The boys DIY room makeover is done! Hurrah!
I could tweak forever and need to add a new rug, but is anything fun like this ever really ‘done’?! Just me?
I can’t wait to show you around.
When we moved in, I had no idea we’d get pregnant with #3 so soon or that we’d decide that the boys would share a room! We’re lucky enough to have space for them not to share, but Teddy’s room was huge and I just felt like they’d love it, so I went with my gut.
Hope it works out, haha *she laughs nervously*.
We’re a month in and so far, so great.
The boys are absolutely loving it, the transition has been pretty easy and aside from a slightly different nighttime routine and slightly earlier wake ups, everyone is happy. Actually the boys are ecstatic.
When I made the plan for them to share, I knew we’d have to pull out all the built-in drawers that lined the room on one side. They were old and small so not really convenient. There was also a teensy closet in a corner that could go, to make more wall space.
It looked like this when we moved in:
That would free up loads of room for two beds! But how to configure them?! Side by side, or bunks?
Side by side would take up most of the floor space. Which meant less room to play plus no space for trundles which I love for cousin sleep-overs.
Bunks? I know my kids and it would mean a whole lot of jumping off ladders. Fights over being on the top bunk. And worst if all, nightmares when it comes to changing sheets in the middle of the night. Nope. Back to the drawing board.
After much Pinteresting, I found a photo of two beds against a wall, with their ends touching, if you will. Almost making one long single bed across the whole wall. Now we were talking! Or pinning rather.
Luckily, when we took out the old drawers, this room was actually long enough to get away with it. So I looked into getting it custom made. Then thought… surely I could find two beds and put them end to end. Cheaper and easier?!
I turned to my home away from home, IKEA and found the PERFECT solution in their Hemnes Day beds. Not only were they a great size with backs that hit the height of the window sash just right, they also pull out from singles into doubles. So there was still the trundle effect I wanted, plus they have functional drawers that fit sheets (or toys etc) underneath.
CHEERING!
Because we had a touch of extra space at either end, a handy man built little shelves onto the head of each bed and filled in any gaps so they could be sturdily attached to the wall. I considered removing the ends to make it seamless in the middle, but it felt sturdier to keep it there.
Oh man, I’m so happy with how it turned out. The beds are so, so easy to make up. They actually come with two mattresses that you stack on top of each other, then you just pull out the ‘trundle’ and slide one over when you want to turn it into a double bed.
Here I only have one mattress on each until the boys get used to the beds and to minimise them falling out.
This has left oodles of space for them to play!
Another bonus was, because of the beds, I had to take some of the IKEA bookshelves down from one end of the existing book wall and make another row on top. I wanted another row up there from the beginning but everyone poo-pooed the idea. Ha ha I won at last! Those shelves bring me so much joy. You can read about how I did them here.
Gabe’s wall art joined Teddy’s, his chest of drawers came over as well as Mr Giraffe. And the mosquito nets went back up. These are functional because we do get mozzies in summer. The boys like being in their little ‘magic caves’ when we use them. I often wonder if this helps keep them in bed. Might be worth trying for parents whose kids keep getting in and out?
I’ve added hooks onto the beds and I’m tucking the nets into those now that it’s cooler and the mozzies have disappeared.
Aside from that, there are some new shelves above the chest of drawers – this is where that old closet used to be – and I also had the handyman secure the drawers to the wall. This is really important with little kids around.
And that’s pretty much it for now! I’m hoping the boys will continue to love sharing for a few more years… who knows! If not, this will be an epic sleep-over room for one of the boys and it’s really easy to remove one of the daybeds and replace with a desk later on.
Print: Blacklist Store
Hooks and baskets: IKEA
Flag: Blacklist Store
I made a little ‘gallery’ of the boys favourite paintings on the side of their wardrobe.
Before :
When it was just Teddy’s room:
Both boys!
