Wednesday, April 28, 2010

the boys' room post

I have been meaning to post about wrapping up the boys' room project but two things keep hindering me whenever I find the time to prepare:
1) The weather is cloudy, making for dark photos
2) The room is a mess and tidying it up would consume all of my post-writing time



So, here is what the boys' room looks like when it's neat on a cloudy day.



For those of you just tuning in, my two young boys share a room. After months of going back and forth on what color or theme, we decided to split the space in half by their favorite colors.



I wasn't able to locate any before photos from my archives but when we bought our home, this dresser had been placed in the wall as a built-in. (Hmm?) When my husband removed it I thought the piece had potting bench possibilities but it collapsed during the tinkering process!



In place of the phony built-in my husband built and installed a bookcase.



The furniture, seen covered in small stickers, was still white with yellow knobs from the nursery days. It was time for a change.



The drawer fronts are painted the colors of the walls with their knobs and exteriors two shades darker from the same paint chip.



Most everything is from either Ikea or Target.



I had posted previously on creating this no-sew valance.



L-shaped shelves from Ikea were hung together to form cubes -- perfect for holding books and displaying fuzzy blue Pokemon.



This Star Wars poster was a freebie included with a boxed set of Valentine cards. We bordered the poster to fit the frame using construction paper.



It wasn't easy at times but it was worth it. Although my youngest just told me that his favorite color has changed!

If you are interested in reading more about the process of re-doing this room along with some decorating ideas, I just had an article posted at the online parents' guide Kidoinfo, titled: You Really Can Do-it-Yourself: Making One Space Work for Two.

xo
elyse

ps



No more dumpster!

40 comments:

Lisa said...

This is such a cute room, Elyse. I love how you divided it up by color! Great job!

Katy Noelle said...

What a brilliant idea! It makes it super fun and cheery to have the two colors and, then, problem solved! Gosh, I know what you mean about cloudy days and messy rooms. It's kind of serendipity when the two coincide - well, you know what I mean. Anyway, everything blends perfectly and you must feel so good to have this project done!!!

btw, I'm glad that I'm not the only one with a million projects to share about. Blogging is such a wonderful reward for a job well done, isn't it?

Love, Katy

Unknown said...

What a CUTE space and idea Elyse!! You have created such a special place for you boys to each feel unique!! I LOVE It!! You are such a sweet mom! And so easy to stop fights too, lol! Now they know just what space is theres, perfection!!
You always have the most brilliant ideas!!
Hugs,
Amy

Old Centennial Farmhouse said...

I just LOVE those two colors together and HOW SMART to combine the two. Your boys did a good job choosing colors that would compliment each other and you did a good job putting everything together!
Ü
Joni

Angela said...

Love that blue and green...great idea!!

stefanie said...

change his mind...oh...no!!!!! it turned out great...maybe it will last a few years!!!

Mercedes Spencer @ Liberty Biberty said...

What a great room! Love that you used their favourite colours.
Oh to have Ikea and Target in my country!
Mercedes

Stephani Cochran said...

Wonderful job. I so enjoy reading all of your posts. I'm amazed at all that you accomplish. I think you should do a post about time management! You must manage yours well to get everything done!

Terri said...

Ok girl!!! You should be a decorator!!! Terri

debi said...

The boys' room turned out amazing!! I love the idea of dividing the room with the paint...wish I'd thought of that when mine were young and sharing rooms! lol

No dumpster...yeah!!!

I got the new issue of Romantic Homes...your article is wonderful, I really enjoyed it!! Go Elyse!!

Diva Kreszl said...

I simply love the split room, waht a great idea! It looks wonderful :)

Lisa said...

Woo-Hoo! No more dumpster AND your boys room is just great!!! I love the colors together and how it is split! I am sorry one changed his mind! ;) I am glad that you are done with the dumpster! Happy Wednesday sweetie!
Hugs, Lisa

Vicki said...

Hi, Elyse,
First, I looked at your previous post and love your lovely bedroom redo. It is so cheerful and happy and just perfect for you and your style. Now, I love the boys room, too. You did a great job with the paint, book shelves and everything to make it a wonderful room for them. I hope you have had a terrific week, sweet friend! Love and blessings~ Vicki

dalesdreams said...

It looks great and I bet they love it.

Smart to just paint it the two colors!

Claudia said...

I bet the boys love their freshly painted space! It looks great, Elyse; you did a fabulous job.

Bye-bye dumpster!

I am missing working on a project here. Of course, I am very busy, but I wish I could redo something! I have the embroidery but haven't been motivated to tackle that yet.

xoxo
Claudia

Lori said...

Elyse, that room is SO cute and SO clever!!! you did a beautiful job...and the colors you chose marry so well together...bravo!!!

LaurieStar said...

Wow! You did it! Congratulations on finishing it. You must be glad it's all done. I know how hard it is to redecorate when they're waiting to get in there! My son's favorite color is bright orange! Do you think I painted his room this color? NO WAY! So you are a much better Mom than me! :)

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

It turned out great!!
Hugs,
Penny
p.s. congrats on the feature in Romantic Homes!!

Sandy aka Doris the Great said...

Beautiful space!

koralee said...

Everything you touch is so magical!!!! You amaze me my sweet friend..thanks for sharing!

Pansy Cottage Girl said...

It turned out great. I bet both boys are happy to have their own space and favorite color and still have a roommate when there's something creepy under the bed!

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Fabulous! Clean and simple. Can you come do my boys room? It so needs a makeover. Always such a mess. And right now, a hodge podge of pieces and colors and fabrcis! It's on my list of things to do -- along with 100 others. :/ Have a great day! Tammy

Bellaboo said...

Just been catching up with your posts..and I LOVE what you have done with your bedroom and the boys room.
I must get cracking with some decorating...it's actually getting the motivation to get going that's the problem with me..but when I've done it,I think,now why didn't I do that before!

Bellaboo :0)

Bellaboo said...

Bellaboo :0

Anonymous said...

I love the way you incorporated the dresser/wall colors together! The dressers really make the divided space look great! ♥

Unknown said...

Yay! No more dumpster! The boys' room looks awesome! I hope they love it! :)
~TattingChic ♥

Kim-Fille de Fleur said...

Oooo and Ahhhhh, Honestly Elyse you should do this for a living! I love that you were fearless and went for it (color that is)
When my son was young I did a beach theme with red, blue and sand colors. The red chair rail topped a sand colored wall paint that had sand in it! And I was renting! Talk about fearless. My favorite part of the room was the old red oar I found, chippy paint, just perfect. I still have it in the rafters at the cottage and can not part with it. Someday it could be in my grandsons room! When I get one that is!
Keep sharing with us I would love to see the entire house. Are you going to do Where bloggers create? It is a lot of fun and you could win a prize. I did it last year and it makes you get organized which is a good thing!
Kim

Cathy said...

Hi Elyse,

Great job. Love the colors. They boys must be so excited!

I woke up this morning and my fever is down a bit, so I thought I would post some pictures of the P&P Art Event. Drop by and take a peak some time.

xo Cathy

Sweet Cottage Dreams said...

You know what? The other day I was wondering if you had finished their room and voila! You did!

I love the split colors - so creative! Their room is totally cool! And clean, too!! ;0

xoxo
becky

Jessi Nagy said...

hey sweetie,
eeekkk love the colors!! bright and cheery!!
im sure the boys love it!!!
stopping in to say hi!!
hope all is well
oxoxo,
jessi

Jessi Nagy said...

hey sweetie,
eeekkk love the colors!! bright and cheery!!
im sure the boys love it!!!
stopping in to say hi!!
hope all is well
oxoxo,
jessi

Recaptured Charm said...

Oh myyy... what an awesome idea to split the colors...had you told me before actually seeing it, I'm not sure I would have agreed, but I like that so much bette than one single color.
Wonderful creativity!

Karen said...

Love it!!! I did something similar when my two boys were small. They begged us to let them share a room. They didn't need to - they wanted to. We kept asking if they were sure - so after 3 months of begging, I gave in. Fixed it all up cute . . . and it lated all of 2 weeks! "OH WELL" I said. They stayed together through summer and then I moved them back. LOL.

You are right! Yes that was Cathy Scalise you saw! You should see her the next night! SHE WORE A TUTU! What a nut! It was so fun to meet her.

HAGE! Karen

{oc cottage} said...

Mom, you are the coolest! What an amazing job! {I see another magazine in your future!}

m ^..^

Maryjane-The Beehive Cottage said...

The boys room looks so cute Elyse! You did good girl and I am sure the boys love you to pieces for it! They are having sweet dreams for sure!

Hugs,
Maryjane

Queen B. said...

* P E R F E C T * simply PERFECT !
2 OF MY BOYS share a large room, similar to the shape of your project... and I haven't painted it yet.
What a BRILLIANT idea !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love it..........xo

cupcake studio said...

What a GREAT room! Lucky boys :)

Kateyed said...

Wow,
You did an amazing job with that room! I am just stunned when I see the start to finish. The color division is really clever. It works!
Suz

Nishant said...

What a brilliant idea!
post free classifieds

permanent magenta said...

How absolutely thrilling! and inspiring, and terrific!! okay, i will soldier ahead with my home decore projects.