Boys' Room v. 4.0

Our boys share a room.  A room they are, legally, allowed to share (it's 125 square feet, in Indiana you need 50 square feet per kid in a room).  It is, however, rather small (see: 125 square feet).  It spent many (7) years being a catch all room for us that was quickly transformed into a nursery when we got the call (and got home from New York) about Luke.  There have been many changes made in the 8½ years since, moving Luke out of his crib, adding Sam to the room, and, now, putting in a bunk bed.

Before the bunk bed went up!

Here's initial nursery "reveal" (I still remember taking this pictures during an evening storm).   Turning our old back door into a headboard for Luke's first big boy bed (this is in the attic now but he used it until the bunk bed went up!)  One of my favorite gallery walls over Luke's old bed that I was very sad to take down this summer. And contemplating adding to that gallery wall when we rearranged to add the crib.

Like all good home projects, we knew this one was coming for awhile, finally bit the bullet and ordered a bunk bed (this one from Wayfair), and then let it sit on the porch for 2ish months.  (Many thanks still to the mailman who saw me struggling to get the 125 lb box up our front stairs onto the porch and carried it for me!)  We waited forever for mattress pads to go on sale for Sam and then my sister so helpfully, maybe, helped us procure one with her "complete the registry" discount (me waiting for Target to put items on sale has slowed down MANY a project for me this year).

So for awhile we had a bunk bed AND a crib in the boys' little room, which always amazed people until I pointed out that the footprint for a bunk bed is essentially the same as a twin bed so really wasn't that much different than the 3 years we had Luke in a twin and Sam in a crib.

Anyways, in July the crib finally came down and the room was rearranged.  For the first time in his life, Luke's bed wasn't in the same nook where we put his crib when he was in the NICU and we were waiting to bring him home.  Yes, that did make me more emotional than it should have.   

Of course, the easiest part of this project was moving the furniture.  Doing that still left a pile of picture frames and art on their dresser, all of which "needed" new homes in their room.  I was very excited by the prospect of this project and also anxious to get the pile of art off their dresser (I didn't realize how much was on their walls until I took it all down). 

The biggest part was the large empty wall where my former favorite gallery wall was.  We had originally thought the bunk bed would go there but the dimensions just didn't work but didn't know that until I had taken all the frames and command strips down.  Which all worked out fine because I like the new one even better!   I knew I could pack A LOT of frames into this spot, give us room to showcase some of the boys' favorite things and some special family memories.

We started with laying out all the art that might go on the wall and then measuring out the not quite rectangle that was available to fill.  

Then I played with laying things out on the floor, taking into account the slope of the ceiling and the nightlight outlet.  I raided my decor cupboard for any unused frames and added those in too. Trying to space out the canvases and colored frames, even though some of those would be changing. 

Then it was making paper templates (with paper that had come as packing material in something) and taping all those up to the wall.  Adjusting a few as I went.  Spray painting a few frames to eliminate the orange (even though I ended up spray painting a different frame orange for Sam).  

Once I was happy with how it all looked I started hanging the ones I could with command strips.  About half of these came from the thrift store and some have a velvet-y back which I have learned doesn't hold command strips well.  Those I marked on the paper where a nail would go and Matt hung those for me later.  

 

I ordered one print on Etsy for this wall, updated a few of the pictures (initially I just filled a few with pictures I already had printed) and it was done!

That process actually took a good week, plus waiting for the printed items to come in the mail.  I was very excited and happy about the finished project.  It came out better than I expected!  It's my current favorite gallery wall of all that I've done.

A few other spots were easier to arrange but it took longer to get them done.  These Star War metal comic covers were the easiest, Command strip them up and DONE.

 

Then it was the spots by their beds.  Partially because Luke's birth stats stitchery had been there and worked when we rearranged but I decided to hang a few things at the foot of each of their beds (at least currently what is the foot end).  They each have their birth stats stitchery that my sister has made for all the grandkids (only 20+ of them) and then a family picture for each boy.  We went with what I had printed initially and Luke had no problem leaving his to just a picture of him, Matt, and myself when I offered to order him a new one that included his brother. (Then he saw that Sam got one from our cabin in Alabama that they loved so much and now he wants his to be from there as well.)  Luke also has various craft projects hanging up by his bed and we just ordered him a clip-on light for reading past bedtime. 

Luke had no preferences for what else I hung on his portion so I hung a canvas that he had painted 4ish years ago.  We had it and it fit the space!  Sam got a BB-8 picture that had been elsewhere but I spray painted a different frame orange for it.  He's more attached to the orange than BB-8.  And then Matt free drew a picture of a hammerhead shark because they are one of Sam's current favorite animals and then it got popped in another frame we had (and I had spray painted).  

Matt made white shelves back for Luke's initial nursery (there is another in the basement) and we have one hung for each boy over the dresser (which Matt also made) to display various sentimental things.  It all has to fit on the shelf! 

The mirror was mine as a kid and has been hanging there for awhile.  The picture of Jesus was also mine that I just pulled out of my special box when getting out my 1st Communion banner to hang for Luke's party in the spring.  I had been waiting the Samuel verse "For this child we have prayed" in their room for awhile, since we got our Samuel we prayed so hard for, and finally bought a print off Etsy to frame a few weeks ago.  The ottoman lives on from the original nursery and the blue bear my godmother made me when I was little!  

Under their bed there are 4 bins, two for each of them.  I ordered these (affiliate link) from Amazon (when they were cheaper than they show now) after Target no longer carries the ones I really wanted.  These are fine but they don't scoot real well on the carpet and they always look sloppy.  There were previously countless random boxes of Luke's & Sam's "treasures" under Luke's twin bed that I was not going to let stay with the higher bunk bed so these were the solution.  They each have stuffed animals in one and then the other is for "treasures".  All their random things they want to keep but I don't want to see laying all over the house.  It can be as messy as they want as long as it all fits.

Here's the nook that was formerly Luke's bed nook of 8 years.  The chair was from my paternal grandparents that Matt's sisters made a new slip cover for.  Matt built the bookshelf and my Grandpa made the nightstand in 1993 (which I know from the year he carved in the bottom, I almost cried when I saw that).  The pillow on the chair is one of these I made 8 years ago, just more stuffing and a new cover! 

Man, I didn't realize how many handmade and hand me down items are in their room until I started writing this post.  I'm rather proud of all that!  The Elmo was mine as a kid (ok, teen).  My sister made the crocheted red panda, lemur, and turtle.  Matt & the boys made the two carved animals (he says the dinosaur isn't any good and keeps wanting to get rid of it...I think he's crazy).

And to balance out all the homemade and hand me downs...book ledges from IKEA although the Mickey Mouse and his bed (and bedding) were mine as a kid too!   Besides the bunk bed and all of Sam's big kid bedding (pillow, mattress pad, etc.) I think I only bought the 4 under bed bins, 2 prints from Etsy, 2 picture frames, 1 can of spray paint, some command strips, and printed a few personal pictures.  Not too shabby!

And that's their newly finished, rearranged, and redecorated room!  Finding space for everything on the walls took quite a bit of time but it was a project that was really fun to take on.  Before I started the largest gallery wall it had been awhile since I did something creative like that and it was so energizing to do one again.  I felt great satisfaction in getting it finished and also motivated to keep working on the two other gallery walls I am working on redoing!  There is no motivation quite like finishing a project!