My boys bedroom makeoverβ¦
We recently had a room switch around that gave me the opportunity to give my boys bedroom a full blown makeover. I created my moodboard back in January, and knew that we wanted to go for shiplap panelling, a baby blue paint, and use our existing MINNEN extendable beds from Ikea. Lots of the decor used were things that I already had for my eldest, but I bought some of those things again with my toddlers initial to match. I also got a few new prints and wall pieces, as well as a new bedside table to match the theme of the room, and some lovely new bedding sets. I really love how the room came together, so hereβs a little bit of the process!
The moodboard vs the finished result
Creating a moodboard
I think moodboards are such a good tool in order to successfully bring your vision to life. You can see if the decor and colours work together well, and just keep mixing and matching bits until youβre happy with how it looks. It also means you donβt need to invest money into the pieces until youβre 100% sure theyβre the right things for the space. I loved my moodboard so much, and I think the finished room really represents exactly what I visioned!
The panelling process
Before we got started, we partly emptied the room and started measuring up. We ordered our shiplap panelling from Arnold Laver, a local timber merchants β we got full size boards cut in half, enough to go around the whole room. I originally wanted the panelling a little higher, but it would have been double the cost due to the size of the boards making it a much bigger expense, so I decided this was good enough. Jake put up the panelling using a nail gun and some wood glue, trimming around sockets and the window where necessary with the bandsaw. We primed our panelling with an MDF primer, and painted it in Farrow and Ball Kittiwake, the Modern Eggshell finish.
With this room already having blinds up, I didnβt want to put up curtains for aesthetic reasons only, so to make the window look a little less bare I thought it would be a good idea to create a frame for the window. Iβm so happy I came up with this idea as it really polishes off the panelling nicely, this was totally inspired by older properties which usually have these around the windows. Ours doesnβt as itβs a new build, but it should totally be a bog standard addition as it instantly makes the window look so much better. We used picture rail from B&Q for this and Jake applied it with the nail gun and some wood glue, finishing it off with Kittiwake from F&B to blend in with the panelling.
Adding coving
We gave the radiator a few coats of paint in the same colour as the panelling, and then put up some coving. We used polystyrene coving from B&Q and itβs the first time weβve tried this but it went up lovely for how cheap it is! Jake had a little difficulty with some of the corners, but it was nothing some filler couldnβt sort out. Once this was up, I thought it would look much better painted in Kittiwake to make more of a statement, and I definitely think that was the right choice.
The finishing touches
Once the painting and DIY was all done with, I started on my favourite bit β the decorating! I added lots of fun, colourful prints to give the room lots of character, as well as some bunting, Lucaβs little rattan balloon, and the peg shelf from his old bedroom. I bought both boys a personalised flag with their name on for above their beds, and put up an initial wall hanging above their bedside table. One of my favourite pieces is this smiley lamp which is a dimmable lamp perfect for at night if they donβt want to sleep in the dark. Their new bedside table is from Dunelm, and their gorgeous colourful bedding is from John Lewis.
To finish off the boys bedroom, Urban Lockers got in touch with me about collaborating, and it was so weird as Iβd had my eye on one of their lockers already. I chose The Chelsea Locker in the shade Forest, which Iβm in love with! The boys really needed a practical wardrobe, but I wanted something that would go with their new colourful bedroom and this locker style wardrobe is absolutely perfect. I picked up some white alphabet magnets from Amazon to decorate it with, and it fits all of their clothes in beautifully. You can use my code GEMMA10 for 10% off their website.
Iβm so happy with the finished room, the boys love it too π
~ features a gifted product ~
