My Little Man’s Adventure Bedroom Makeover Update
Oh my goodness friends, I now officially have a 9 year old little boy as of this week. My little man’s birthday was this weekend and we partied hardy at the lake with our whole extended family. While I’m a Mama to three kiddos, he is my only little boy. And I’ll be honest, nine years ago when the ultrasound tech told me it was a boy…I was FREAKED. I only had a sister growing up. I’m a girly girl. I knew nothing about boys. I was married to a grown up boy, and that was about it. But as any of you Boy Moms know, they steal your heart. While part of him is all “boy” running outside in the woods and trying to cut down trees with a butter knife (yup, that was this week), he is also a fantastic artist who can draw for hours. He’s a keeper. And in honor of his 9th birthday this week I wanted to share an update to his bedroom makeover I showed you last fall.
Here was the sneak peek the Mood Board for his bedroom makeover this past fall:
Adventure Boy Bedroom Makeover
So, last year I decided to revamp his toddler room into his “big boy room”. I updated it with a new Adventure/Camping theme-a style he can grow into. He loves swimming in the lake, running around in the woods, he gets poison ivy every single year: so it was the perfect fit. I first shared his big makeover reveal as part of last year’s One Room Challenge. If you want to follow along to see the whole 6 Part Series you can check out the whole makeover right here:
Adventure Boy Bedroom Makeover Reveal
A Special Update: Custom Kid Wall Art for my Boy’s Bedroom
For this birthday (besides the Lego sets and Captain Underpants books), I wanted to do something special as a gift. And I’m smitten for all things customized, personalized, or monogrammed. And since his whole bedroom design is all about adventure, the outdoors, and camping…I found the perfect piece. Modern Map Art makes these super cool custom star maps. These custom prints show the picture of the night sky for any date you want. I gave her my son’s birth day, year, and location, and I got a personalized print of the sky the night he joined our family. How cool is THAT? You can customize it for multiple colors, fonts, and information, and this is the final product that I designed on the website:
New Adventure Boy Bedroom Decor Details
I’m always re-arranging and changing up little stuff in our house. So after his big bedroom makeover reveal last year, I have found some fun new odds and ends for his room so I’m sharing my little updates with you all!
At a recent trip to HomeGoods I scored this red camping style lantern and red metal box that reminded me of a vintage first aid kit:
And we still have Mr. Buffalo hanging out over his dresser area. We were blessed to have his dresser and bed as hand-me downs from my in-laws. The rustic, distressed finish is perfect for a boy’s room: the scratches are already in it!
A Family Heirloom
And this framed little piece of paper is super special to me. Two years ago my 91 year old grandfather passed away, and I got his old National Parks pass. Guys, this man was so full of life and adventure, and proudly carried this very well used pass with him in his wallet. It is old, worn, taped together…because it actually got USED. This man not only traveled the world a dozen times over, but he also explored our nation, even into his 80s. So I immediately knew the perfect place to put it-in my son’s bedroom. So I framed it to remind us that adventure lasts a lifetime.
I don’t know about your kids, but mine like to squirrel little “treasures” away, so we actually use this First Aid box to corral all of his little things he finds! And just to make you all feel better out there…I promise there is nothing in the lamp, so no little campfires inside!
My Boy’s (Updated) Bedroom Makeover
So here it is with his new custom star map! The green metal bedside table is a gem because it is chock full of storage, and the metal finish is a breeze to clean. I had already added in some camping style items like this “Adventure” felt pennant, faux antler, and “Go Outside” pennant. All of the bedding is from good old Target, and I used a mix of black and white buffalo check plaid and some neutral patterned pillows. This Crate and Kids “Wanderer” pillow finished off the look.
I have had a ton of people ask me about the blanket folded at the end of the bed. It is a real army supply blanket (super cute, but not super snuggly, so it stays down there). This one was around $20, you can find the source for it and everything else in this room in my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY.
Boy Bedroom Wall Art
It was hard for me (oh so hard) but I tried to keep the wall decor fairly minimal in his new bedroom makeover. Over his bed is this “Go Outside” felt banner (I actually specified it for a client and loved it so much I grabbed one for my boy too!). Then next to his bed I used the camping style “Explore” felt pennant over his new star map print. The little interactive metal calendar was a Home Goods find and is perfect for counting down the “sleeps” until big events…like his birthday!
And the final piece of wall art was the oversized buffalo print over his dresser. I love using large scale pieces when you have a large blank wall. It was a digital download off Etsy that I blew up to this 24″x36″ size and flanked it with these metal accordian sconces. The blue metal caddy and vintage style suitcase were also HomeGoods finds and are perfect for storing his little bits and bobbles.
Believe me guys, nothing in this room is too “precious” or breakable. Everything is meant to be durable, cleanable, and that he can enjoy. I truly believe a kid’s bedroom needs to be livable-so sometimes that means holding off on certain items until they get older. You don’t want to be hovering over them in their bedroom, reminding them to about what they can or cannot touch. Believe me…this comes from 10+ years of learning all of the ways kids can destroy something in my house!
Creating a Kid’s Reading Nook
And in this empty corner I snagged a faux leather chair from Target for a little reading spot. I topped it off with this Crate and Kid’s camping pillows, and he keeps his books in the adjacent closet. I try to always add a rug to all of my kid designs: you know them-they love to roll around, play on the floor and so its nice to have something soft under them. This one is discontinued from Urban Outfitters, but you can find a similar swiss cross rug at Crate and Kids.
Boy Adventure Bedroom Makeover Details
And here are just a few more detail shots of his updated bedroom makeover. These metal sconces are actually plug-ins so we didn’t need an electrician to hardwire anything into the wall-which saves time and money.
I loved how his new star map fit with the whole camping, outdoors, exploration theme:
LOVE IT? WANT IT? NEED IT?
Want to find all of the sources for my son’s bedroom makeover? I love using small shop artists like like Etsy because you can get a completely custom, unique look at a really reasonable cost. You can grab the FREE Mood Board + Shopping List right here. You can shop his whole room right here:
Grab this Boy Bedroom Mood Board + Source List Here
The New Perfect Baby Gift
But I also promised you my find for the perfect baby gift.
So I’m at that age where a lot of my friends have now had kids, and I had to search for the “perfect” gift so many times. And honestly, sometimes I just gave up and gave burp clothes or diapers because I didn’t know what else to give. But no more. My my best friend in the entire world is pregnant with her first baby right now. So I have baby gifts on my mind, trying to think of something that was special, unique, and custom, just like her little baby boy. And I think one of these custom Star Maps would be the sweetest present to give a new Mama for baby’s new nursery! I think I finally found a present to not only score me BFF points, but something as unique as her first born son. So if you are looking for the perfect baby present, nursery decor for your own baby, or even for your big kids room like I did, my favorite new gift is going to be a custom Star Map!
And since he’s a big guy now it was really fun to talk about this is what the night looked like the day he was born-we looked at the stars, talked about how far away there were, and he asked if we could go out and look at the stars at night. Sure thing little man.
So I hope you grabbed some ideas today for how you can update your little one’s bedroom, playroom, or even nursery with this gender neutral, will-grow-with-them Adventure/Camping theme. It’s been almost a year now, and we all still love his new room. I hope you enjoyed touring my son’s bedroom makeover with some new updates! I’m happy to report all of the items have been super durable, easy to clean…and I think just plain fun. And he has hosted plenty of indoor “camp-outs” with his two sisters many times in his new bedroom.You can shop this whole room by clicking on the link above to my Free Resource Library.
More Boy Bedroom Makeover Designs
If you have a little boy of your own and need some ideas for your boy bedroom, nursery, or playroom design, I got you covered friend. Here are some more Postbox Designs makeovers fit for a little prince:
Shared Boy’s Adventure Themed Bedroom Makeover
Adventure Themed Playroom for this California Gma
Gender Neutral Rustic Playroom Makeover in Texas
Free Kid Design Freebies to Create Your Own Perfect Kid Space
And I have one final resource for you to help you create the kid bedroom, nursery, or playroom of your dreams! I have tons of kid centric design freebies in my Free Resource Library like this Kid’s Bedroom Mood Board + Shopping List:
10 Items Under $40 for An Child’s Bedroom
Plus other freebies like:
“$200 & Under Nightstand Round-Up”
“How to Style a Kid’s Nightstand”
“10 Playroom Item Must Haves Mood Board + Shopping List”
You can get full access to all of these design freebies to help you create the perfect space for your little one. I’m always adding to my Free Resource Library, so be sure to check back often. Plus, you will snag $50 off your first design project with me…the only place you can get a discount on my services! Just click below and let all of these freebies roll into your inbox. Boom.
Thanks for joining me today! And as always if you have questions, thoughts, and or want to know more about working with me, you can drop me an email at kristin@postboxdesigns.com and we can chat!
Cheers,
Kristin
This post was sponsored by Modern Map Art. All comments, opinions, and styling are my own-I only use sponsored posts of items I truly love and would use in my own home!
Herlives.com says
Wow,
You are a creative person. How nicely you did it. I am inspired to see this. I want to make my baby’s bedroom in this way. When I am going to making this, then I will follow your instruction. Thanks for the sharing such an informative article.
PostboxDesigns says
Thanks so much for your kind words! I’m sure you will do a wonderful job!