Last year at the beginning of the school year, we decided it was time to give all three boys their own bedrooms. Although our youngest two will always be the bestest of friends, I think they are enjoying the process of putting their personal stamps on their rooms, and appreciating their privacy and quiet time. Although, my heart really loves that they have "sleepovers" with each other any chance they can get.
Just like any space, we try things and they evolve after living with our updates for awhile. We have actually made three changes in this space; two completely intentional and one unintentionally. You may notice that his desk has changed since we created his playful workspace last year. When we ordered his new closet storage for the right side, we wanted to take advantage of as much of the space as possible. To install everything on the right side, we pulled everything out of the left. Once the right was installed, we were unable to get his previous desk back in on the left. It was just a few inches too big, even when I tried to assemble it inside of the closet. We goofed.
So we sold the desk on Craigslist and looked for another inexpensive and smaller option to better fit the nook. Finding a petite desk wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, so I started looking at console/sofa tables and ordered this one from Amazon. And it fit but just barely, I still had to assemble it inside of the closet which was a really interesting and probably quite comical thing to witness.
I also had picked up a set of storage drawers because his desktop was always cluttered with all of his papers and collections and supplies... it made it nearly impossible to actually do his homework with everything that was always piling up there. The drawers are from IKEA and are such a great price! They are nice and small yet still hold so many things. I did have to modify the console table a small bit to fit the drawers under, I just installed the front face board flat up under the front of the desk to keep it properly supported.
The drawers originally came with silver handles, so I sprayed them black and used my computer to create the labels.
And then of course I stayed true to my methods and created some drawer dividers from the cereal boxes sitting in our recycling bin. I found some really strong blue ticking stripe paper from HomeGoods for $3, and I had more than enough to do the four dividers and line all of the drawer bottoms for a touch of playfulness!
Photos like that give me such happy goosebumps! And it was so simple!
I placed the drawers in a way that there is still enough space to open them all of the way, and was also sure that his chair would give him plenty of wiggle room.
As far as what is inside of the drawers; they are labeled Supplies, Think, Get Techy, Be Creative, Save and Play Games.
Little cupcake/baking liners are so great for dividing small things inside of larger areas! I have been using these things everywhere lately!
I like to keep a couple of grade appropriate workbooks at his desk so he has something to do on weeknights when no homework is assigned, and during the summer months. The drawers fit the books and his writing tools.
I didn't have enough cereal boxes on hand for this project, but the Dollar Store sells dividers 3/$1 and they also fit quite nicely to hold his techy items.
Another drawer for his creative items and journals. And yes, I let my kiddos paint in their rooms. I sprinkle craft supplies all over the house to encourage their creative side whenever possible. It's a risk I take, the boys are older and with some research, almost all craft supply products can be cleaned up if an accident happens.
Another drawer holds a variety of small games.
Now it is easier than ever for him to keep his workspace clear!
Oh! And I also added a small textured lamp which was a great small size for his desk and made it feel a little more comfortable.
Onto the next side of his closet. After installing his fantastic new system, we weren't sure we would want to add doors to conceal all of the wonderful storage. But ultimately I decided it would really clean up the room visually and sometimes it is just nice to conceal away everyday clutter, even if it is organized in a lovely way.
(Excuse the weird thing my camera/lens has been doing with making things look like they are bowing out, our trim and doors are actually quite straight).
I was going to detail out the installation process, but we ended up following all of the exact steps we took when we did our coat closet doors. You can find that tutorial here.
This time I purchased these primed doors special order from a local home improvement store. We split the bi-folds and gave them a couple coats of white paint. Added some black hinges and they were now able to swing open from the center.
The simple paneling on these doors is really clean and timeless and fits our boy's space so well. When we initially did this to our coat closet, I ordered some polished dummy knobs. We ended up using the same hardware that was on nearby cabinets for those doors, but I saved the knobs because I knew we would have another project for them someday. That day finally came and to keep them fitting with everything else happening in his room, I gave them a quick coat of black spray paint.
The dummy knobs just look like standard door knobs but don't actually turn or require any special installation. And nothing goes through to the back side of the door or interrupts that inside of the closet. And I don't generally like to spray paint hardware out of fear it won't hold-up, but took the risk because I had everything I needed on hand, and the paint contained a primer. #fingerscrossedtightly
It really did simplify the space a bit, with all of his belongings everywhere, it was nice to clean up this side of his room visually.
Only a few things left on our list:
- Paint the ceiling
- Install a new light
- Add crown moulding
- Add a roman shade
- Build a bunk bed
He has really wanted some sort of cool bed in his room so he can sleep his bro or his pals. I think he has his dad convinced to get it done sometime this summer. Should be a really fun project to tackle and we are appointing Parker as the lead designer.
Little by little, day by day, I love how even the little changes continue to make a difference!
You can catch up on past posts for this space below:
- "Sea"ing Deep Blue in our Boy's Bedroom
- Installing a Fun Closet Workspace
- Before & After: Boy's Bedroom Closet
- DIY Buffalo Check Bulletin Board
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