Big Boy Room Redo

Growing Up

A room designed for an infant is bound to reflect Mom’s tastes more than the child’s. But as a baby grows into a toddler and develops his own interests, it’s time to treat him to a room he can call his own. By choosing a broad theme that leaves room for imagination rather than a single idea like trucks or dinosaurs, this makeover satisfies both mother and child. Even Daddy likes it.

Before: Baby Boy Blue

The nursery previously had a vaguely South of France meets Morocco design, with chocolate walls and pale blue accessories. A scalloped edged shade blocked out light but gapped where it met the window frame. The bed was a lovely old French daybed―fine for a baby’s room but too delicate for a rough-and-tumble boy.

Paint Magic

Inspired by the classic children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are, the room was first given a fresh coat of paint. A dreamy, watery blue covers the walls, trim, and ceiling. The low-VOC Aura paint covered the chocolate walls in one coat, and left no noxious fumes. A camouflage panel, found at an outdoor store, serves as a canopy, and bedding in a camping print carries out the sportsman theme.

Sheets: Target 
Paint Color: Constellation by Benjamin Moore
Camouflage panel: Bass Pro Shops 
 

Creature Comforts

Bugs, birds, and wildlife became a decorative motif, with a cardboard “trophy” mounted on the wall beside the bed and a bird stenciled sconce hung low to cast a cozy glow for bedtime reading.

Cardboard deer, sconce: Leaf & Petal at the Gardens, (205) 877-3030

Organization Matters

Just inside the door, a wire locker hung low on the wall provides storage for a young boy’s gear. Hooks along the bottom provide an easy way for him to help keep his room tidy. Another cardboard trophy adorns the wall.

Locker: Leaf & Petal at the Gardens, (205) 877-3030

Window Treatment

To hide the gap above the blinds, a carpenter was enlisted to build a valence to resemble a shingle roofline. Salvaged cedar shingles overlap to create the suggestion of a cabin in the woods. The babyish scallop along the bottom of the shades was trimmed off, and wood bead necklaces were glued along the border to create definition. Log tables and a branch-based floor lamp continue the woodsy theme.

Tables: Pottery Barn 
Rug: Pottery Barn 
Lamp: At Home, (205) 879-3510

Natural Details

A terrarium is a fun project to make with kids, and it can bring a touch of organic life to a boy's room without the mess of a houseplant. Add his favorite figurine to personalize it.

Out on a Limb

Vinyl decals are all the rage these days, but one large enough to fill a wall can run well over $300. To get the look for less, a decorative painter traced a stylized tree and filled it in with chocolate brown paint. (She added a pair of owls in deference to Mom’s penchant for them.)

 

Table Talk

A child-size table was built in less than an hour with birch logs cut to serve as legs, a crafts store round wood tabletop nailed to the logs, and burlap staple-gunned to the tabletop. Nailhead trim adds designer polish to the project.

Bugs Under Budget

On the wall over the bed, where you could hang a pricey painting, inexpensive cardboard letters from the crafts store add a personal touch, and bronze grasshoppers make their way up the wall.

Grasshoppers: Leaf & Petal at the Gardens, (205) 877-3030