Decorating little kid rooms is so fun! You can do pretty much anything and it’s cute as heck. Our son Jones had a cozy, sentimental nursery that worked well for us in our last couple of houses, but we’ve kind of neglected his room in this house. We bought him a bunk bed when he outgrew his crib-turned-toddler bed, but otherwise have just kind of crammed stuff into the room every which way … a dresser borrowed from a guest room, a sectional corner piece we decided not to use in the living room, two rocking chairs from his old nursery, and a bookshelf I bought on Amazon that’s clearly meant for a classroom.
No art. No paint on the walls. No drapes and some mismatched bedding. It’s definitely not reflective of his lively personality, not a space that sparks imagination, curiosity or daydreams, and not a place he can busy himself in for any length of time.
Now that he’s four and a half (how did that happen?!), we really need a space that he can use now and grow into as he approaches the kindergarten and early school years.
The kid loves trains. LOVES them. So we knew when we bought his bunk bed that we wanted to do a cool IKEA hack to make it a caboose. I was inspired by all the parents out there creating cool little houses out of IKEA beds, and it hit me a caboose isn’t so far off. Over Christmas my dad and brother worked some major magic to turn my napkin sketch into reality, adding a (very cool) cupola, ladder rails made out of PVC pipe, wheels and some additional supports. Jones loved it, although he definitely wanted it painted right away. (Oops, here we are in June…)
Now that I’ve had some time to think more about what we need to get out of that room, we’re attacking it next. Here’s the plan, and it’s all super budget-friendly. He’s still just four and a half, so I’m not inclined to spend a bunch of money on this room yet, though I want to make it functional and fun.
Paint the caboose, obviously! He picked red (choices were red, green or blue), and is also very specific about wanting white windows. (He also wants glass put in them, but drawing the line.) We’re going to stencil some letters in yellow to give the caboose a name, and I’ll get the bedding more in order. I’d also like to add a small art print or two to make it look like you’re traveling through somewhere.
Give the room an overall “exploration” theme. Trains are obviously one way to explore. We also like to hike as a family so I want to bring in some elements of being out in nature and also some type of nod to space travel. We still have a galaxy mobile from his nursery that’s not too cutesy, for instance.
Create an enticing place to read. My hope is that even a bit of my own love of books rubs off on Jones. Nightly books are part of our routine but I’m hoping if we give him a really cool place to curl up with books at any time, he’ll do that on his own as he learns to read. The idea is to create a tent-like space that’s reminiscent of camping – maybe with some fun lighting – where he can tuck in and get engrossed. He’s excited about the tent idea although I still have some work to do to move it from conceptual to a solid plan.
Swap out the book storage. This bookcase worked in a pinch while we were renting a furnished apartment (before we could move into this house, and when all of our stuff was in storage), but it’s both too bulky and lacks storage for what we need now. It’s double-sided, so it needs a lot of floor space to be able to access every book. I’ve got a couple of ideas floating around but still waiting for the answer to become obvious.
Create a space for displaying artwork. He does art every day at his daycare, and a few times a week at home, and he’s really proud of his work, which is so sweet to see. But I’m not so much a “hang it on the fridge” (or anywhere else) type of mom so I’m thinking we can create a dedicated place in his room for it all. Keeping it simple with a wire and clip contraption that will be easy for him to use and accommodate all types of projects.
Wire & Clip Art Display Kit ($35)
Create a small play space. He’s got a dedicated playroom on the third floor so he doesn’t need a bunch of toy storage in his bedroom, but a few things to make it an option for hanging out in would be good.
Hang a swing. Originally I wanted to install a hammock – he loves to swing in them, don’t we all? But I’m worried about the space that will take up, so instead I bought an inexpensive hammock-inspired swing to tuck into a corner.
Swap out the dresser. I’m repurposing a dresser that was my Grandma Joyce’s that’s been painted black and used as my dresser, painted white and used by my husband and me both, and been painted gray and used in a guest room. This thing is on its last legs after so many refinishings, but I’m determined to get one more use out of it. 1) Jones is named for her. 2) It will fit much more compactly in the room, freeing up space for the other (too many?) design needs.
General sprucing. Fresh paint, probably white. I know it’s a bit basic. I’ve also debated navy, but with all of the other color coming in, I think I’m going to keep it simple for now. If I think the room needs more punch at the end, that’s an easy weekend project. A new ceiling fan (it’s hot in NC, y’all, all bedrooms need one imo). A laundry basket that’s not falling apart. Curtains. No more rocking chairs we don’t use anymore … that kind of thing.
Reveal to come!
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