*** WARNING: THE ROOM YOU ARE ABOUT TO WITNESS IS THE REAL BEDROOM OF A 22-YEAR-OLD YOUNG MAN THAT LIVES AT HOME WITH HIS DIY HOME DECORATING MOTHER. THE BEFORE IMAGES ARE UGLY AND MESSY AND MAY SHOCK YOU! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. 😉 ***
I am so excited to be taking part in a fun blogger challenge for the month of September. It’s the $100 Room Challenge hosted by the lovely Erin of lemonslavenderandlaundry.com What’s the $100 Room Challenge? The rules are simple: One Room. One Month. $100. Just the type of challenge that this budget loving-DIY-crafting-make-do kind of girl loves! Count me in!
This will be the second time that I will be participating in the $100 Room Challenge. For my first round back in January, I completed a refresh on my tiny Bathroom. You can see that final reveal here- The Bathroom is Refreshed!
What Room Should I do this time around?
Looking around my home, I decided that it was time I give my son’s bedroom an update. I asked, or really I told him, that I wanted to do his room for the challenge and he was surprisingly on board with the project! I made a Pinterest board so that we both could have visuals for some of the projects I wanted to do. You can check out our inspiration mood board over here- $100 Boy’s Room Makeover
A little about the client:
Let me tell you a little about my son- or the Boy as I often call him. He is my second child. He has always been the more easy-going of my kids. As a small child he played by himself for hours in his bedroom, and you can’t tell from these photos but he is my cleaner/ neater child as well. The Boy never had an interest in sports- he was and still is a Sci-Fi- Star Wars- Lego- Warhammer 40K- video game playing- a black t-shirt and jeans wearing- kind of kid. He is sweet and kind and generous and would never hurt anyone. He’s an introvert and likes to spend a good amount of time alone. He’s 22 years old and works for the same company that I do- yes, that’s right- we work together! He is still trying to figure out the plan for his life, but until then he will live at home and work hard.
We should update his bedroom- he has earned it!
Let’s make a plan:
When we moved into our cute little rental house about 4 years ago, the Boy was starting his senior year of high school. His parents were getting a divorce and as a result, we were selling his childhood home. At our old house, he had a large bedroom with a bunk bed and lots of storage. Being the sullen teenager that he was- he was done with the bunk beds and just wanted to keep his bedroom super simple. He didn’t want to decorate and he didn’t want a new bedframe. Hence the mattress and boxspring are on the floor. PROJECT ONE: A BEDFRAME
How Can we use what we already have?
The Boy can be sentimental. He has ALL of his Legos and Star Wars toys and collectibles. He said that he will always keep them, and maybe share them when he has kids of his own. The Boba Fett helmet will be a feature in the finished bedroom for sure! PROJECT TWO: USE COLLECTIBLES AS DECOR
Most of the Boy’s furniture will be staying in the bedroom. This Gray cupboard we’ve had for more than 15 years I think. It has always been used in his bedroom for storage. It is a good quality piece that I hope he will always have. The style is on the “country” side of styles but will lend nicely to the eclectic look we are going for with the room.
What gives the most bang for the buck?
Upon deciding to work on the Boy’s bedroom, I knew that we were going to have to paint the walls. The landlord had them painted a flat white color that has gotten a bit dirty over time. A tip for all of you who are renting like me- check your lease to see if you can paint. We’ve been here about four years and plan on being here probably another two at least. The time and money that I will be putting into painting are worth it for me. PROJECT THREE: PAINT WALLS
How can we update an inexpensive item?
This bookcase is a cheap one from Target that we’ve had for many years. The Boy likes that it’s black and tall. The one thing that bothers me about it is the cardboard backing. Can you see that even though we’ve had it for years, it still has those folds or creases? We will try to add a wood backing and upgrade the bookcase. PROJECT FOUR: NEW BACK FOR BOOKCASE
What other simple updates can we do with the furniture?
Another piece of furniture that will be staying in the bedroom is the Boy’s dresser. It’s that blond wood that was so popular in the 90’s and that I thought would never go out of style. Oh if I only knew! Well, we will be updating the stain on the dresser for sure. We will also be staining that CD rack that the Boy uses to hold CDs and other small items. PROJECT FIVE AND SIX: UPDATE DRESSER AND CD RACK WITH STAIN
How can we update an old craft project?
This skeleton poster is an old craft project that I did for the Boy’s room back at the old house. It was one of only two items that he wanted to hang in his bedroom when we moved here. The paper is peeling away from the canvas, so that will need to be fixed. I also want to make a frame out of simple 1″x3″ strips of wood. Just like I did for the DIY stenciled artwork in the last $100 challenge for the Bathroom- you can see that post here.
Using this poster and other artwork that the Boy has from the old house and adding a few more craft / DIYs we will be doing a gallery wall over the bed. PROJECT SEVEN: FIX ARTWORK AND DO A GALLERY WALL
Can Men like curtains?
The old curtains shown here are flat sheets that we used for what I thought was going to be a temporary solution. The Boy hates how long they are and that they are a bit too sheer. He wants something heavy that will block the light and that is shorter. I have this idea to use up some old denim jeans to make new curtains for the bedroom. The cost of the curtains will be nothing but time. PROJECT EIGHT: MAKE CURTAINS OUT OF OLD JEANS
That’s the PLAN!
Well, there you have it! All, of the Ugly before photos and Eight Projects that we will be working on for the Boy’s Bedroom. All in one Month and for $100. I hope that you check back and see our progress. And of course please check out what all of my other Blogger friends are doing for their $100 Room Challenges below!
