Painted Headboard

I talked about the hows and whys of changing the boys' room in this post.
 
Today I'm just going to explain how I made the red stripe on the painted headboard without measuring.

I did use a level to make the navy rectangle. Pretty standard stuff. But I wasn't about to measure and use the level and mark to figure out my red line. Too much work.

First, I bought one and half inch wide painter's tape because that is about how far in from the edge I wanted the line to be.

Source

I placed the tape right on the edge of the navy blue all the way around. Then to get a crisp edge I burnished the tape with my finger nail, but you could use a tool such as a popsicle stick. Just rub down the edge. I don't have a picture because it hadn't yet occurred to me to do a post on this when I did that stage. Oops.

(Walls aren't smooth and painter's tape is designed to grip very lightly, so you burnish to force the tape into all the mini divets in the wall.)

I settled on a 1.5" stripe of red, so I tore bits of tape and spaced them out around the first tape line. I lined the edge of the tape bits to the edge of the tape line.

Then it was time to take advantage of the straight line quality of tape. I simply connected the dots, so to speak. My next tape line was placed carefully along the edge of the tape bits.

I used an x-acto knife to trim tape that when over.

Once in place, I removed the tape bits which were now sandwiched between my long tape lines. I then burnished the tape.

For such a small space I just bought a sample size of red paint. It did take five coats to go over that dark navy color. But red usually takes at least three coats anyway.

Once the paint was dry, I pulled off the tape. I pull straight off. Not at an angle either way, just straight.      

Oh, Boys.

 Messy. Messy. Messy.

First, the begged to share a room. Weird, I know. Don't most kids beg for their own rooms?

So I said okay. We bought some bunk beds and put them together. But the mess just multiplied. The nice open floor space for playing just became a pile of dirty clothes and abandoned toys.

Enough. New plan. Un-bunk the beds, eliminate floor space and add storage.

If they aren't going to use the space for play, they don't need it at all. So, let's take a little tour.

Not only did we un-bunk the beds, but I painted a headboard on the wall with navy paint and a red stripe. 

Their names are wood letters that were spray painted silver. (They helped hang them, so don't judge the wonky placement.) Gabe likes blue and Malachi likes red, so it's been easy to work with.

They have a cute little roll top desk that we snagged at a church rummage sale. It makes a great spot for a lamp and clocks.

Opposite the beds is the wall of storage.

 Boys' toys are either tiny pieces or huge things that don't fit anywhere. For the small stuff, on each side, the bottom is a 6-cubbie storage unit from ClosetMaid. 

We have randomly selected colors over time because the companies change the colors all the time. This way when I need to replace one, I don't have to worry about matching what we already have.

The middle shelving unit was built by Matt.It has a twist due to a warped board that he didn't notice until it was almost done.

It's more obvious in person than pictures, but you can see it pull away from the wall in this shot.

 He hoped he could just anchor it to the wall, but it didn't work. So, this is temporary. He's building a better one.

But it is easy for the boys to see and select a bigger toy and slide it back on the shelf when done.

 The 3-cubbie units on either side of the shelves are also ClosetMaid, but these have adjustable shelves.

Great for the books, but we also drilled a hole in the backing to fit the cords for their DS chargers. A little container holds the games and they can store and charge their DSs now.

I painted the wall behind the storage navy to tie it together and tie into the hanging space. We added a double hook to each side so the boys can hang their coats and backpacks.

We put their dressers in the closet. They don't have much hanging stuff anyway. 

And yes, you can open all the drawers. The curtain add a pop of red for Malachi.

The walls are just a hodgepodge of favorite posters and their own art work. We left some space so we can add more.

I think the Charlie Harper alphabet above the storage is my favorite.

Malachi has had it since he was three and I was glad he still loves it because I do too. They are actually flash cards which I just hot glued to the wall.

 
So far they love it and want to keep it clean. I don't expect that to last forever, but I hope this arrangement keeps it all in check better.

Almost forgot. We have storage bins that slide under the beds which are storing things like Legos and art supplies, so those are handy too. Un-bunking the beds actually made more room for storing things!

Another Kid's Room: Munchkin Uno

 Raise your hand if you live in a house that looks like the glossy magazine spreads. Anyone? I know a couple people. My house doesn't look that way. It never will, I say as I look across the living room floor at the K'nex that still haven't been picked up. Could you imagine even seeing K'nex in Martha Stewart's house?

Not my house. Visit Martha's site for more.

If something doesn't match, I expect Martha must banish it. A blog I like only allowed a rocking horse in their daughter's room because it matched the decor. This just cracks me up. I wonder how long that will last. Toys have an annoying habit of coming in all sorts of colors, shapes, and noises.

Still not mine. I love Genevieve Gorder, but this room was crazy work considering in a couple years the kid won't want that letter wall paper on the bookcases.

So, as I mentioned before, I long ago abandoned the dream theme kids rooms. I purposely go with a anything-goes-hodgepodge. Then nothing sticks out looking all funny like the crazy uncle of the room.

Munchkin Uno wanted to feel the love of a blog posting on his room, so I said, "Clean it up then." And he did.

He wanted blue walls and the house already had a blue room, so voila! This kiddo is my creative one. He long ago inspired me to just start putting his mountains of paintings and other art work all over his walls. 

Now that he is a little older he has wanted to put things of interest up, like a Star Wars poster. But I think it's his choice. I will say that lamp is a crazy uncle though. He needed one and it was on hand. I keep meaning to replace that, but he doesn't really care. 
 

 So, although he loves blue and wanted blue bedding, I tossed in some red to break it up.

I also purposely picked all different colors of boxes to fit in the Closet Maid cubbies. This is good for two reasons: 1. each type of toy has its own color for easier clean up time. For example, K'nex go in the red one. 2. They get a bit battered, so when I need to replace one, I don't have to worry about find the exact same color because they do change these things. 

Sorry, I should have zeroed in on the cubbies. I only realized that I didn't until I started posting and he's in bed. It would be quite rude to go and flip on his light for picture now.

Sorry, bad picture. Still taking them with my cell phone right now. The red curtains are actually covering his mirrored closet doors. He did not like the way the light reflected at night; it scared him. The fastest cheapest solution was to put curtains over them. It adds a fun splash of color too. His little table has been great though. He has had it for over 3 years and still has use for it. 

His toy box and dresser are hand-me-downs. We talk occasionally about changing the colors, but it's never a priority. Over time his room has become an even bigger hodgepodge. I imagine as he makes more of his own choices (that and he cannot keep it clean!) it will  look less and less like something Martha would condone. But I'm good with that. No invites for magazine spreads coming my way. How about you? ;)

Kid's room: Munchkin Dos

Do you ever moon over decked out kids' rooms in magazines or on design shows? Sometimes I do, and I did dream of the perfect nursery when I was pregnant with my first munchkin. But I have gone a different direction in real life.

Here's my problem with the perfect kid's room: sure, it's a room where you can let your imagination run wild and nobody thinks your theme room is awkward. I get that. But I think most of the time those rooms are more for the adult who created it than the kid.

I believe a kid's room should reflect the child who lives in it, and not some idealized version of the child.  This picture is idealized though. That's the cleanest you'll ever find it, and not that often!

When I was picking paint, munchkin didn't know his colors and seemed to have no preference so I went with "Macaroni and Cheese" and I can't remember what brand; it was from Lowe's though. It was his favorite food. :) I just wanted something bright and cheery. The closet doors were an awful dark brown wood. (And I like dark brown wood, but these were bad.) So, what goes better with mac and cheese, than peas? The doors will need replaced anyway so why not have some fun now.

He's in a toddler bed, but he's ready to move up. You can see his bedding has blues (and red that you can't see from this picture) which doesn't really tie into the orange and green, but do I care? No. Because he likes it. The sheets have airplanes. I love the closet maid cubbies.

And when his blanket is on the bed, we have every color of the rainbow. (His blanket can usually be found wherever he is.)

One thing I decided I wanted was an alphabet. He wasn't speaking much, and I just wanted to encourage him to be interested in language. So I splurged on an artistic set from Charley Harper Studios. It wasn't a huge splurge, $14.95 for super cute artwork. They are actually flash cards.

I did not want to just make a straight line, so I put them in order, but they go up and down, some touch, some don't. Munchkin can be heard singing his ABCs when he's supposed to be asleep. :) Oh, I hot glued them to the wall. They are thick so not much held them. I've glued things before and not even damaged the paint, but I'm willing to fix it when the time comes if necessary. Chances are when he's done having the letters, he'll also have an opinion about the color of his walls and I'll be painting anyway.

What I think should be the most decoration in a child's room is their own artwork, especially when they are young. They have such pride in their creativity. Will it look polished and pulled together? Nope. But it's so much better!

Super cool decked out rooms are special, but if your kid's room really reflects your kid, it will put a smile on your face every time you enter (unless they didn't pick up after you asked three times, but I digress). Plus, in some ways this will last longer because I didn't zero in on only one interest. His room features cars, Curious George, Batman, trains, planes, tools, dragons, etc. Nothing sticks out like a sore thumb because anything goes.