This room was essentially a white box with dirty white carpet. The exception was the bright purple jack-and-jill bathroom.
Since the first day I saw the house, I’ve pondered what to do with this empty space from the dormer window. You’ll see what it’s become later in this post…
Okay, moving on. That room is too dull to spend another second looking at, especially for two rambunctious little boys. The boys love adventure and exploration, so that became the “theme” for the room, with our favorite colors – blue and green. We started by tearing up the carpet and installing white oak floors. The walls were painted a light gray – Silver Drop by Behr.
The boys are 5 and 7, and, for now, they love sharing a room – especially with bunk beds. When shopping for bunk beds, I had one main requirement – the ladder had to be attached to the beds. I could imagine the trouble they would cause with a detached ladder. The bunk beds we chose are relatively affordable but not exactly fun to put together. (If I recall, it took at least a few hours and six-pack of beer.)
If you have bunk beds in your house, you know how physically challenging it can be to change the sheets. After multiple iterations of bedding that caused me to sweat and pull a muscle each time I made the beds, we finally settled on this combination. We ditched the top sheet altogether and just use a fitted sheet. The boys said they didn’t need the top sheet, and it always ended up bunched up at the foot of the bed anyways. The chambray quilt is soft and a good weight for Florida. In winter, we just put another blanket on top.
The boys need a dresser large enough to share (they also have a walk-in closet), and this one was free. But, it desperately needed a makeover. A few coats of gray paint (to match the beds) and brass hardware completely transformed it. (See all the details of the gray dresser makeover here!)
You can see how the sink is actually part of their room. Here’s the view of their room from the bathroom.
Because the boys have a playroom downstairs, their bedroom is primarily for sleeping and reading. So, it was important to have a place to store all their books. Not to mention, books are a great way to add color to a kids’ room! (The rocking chair was their great-grandfather’s.)
While I love the wood floors, we needed a rug for the inevitable wrestling matches that occur in the boys’ adventure bedroom. This navy and white shag rug is perfect! It is so soft and it doesn’t show dirt or stains.
In addition to the globe, artwork incorporates the “adventure and exploration” theme. The green world map was one of first things I bought for my oldest son’s nursery almost 8 years ago. (I bought it from Etsy but, unfortunately, the shop is now closed.)
I also made these large military alphabet prints, as a nod to my husband’s military background. Here’s a closer look:
I downloaded a free military-style font and typed up the alphabet in a word document, then I added some color (blue and green, of course) and adjusted the formatting. Finally, I had them printed as 24 x 36 color engineering prints from Staples for about $5 each and hung them in metallic poster frames. In total, the artwork to fill this entire large wall came to about $40! And, as a bonus, my boys are actually learning the military alphabet – “Hooah!”
These sweet watercolor adventure maps were also from my oldest son’s nursery, another great Etsy find. Now, they fit perfectly into the boys’ adventure bedroom.
The arrows were an easy way to tie in the adventure theme. I purchased a few different style wood arrows (these, these, and these) and stained them different colors. Then, I stuck the arrows to the wall with double-sided tape. For fun, I sawed one of the arrows in half, so that it could bend around the corner.
Here’s another look at the arrows. After staining the large arrow, I sanded it down a bit to give it a more distressed look. The galvanized metal letter “W” is for our last name. In addition to blue and green, I used natural wood elements and metals through the space.
These wood paddles were in my younger son’s nursery, but they were light blue. I sanded them down and stained them to match the arrows.
I love the vintage look and colors of this celestial chart.
Are you ready to see what is behind that navy and white striped curtain?
It’s a secret hideout / reading nook!
So, here’s what we did – The “curtain” is actually a piece of blue and white fabric. I cut a slit about halfway up and trimmed it with yellow pom fringe. I hemmed the sides and bottom and sewed a pocket on top for a curtain rod. We attached a wood board to the top of the opening and attached brackets on the back, which hold the curtain rod in place. (I tried using a tension rod initially, but the boys kept pulling it down…)
Turns out that an old crib-size mattress fit almost perfectly into the space. We strung some lights, and the boys helped decorate the walls with glow in the dark stars. Glow in the dark planets hang from the ceiling.
The boys were so excited that they slept in their hideout, on that little mattress, together the first night it was set up!
S O U R C E S
Wall Color: Behr Silver Drop
Bunk Beds: Overstock
Quilt: Similar from Hayneedle
Pillow Shams: Similar from Pottery Barn
Sheets: Similar from The Company Store
Rug: Amazon
Watercolor Prints: Etsy
Celestial Chart: Retro Planet
Wood Arrows: Amazon (these, these, and these)
Galvanized Metal Letter: Hobby Lobby
Curtain Fabric: Cabana Premier Stripe Navy
Bookshelf: Target
White Floor Lamp: Crate & Kids
