ro's big boy room progress
when it was time to leave our west midtown apartment last fall, the saddest moment was priming over Ro’s hand painted nursery wall (not sure what i mean? check it out here). i knew the moment i slapped up green paint in the apartment, we would one day after to cover it up, but that day came faster than i realized.
so when we moved into the new house, i knew his room needed to have a similar level of personality. something bold and themed, but could grow with him. before the movers arrived, i spent days working in his room - taping, painting, cleaning, planning so that his room at least felt a little like his on the first night.
then life happened and we had the rest of the house to try to wrangle as well. and his room was left in its beginning stages and semi-forgotten. but the past two weeks, i’ve had the urge to make some more progress in his space. here’s a little progress update from where we started to where we are now.
ro’s apartment nursery with hand-painted ‘wallpaper’
ro’s big boy room with treasure shelves & art
room theme & inspiration
with Ro’s nursery, it started as jungle/explorer and ended up somewhere close with a little neverland added in. for his big boy room i wanted something a little more sophisticated, but still be able to reuse most of his existing decor. now, when i describe the theme you’re going to laugh or roll your eyes, but bear with me... i’m going for ‘an anthropologist meets a botanist in an english manor house library’ vibe.
rowan’s room inspiration - the goal was to reuse much of what we already had, but then sprinkle in some new elements. let’s see how close this room is to the inspiration.
see, told you that you’d laugh. the reason its so complex is because i feel like this description can include anything from bugs to foliage, animals to chemistry, space to dinosaurs and still manage to compliment each other. and his massive windows overlooking our forest of a backyard just added to that feeling.
my vision for his room includes double layers of textures over his windows (for warmth and depth), layered rugs (for a plush feeling while he plays on his otherwise hard floors), lots of shelves for books and his favorite treasures, and a mix of woods and metals.
phase 1 : the power of paint
to create the library vibes, i knew i wanted something moody and impactful. i chose to play off his original nursery colors, and selected another rich green from Sherwin Williams (this time one slightly darker, rookwood shutter green) and painted ALL the walls, window trim and baseboards. i considered the ceiling as well, but decided to leave it white (at least for now).
i also painted his closet door and closet baseboards the same shade of green to keep things coordinated, yet different. the walls of his closet are just a basic shade of white (not the perfect white, but better than the original cream that was used).
paint name: Sherwin Williams rookwood shutter green
phase 2 : transition beds
this kid’s sleeping arrangements went from one beauty to another; from unique blue metal crib to a gorgeous wood toddler bed. we knew we had to transition him, ready or not, this summer because baby number two will be here in August. and i am so glad we did! not just from a visual stand point, but also because i love how the wood on his West Elm Dawson toddler bed pops against the dark walls. it adds to the library feeling, bringing sophistication, warmth and an organic element. but also because he’s able to wake up in the morning, hatch and play on his own before one of us come down to get him. its a nice routine.
his bed arrived earlier than anticipated. so it was a scramble to buy bedding. luckily, trusty Target had a full jungle collection that worked seamlessly with his concept. when the seasons change, i might consider another bedding set to keep his space feeling fresh, but for now, the bedspread is perfect with complimentary greens, mustards and foliage and we switch between playful animal print sheets and whimsical bananas.
from crib with toddler bars to…
… to a beautiful toddler bed from West Elm!
phase 3 : styling & decor
i re-used all of his decor from his nursery (like his shelves, felted elephant head and lightning bolt light) while also mixing in other pieces that were originally scattered throughout other rooms to fill his space. this room is so much larger than his nursery that even with the added pieces, it’s still not full. but that’s okay, it will allow time for him to find things he loves to add.
using the closet as an extra corner of his room
the closet in his room is nearly large enough to hold a small powder room or even laundry room; it’s huge! because of that, we decided to use it almost as another corner of his main room. to save space for more play in the main area, i tucked an extra large IKEA bookcase with a clothes rod and high shelf on one side and his dresser on the other.
his dresser was sourced from our original guest room so he can start reaching some of his own clothes. you can see how Jas and i transformed this dresser years ago here. i’ve loved how this piece continues to move between rooms as the need arises.
i also found that while i loved the look of the IKEA rattan ceiling light from his nursery, it wouldn’t provide enough bright light at night, so instead, i hung it in the closet for an extra pop.
future phases
his room still needs quite a few things to feel truly complete, but those will come with time, like curtains, art for over the bed, a storage cabinet and a new impactful overhead light. but for now, we will continue to enjoy adding things slowly. i’m looking forward to see what special treasures he wants to add to himself.
links
nursery image known links can be found in this post
inspiration image
black curtain rod . bamboo curtains . sand fabric curtains . brass ceiling light . kids book . blue book shelf . butterfly display . faux plant . dark wood shelf . lightning bolt light (we bought ours from Seed Factory) . toddler bed . banana sheets . tiger bed spread . arched cabinet . light switch cover . cream & brown rug (ours is from Costco) . cow hide (purchased at Scott’s Antique Market) . lion rug
power of paint images
room paint color . blue crib . treasure chest box (bought at Home Goods, similar linked) . brown toy shelf (bought at IKEA in 2007, similar linked) . white kids table . blue jungle quilt . cheetah sheets (bought at Anthropologie 2018, same but resold linked) . ship kite . mega blocks wagon . rhino stuffed animal
transition bed images
stuffed animal basket (similar linked) . corgi plush (Goodwill, linked similar) . activity box . baby gate
styling & decor images
on shelf : dark wood shelf . wooden giraffe figure (gifted, similar linked) . white planter (gifted, but from Anthropologie, similar linked) . brass plant mister (bought local, similar linked) . wooden elephant figure (gifted, similar linked) . constellation blocks . yellow wooden bus (purchased locally) . atlanta humor map (purchased locally, similar linked) . monkey cylinder (purchased locally)
gallery wall : zebra backsides art (purchased locally in 2001, similar linked) . woven basket (gifted, similar linked) . museum bee (purchased at Scott’s Antique Market, similar linked) . geogria wood piece (gifted, similar linked) . seasonal fish letterpress . safari hat . bee mixed media art (gifted, similar linked) . lightning bolt light (we bought ours from Seed Factory)
bed : bedspread . kids book . animal print sheets . stuffed panda . corgi plush (Goodwill, linked similar)
closet as added space
room gallery wall : elephant head (purchased locally, similar linked) . brass clock (old, similar linked) . turtle shell (purchased locally, similar linked) . atlanta map (purchased at Scott’s Antique Market, similar linked) . blue book shelf
clothes organization : bookcase . woven toy basket (purchased at Target years ago, similar linked) . lion plush (Goodwill, similar linked) . giraffe plush (gifted, similar linked) . shark backpack
dresser side : dresser (Craigslist, but can see details about the refinish work here) . wire basket . fire light . wipe holder . white basket . faux sheepskin