sleepovers. The beehive black and white rug is from Amazon. At first I had ordered a gray one from Overstock, but they sent the wrong color so I had to return it.

A few of his favorite things: a dream catcher, his initial, and his most recent award, The Cub Scout Arrow of Light. I was on top of the ball and had this made for him before all this Coronavirus stuff hit, so I was able to present it to him this month. His pillow cases are from Restoration Hardware and the dog sheets are from Eddie Bauer Home.

The round gray table was something that came from his old room, a Habitat for Humanity find years ago.

Let me give a shout out to the store The Purple Painted Lady in NY. That is where I purchased the Annie Sloan chalk paint for the doors. The customer service is extraordinary and she shipped it really fast. The color is called "Amsterdam Green." And really was exactly the shade he wanted. I used two coats and a final coat of Annie Sloan Wax to seal it in.

BEFORE

I took down my wrapping paper rack and moved it into the game room (stay tuned for this makeover!) And we added Rubber Maid laminate Gray shelves and black metal brackets from the Home Depot.

NOW