A dear reader sent us in a room she needs help with: a new room for her son, Tyson. Tyson is the oldest of 4 kids, and is ready to move into what is currently a guest room down in the basement.
This room needs to be mindful of balance, as most kid rooms do. Since it will be Tyson's first time having a room all to himself, he should be able to feel like it reflects him and his interests. However, most people who know kids know their interests can change rather quickly, and know they can outgrow phases at a crazy pace. So this room needs a balance of Tyson's current interests done in a way he can still grow for years to come in the room.
Here is a look at his future space, that is in guest room mode-
This room needs to be mindful of balance, as most kid rooms do. Since it will be Tyson's first time having a room all to himself, he should be able to feel like it reflects him and his interests. However, most people who know kids know their interests can change rather quickly, and know they can outgrow phases at a crazy pace. So this room needs a balance of Tyson's current interests done in a way he can still grow for years to come in the room.
Here is a look at his future space, that is in guest room mode-
So what does Tyson like? He likes navy blue, and sports (his favorite is football). Sounds about right for an 8 year old boy, right? He would also like a loft bed, which works out wonderfully because it creates more available space in the room. He also needs a desk to do his homework. He has a walk in closet (yes, I am super jealous) so we don't need to worry about taking up space in the room with a dresser.
Here is the color scheme-
Here is the color scheme-
Main color: navy blue
Accent color: orange
Accent color: white
Wood finish: espresso wood
And here are some items I've picked out for him (with links below to each product, and an accompanying explanation... like, why on earth is there a random blue and orange block in it? look below!) -
1. Loft Bed - to maximize space in the room, and because Tyson wanted one! This should go on the wall that the bed is currently against.
2. Wall Mount - this is meant to be a spice rack for your kitchen, but you can put two (or more!) above the storage bins on the wall to display books, art, sports plaques, etc. Make sure to get the pine wood option so you can get your DIY on and paint it navy (I think a little gloss to the finish would look nice), which is shown above. Just like the DIY storage bins above, I'd paint these navy blue as shown above.3. Football Beanbag Chair - to go underneath the loft bed and to add a fun boy element to his room that is inexpensive and that can easily be switched out when he outgrows it. I want the area underneath the bed to be Tyson's fun zone... where he can read, play with toys, or play his DS.
4. Storage Bins - to also go underneath the bed for toys and other storage (you can pick from other bin sizes). Just like the DIY book rack above, I'd paint these orange as shown above.
5. Rug - to be the anchor in the middle of the room.6. Ball pillows - to go up on the bed to keep Tyson company as he falls asleep (or used as ammo to throw off his bed when unwanted siblings sneak into his room : ), and some can be down on his bean bag for extra comfort.
7. Bedding - we are keeping it simple with the solid navy, since the bed is so high up people wont be able to see most of a design anyway (and if you did something like stripes, it would make it more noticeable if the bed wasn't made perfectly well... which most of us don't do let alone an 8 year old...especially on a bunk bed!). You can also pick out a fun sheet to go underneath that has something to do with football, or keep it simple with a classic white.
8. Decorative Pillow - to sit up on the bed and look pretty.
9. Map - to go on the wall above the desk... or wherever really. As we know from this post I sort of love maps.
10. Desk - although it looks dark in the picture, the finish is espresso to match the bed. Also, I wanted to keep the lines of the bed in mind with picking out the desk, so since the legs on the bed are straight I did the same with the desk. This should go where the hutch currently is, so the wall across from the bed.
11. Desk Chair - since Tyson is an 8 year old boy, I'm going to go ahead and assume he isn't too keen on doing his homework... which means he probably wont be spending as much time as his mother would like in his desk chair. Because of this, I went for the super budget version, and if he is a little academic he can sit on one of his sports pillows to make it more comfortable : ).
12. Curtains - I wanted to do another fun print, and thought more neutral colors would be nice so it wouldn't compete too much with the strong striped rug. Plus, if they decide to paint the room, a soft neutral tan or grey would look great with these curtains.
2. Wall Mount - this is meant to be a spice rack for your kitchen, but you can put two (or more!) above the storage bins on the wall to display books, art, sports plaques, etc. Make sure to get the pine wood option so you can get your DIY on and paint it navy (I think a little gloss to the finish would look nice), which is shown above. Just like the DIY storage bins above, I'd paint these navy blue as shown above.3. Football Beanbag Chair - to go underneath the loft bed and to add a fun boy element to his room that is inexpensive and that can easily be switched out when he outgrows it. I want the area underneath the bed to be Tyson's fun zone... where he can read, play with toys, or play his DS.
4. Storage Bins - to also go underneath the bed for toys and other storage (you can pick from other bin sizes). Just like the DIY book rack above, I'd paint these orange as shown above.
5. Rug - to be the anchor in the middle of the room.6. Ball pillows - to go up on the bed to keep Tyson company as he falls asleep (or used as ammo to throw off his bed when unwanted siblings sneak into his room : ), and some can be down on his bean bag for extra comfort.
7. Bedding - we are keeping it simple with the solid navy, since the bed is so high up people wont be able to see most of a design anyway (and if you did something like stripes, it would make it more noticeable if the bed wasn't made perfectly well... which most of us don't do let alone an 8 year old...especially on a bunk bed!). You can also pick out a fun sheet to go underneath that has something to do with football, or keep it simple with a classic white.
8. Decorative Pillow - to sit up on the bed and look pretty.
9. Map - to go on the wall above the desk... or wherever really. As we know from this post I sort of love maps.
10. Desk - although it looks dark in the picture, the finish is espresso to match the bed. Also, I wanted to keep the lines of the bed in mind with picking out the desk, so since the legs on the bed are straight I did the same with the desk. This should go where the hutch currently is, so the wall across from the bed.
11. Desk Chair - since Tyson is an 8 year old boy, I'm going to go ahead and assume he isn't too keen on doing his homework... which means he probably wont be spending as much time as his mother would like in his desk chair. Because of this, I went for the super budget version, and if he is a little academic he can sit on one of his sports pillows to make it more comfortable : ).
12. Curtains - I wanted to do another fun print, and thought more neutral colors would be nice so it wouldn't compete too much with the strong striped rug. Plus, if they decide to paint the room, a soft neutral tan or grey would look great with these curtains.
*Every Friday we do a post called '2nd Opinion' (see the left hand sidebar). These posts are based on reader submissions on home dilemmas they would like a 2nd opinion on. Here at 2nd and Strand we will give our opinions, and invite readers to do the same in the comments. To see past 2nd Opinion posts, look on the right hand sidebar at '2nd Opinion' under categories. If you would like to make a submission, follow the link on the left hand side! We'd love to hear from you!
-Megan
