Monday, August 23, 2010

Room Reveal: a great room for a little man

Several weeks ago, I decided I was going to convert Thomas' nursery into a craft room. I felt a little guilty considering my baby boy is only a few months shy of 2 years old. It felt like I was forcing him to grow up before his time. The only was I could justify such selfish behavior on my part, was to create an oh so fun room for our little guy. So I got to work. Here is the before. Yes, it is painful to look at, and yes I had already tried out a little bit of dark brown paint on that back wall:
And here is the after...

I did a lot of decorating with what I had. We used many pictures and toys that used to be my husband's when he was a tiny tot.
We got creative and "fingerprinted" our dog. I think it adds to the charm of the room.
More little man accessories...
These are items I brought over from his nursery that I just wasn't ready to let go of...

My grandmother's quilt she made for Thomas when he was born...
I used a lot of my sister's photography...
Here is a little bit of copycat decorating. Have you seen Emily's boy's room over at Jones Design Company?
Emily's framed monograms are much fancier, but the idea is the same.
A few more details worth showing...
Here is more decorating with stuff we had around the house, like baseball caps and my collection of the Left Behind book series. Maybe in about 15 years he will read them.
Have you seen these "Little Buddy" pillows from Serena and Lily? They are darling, but I refuse to pay their price tag...so I made my own.
A "find all your cousins and grandparents" collage.
And finally my favorite picture of my kids. He is indeed our little "Ladies Man".
Come back next time and I will show you how I did some of these decorating tricks, like my stenciled walls, and the Serena and Lily knock off pillows just to mention a few. Hope to see you soon!
Because I'm feeling a little blogger happy today, I'm linking up with THREE of my favorites: my blogger friend Rhoda at Southern Hospitality because I used so many found treasures that were my husband's, The DIY Showoff, and Sumo's Sweet Stuff.

Amy

36 comments:

Vanessa said...

Hi Amy! I got on to shut my computer down and saw your post pop up! I just absolutely love your son's room! What a very special place for your little guy to grown into. I'm partial to all of those heirloom touches too and I think they are getting a new life in this fabulous new space. Great job!
Vanessa
http://southerninmyheart.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Absolutely adorable!!! Your little mans room looks just like my sons...the decor is VERY similar. And those pillows...my sons are white with red dogs :) Too cute hun! You did a fantastic job & i'm sure he just loves it to pieces.

emily said...

Super cute. Love those dog silhouette pillows!

Anonymous said...

Wow -- what a great room. So many exciting aspects to your design. I'm anxious to see all about your stencil project! Well done! Quite an inspiration.

Laura@OutnumberedMom said...

What a beautiful boy room!! I love all the little touches, too -- the "find your relatives" collage.

What a blessed little guy!

Cat said...

Wow! This is wonderful! It you did it so quick! I love the pillow. It was the first thing I noticed. :)

emily freeman said...

Yay! It looks fantastic! Perfect for a boy.

Shannon said...

Awesome!

Emily said...

It's so awesome!! Love it!

emily@remodelingthislife

Jo said...

What a great room to grow into over the years. The special touches are perfect. I can't wait to see how you did them!

Jo

kathie said...

I love the room! Plenty of touches that will grow with him, thanks for sharing!

Design A-Peele said...

this room is absolutely adorable :) you really have such a gift!

The Starr Family said...

HOORAY!!! What a perfect coincidence... I am just starting to revamp my son's room and this is wonderful inspiration!! This post came at just the right time Amy! His room looks magnificent!

Brittany Chaudhari said...

This is such a GREAT room!! It makes me want to get to work on my boys' rooms asap!! You did a fabulous job!!

Erin said...

Gorgeous. I love how personalized you made the room for him. It feels and looks like it has been his room for years. great job!

Jemsmom said...

Amy, that is beyond amazing! You need to go into business girl!!!! I love it and I am sure that Thomas loves it too and feels so special!

Richella Parham said...

What a wonderful space you've created! Good for you, Amy!

Does Thomas sleep in that big boy bed, or is he still sleeping in a crib? I remember moving my oldest out of the crib when he turned 2, because his younger brother was about to be born. But I kept my "baby" (now 13 years old) in a crib until he was over three years old. He didn't mind, and he wasn't a climber, so everyone was happy!

I'm looking forward to seeing the details on this room--and then I'm really looking forward to seeing your craft room!

Kristin said...

What an incredible room! Looking forward to your decorating tips.

Woodard Gang said...

Love his room! I can't wait to see how you stenciled the wall...I'm thinking maybe that for my laundry room!

Anonymous said...

I love a little boy's room! I did my middle son's nursery in the Pottery Barn dog quilt w/ fun puppy accessories. Love the pillows you made!

Larissa@Just Another Day in Paradise said...

Saw this on making the world cuter. LOVE it. I love your detailed wall. Having three little men, I love seeing new ideas for boys room.

GREAT job!

Just Another Day in paradise

Brittney said...

That looks so great! I love all of the doggie accents, perfect for a little boy. I can't wait to read about the wall stencil!

Dear Lillie said...

Oh my goodness! This is incredible! I think boys rooms can be so hard to pull off and you did it absolutely magnificently!

Carmen @ Life with Sprinkles on Top said...

Adorable! I love it all! I love the stenciled walls. Well done!

Anonymous said...

All I can say is "wow"!!

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

It looks wonderful, Amy! I like how you did one wall dark and I thought the other walls were wallpapered! I can't believe you stenciled them ~ I'm looking forward to reading a post about that. Love all the little touches. What's good is that he will be set in this room for many years. You did a great job!

Unknown said...

I'd love it just for the paw print! However did you get the paint off of him?

Shoot, just for that, would love for you to link up Sunday to Passion for Paint. Well, actually, if you have your post on the stenciled wall, that would be cool too!

Between You and Me said...

you did such a beautiful job in his room!!! I love it, girl!!!

Janell @ House of Fifty said...

Fabulous job!!! Thanks for the comment on my blog and the tip for a great stencil resource!!! Janell
p.s. following now, look forward to what comes next!

Kristi said...

I LOVE your baby boys room!!! And how timely I stopped by tonight, I have almost the SAME bed in my garage that I am going to be spray painting tomorrow!!!!
I am wondering if I need a boxspring or just a mattress? Did you use a boxspring? I had metal slats put in mine.....

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Awww, Amy, I almost missed this post! I love everything you did & I'm really inspired by that stencil. I just love it. Now where can I use something like that?! Gorgeous.

Katy said...

wow that is super cute, my head is spinning with all the inspiration!!

Unknown said...

Lovely! That stencil is getting around, second time I've seen it in as many weeks, looks like a trend to me. Love the crisp blue on white.
Paula ~ Mise en scène

Mommy_2_3monkeys said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mommy_2_3monkeys said...

Technical difficulties.

Love the brown and blue. Great inspiration pics for my son's room

As for the painting of the stencils...you mentioned craft paint. What type? Never used this and would like a stencil project to be as simple as possible, as I have never done that either!

Playing Sublimely said...

Hey Mommy to three monkeys...any kind of craft paint will do. I like Folk Art, but anything that your craft store carries would work fine :)

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