My big boy is really only two and a half, but he will grow to be a big boy in this room.
We knew it was time to take down his crib after a recent successful out of town experience in a big boy bed. Plus, he is really big for a two year old and needed a bigger bed.
We moved him into his big brother, Jack’s old room. This is how the room looked before we switched rooms:
And here is the Big Boy Brennan version:
I kept the same theme that was in his nursery.
Another before…these were taken just as we were getting started switching rooms :
Yikes!
And Brennan’s new and improved room!
As you can see, I added board and batten (faux, of course) and painted it a creamy color (left over from the bathroom redo). The other paint colors were left over from his nursery.
I won’t go into a big board and batten tutorial, but I used MDF purchased in 2′ x 4′ pieces cut into 4″ strips. This whole room cost less than $20 to do. I used the height they came in to save a cut, but this happened:
Oops! No biggie, lesson learned:) The overall effect is still great!
The big issue in this room was toy storage. One of my Top 10 Project Wishes for 2013 was to move Brennan’s toys from the living room to his room.
He has a lot of toys! I also didn’t want to spend any money so this is the solution I came up with.
My mom found this for me last Summer at a yard sale for $5:
This is what I was using to store Brennan’s toys when they were all down stairs:
The bookcase was pretty rough, but this unit from Target was in perfect shape. To match the room, I primed, painted, and sealed both pieces.
Stacking one on top of the other saved a lot of space and made for a great storage area.
I anchored it to the wall with an L bracket:
Total cost including paint supplies=$22. Love that!
I also love these bins for sorting toys.
I found the blue ones mismarked on clearance at Target for $6.48 for two. The green ones were on clearance for $9.03 for a two. (Random prices, eh? I’m sure there’s a system?!) Nothing beats them for sorting all those little pieces and parts! I even used them in my Master Closet Makeover.
Remember how we sawed the awkward “hump” off of Brennan’s changing table? If you missed it, you can read more about it here. I love it now with its new top.
I made this pocket organizer to hang on Brennan’s crib to hold booties and other little baby things when I was creating his nursery. Now it holds favorite friends. The picture above it is one of two that I painted for his nursery, using old frames my mom had in her attic (that I painted) to frame them. (This is a judge-free zone ha ha! I am not an artist!!)
This is the other one. The images were taken from his crib bedding.
I found this print at a yard sale for $8. It’s a perfect match!
This shelf was another stolen attic find from mom’s house. (Thanks, mom.)
I just added some paint. The onsie was one of my favorites that Brennan wore as a baby. I framed it in a shadow box frame that I painted to coordinate with the room. The sleeping Anne Geddes baby is just precious. It was a gift from my mother-in-law.
This glider came from the nursery of one of my nephews. I covered it to match the room. The sweet monkey patch quilt was made for Brennan by one of my favorite people. (Thanks, Candace!) I made the striped pillow.
I ordered the valance online to match the bedding but when it arrived, it was too dinky so I made the valance behind it. I attached the one I purchased to the front. I like them together.
This little monkey pic was painted by my ten year old who was seven at the time. He wanted to help make something to go in the nursery. We had the frame; just added paint.
This super sweet little whale pillow was made from the crib bumper pads. You can see how I did that here. The bed is one of Jack’s old bunk beds. (The door that the bed rests against leads to a tiny closet that holds the hot water heater…just in case you wondered…) The bedding came from TJ Maxx.
Look who came for a visit. This is our sweet kitty, Holly. She’ll be 16 this year! She and I are tight, we girls have to stick together in this house full of boys!
I painted the closet with the paint left from the board and batten. This is every stitch of clothing this child owns except for jammies, socks, and t- shirts. I like to be able to see everything he has at once. Summer on the left, Winter on the right. Although half of these are probably too small now. He’s growing like a weed! Luckily there are five boys between me and my sister so we pass clothes back and forth:)
I kept one big basket of toys in the living room. Most of his bulkier toys are in that basket.
That monkey on the shelf is a garbage can from Target. I had to have it, but it’s never held garbage! The rug also came from Target. The shelf was from Jack’s old room.
I just had shears hanging and it was so light and airy. But we had to hang black out drapes ($12 a panel at Walmart) to encourage sleeping past sun up:)
I spent nothing to furnish this room unless you count the $5 bookcase my mom purchased. The bed and dresser belonged to Jack. Most of the accessories were made by me, upcycled, or gifted.
Hopefully he won’t outgrow this room too soon. I know Spiderman and Ben10 are just around the corner. (At least that’s what Jack was into…)
It’s such a sweet room to be in. I really enjoyed putting it together.
I hope you enjoyed the tour!
XO,
If you like what you see, there are several ways to follow along!
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Julie @ Being Home says
Wow! Amazing and beautiful transformation! You really paid attention to the details. 🙂
Great work! 😀
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Julie!
Christine@DecorumDIYer says
Great job being so resourceful. Your results look anything, but budgeted. Although, lucky for you, it seems as though you a lot of resources to pull from. I bet your little guy is thrilled and now the others are jealous, no? Thanks for sharing an amazingly wonderful room.
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Christine! I am really lucky, friends and family are always passing things along to me:)
Christine says
Looks great, I love those Target cubbies….I just redid my sons room a bit…check it out when u ge a chance…
http://littlebrags.blogspot.com/2013/03/little-boys-bedroom.html
Christy K. James says
Ok! Coming to check you out…
Jeanette @ Creating a Life says
What a great “big boy” room! You did a wonderful job with all the details and colors and it’s so organized! Thanks so much for sharing it (just popped over from Jennifer Rizzo)
Jeanette @ Creating a Life
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Jeanette! I’m really pleased with how it turned out:)
Natasha in Oz says
What a cute room! I think my teen-aged son would love this. You did a great job.
If you have a minute to spare perhaps you could link up this post to my Say G’Day party? It has just started and I would be so thrilled if you could join in and share this bedroom transformation!
Best wishes,
Natasha in Oz
Christy K. James says
I’d love to…Oz as in Australia? My dad’s from Sydney:)
margo says
What a handsome room!
Goedele - Old Red Barn says
What a make-over!!! My boys would be sooo jealous. It would be awesome if you would join my link party this weekend! Hope to see you soon.
Goedele
Helen says
this is fantastic! Found you through Jennifer Rizzo and so glad I did!! I love this *pinned* and thanks for sharing
Christy K. James says
Thanks so much, Helen! I love the name of your blog:)
Lauren says
Such a cute boys room. I don’t have kids, but I love kids rooms for some reason. Weird I know. I would love it if you would share this over at my link party.
http://www.ifitsnotbaroquedesignblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/tuesday-link-party-10.html
Christy K. James says
Thanks for the invite, Lauren:)
Mel says
Great job it is a really lovely room
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Mel 🙂
Kara @ Smplistically Sasssy says
This is adorable! In love it!
Christy K. James says
Thanks so much, Kara 🙂
JoAnn @ SweetPepperRose says
What a fabulous make over, for nearly free! that bookcase was a steal for $5 – my kind of buying… I want to do this faux board and batton in my craft room. I esp. love the little outfit in the shadow box!
JoAnn @ sweetpepperrose.blogspot.com
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Joann for your sweet comments! That really was a great deal on the bookcase:)
Leslie says
Very cute! I love the walls! Great job.
Kammy's Korner says
Girl, we are SO alike – I’ve come this conclusion after reading this post! Especially the board and batten – saving a cut using the height they came in with the little “oops” lightswitch – it’s like I’m reading my own blog post of a project I haven’t done yet! Haha. You are awesome – way to truly redo a room on budget that still looks AWESOME!!! Oh, and I have to say the painting by your 10 year old is the BEST! Love it!
Christy K. James says
You are so funny! This DIY business is hard work! We have to cut corners where we can, right?? My son would be glad to hear you liked his painting, he did a great job:)
Catherine says
Great job with the room! Bet he loves it! I was just wondering, if it is not homemade, where did you get the quilt/cover on his bed? I love the colors and would like to find something just like it for my soon-to-be big boy’s new bed! Thanks!
Christy K. James says
Hi Catherine,
I actually saw this quilt at TJ Maxx a while before we started redoing his room. I couldn’t settle on anything else when I started shopping for a new quilt for his big boy bed because I kept picturing that one I had seen. However, it had long left the shelves at TJM. Then one day I went into a Marshalls and there it was! I was so excited. Unfortunately that doesn’t help you, but I checked the label and it’s made by “Authentic Kids”. Maybe you can find it online? Good luck! 🙂
Catherine says
Hi Christy,
Thanks for the information! I have a feeling that I am going to have the same problem of not being able to settle on anything else. Fingers crossed that I can find it online. Thanks again!
Cheryl Muller says
Your re-do’s are amazing, outstanding, useful, you really are talented. Really want to do our master closet like yours. You are an inspiration to get started. Oh love your kitty, and the painted monkey, really cute. Thanks for sharing
Christy K. James says
Thank you so much for your sweet words, Cheryl! They inspire me to keep going 🙂
Brenda says
I was just browsing Pinterest for ideas on a big boy bedroom redo. We have very similar taste. Not only do we have the same nursery theme, but we also have the same rug and same humidifier, hah! I really like how you transformed the nursery theme into a big boy room. You’ve given me some great ideas thanks!
Christy K. James says
Oh that’s wonderful, I’m so glad you found my post helpful! That’s funny we have so many things in common. I just loved my son’s theme when he was a baby, so I kept it and it can continue to grow with him. SO glad you stopped by! 🙂