Remember my initial mood board for the boys’ shared bedroom? Let me jog your memory…
You can read more about it here. Or you could save your time and forget it. Because things have changed. I loved the mood board. Really. I did. But there was a problem. Layne and Everett didn’t approve. They said it was okay but too boring. Since I want the boys to have a room they’re excited about, I asked them how I could make it better.
“I want it to feel like a hideout.” – Layne
“I want it to be colorful.” – Everett
So, now I have the task of creating a colorful hideout that still looks like it belongs in our house. I’m working on it. Recently, we repainted the boys’ bedroom switching out the light blue-gray walls for taupe. {It’s Valspar’s dry riverbed in case you’re wondering. It was the color of the front living room in our previous house.} Then we hung floor-to-ceiling curtains around the bunk. Take a peek – don’t mind the messy beds and non-ironed everything. These are by no means ‘afters.’ This is real life. Be happy there’s not a naked four-year-old photobombing every picture.
The curtains are four LENDA panels in the bleached color. The ceiling track is KVARTAL with coordinating glides. I cut the top loops off the curtains and sewed RIKTIG gathering tape onto the backs at the top so I could hang the curtains from the glides. {Everything I’m referencing here hails from IKEA.}
I tried the RIKTIG clips {seen on the right above} but thought they looked unfinished.
I’m all for casual but the clips weren’t cutting it.
Ahhhh. Much better. One curtain hangs at the foot of the bunk and three panels hang along the side.
The boys don’t like their enclosed bunks. They love them. I love that they love them. And I like the way the curtains soften the metal bunk but I have to admit…the floor-to-ceiling curtains remind me of the triage units at the hospital. I tried to make them feel more posh by hemming them so they pool on the floor.
Fun fact: This time last year, I was watching the Super Bowl from a similar curtained bed in the labor & delivery triage unit. I was in pre-term labor with Mabrey.
I’m still wishing the boys would have chosen a wooden bunk bed. But, whatever. It’s their room.
Each boy has their own book light and ledge.
Sometimes I’ll walk into the room to find the boys camping out on their beds with the curtains closed, lights on and a pile of books at their disposal. It makes my day.
So, I think I’ve got the hideout thing covered.
I’ve got work to do on the colorful part. I’m not good with lots of color. Now, pops of color I can do. Hopefully, they’ll appease Everett.
I’m thinking that ladder {it’s separate and removable} would look cool if it were different from the rest of the white bed. Spray-painted yellow? Wrapped in rope?
If you’re looking for an easy way to DIY a freestanding hideout bunk…
My boys love it and I can live with it. More to come as the room evolves!
images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking
budget decor, DIY, kid-friendly, mood board