...because home doesn't happen overnight.

paint boy room 1

Two weeks ago I painted the boys’ room. For anyone keeping count, this is the third time I’ve painted the room. Layne wanted black walls. Everett wanted white walls. (Initially, they wanted orange walls but I put my foot down.) I’m not scared of an all black room but Steve said he didn’t want another dark bedroom. (Mabrey’s room is Benjamin Moore dark pewter.) I painted one wall black and the rest white. It was a compromise but everyone is loving the results.

To keep things cohesive with the rest of the house, the black is Besalt by Ace paints color-matched in Clark + Kensington primer + paint. It was leftover from the mudroom so it was “free.” The white is Benjamin Moore white dove. It’s the color of all the trim in our home including the painted fireplace and planked TV wall. I snapped these pictures in early evening light so they’re reading a bit warmer than I would prefer. In real life, the room reads more black and white. Literally.

Immediately after painting a room, I can usually tell if it has staying power or if I’m going to repaint it in a year. I’m not repainting this room for a long, LONG time.

paint boy room 3

The painter’s tape on the walls is standing in for art. I haven’t finalized anything yet so green rectangles it is! Also, this is what the boys’ beds look like on any given day. Messy. I’m thinking of going with all white bedding and a mix of patterned pillows. The boys are begging for sheepskin body pillows of all things. (?!) I’ll see what I can do.

paint boy room 2

I switched out the chunky feet on the KARLSTAD for these pretty pegs. It was a breeze. Such a clever product! The new feet give the chair a totally different look.

I found the vintage ottoman on ebay for $30. It’s vinyl but is a good leather lookalike. It should stand up well to boy feet. The legs are dreamy – wood with brass tips. I haven’t had a chance to clean them up yet but I’m going to give ’em a little rub down with some Restor-A-Finish.

paint boy room 4

I’m brainstorming ideas for this bare wall. I think I’m going to hang a few open shelves for display and storage. (The Ikea bag has brackets in it that I’m testing out.) I want to add a trio of hooks for the boys to hang their pajamas, library bag and other crap that usually ends up on the floor. I found the two Nate Berkus baskets at Target yesterday. One basket for each boy. At the end of each day, they can quickly grab a basket and round up all the books, toys, socks, etc. that have found their way into the living room. That’s the plan anyway. I’m also going to hang longer closet curtains from a rod above the closet like we did in the master bedroom.

paint boy room 5

Last but (most certainly) not least, Everett asked me to paint his orange basketball rim gold. Um, okay. I think my obsession with spray painting everything gold is rubbing off on my kids. I haven’t decided if this is something I should be proud of or not.

paint boy room 6

So it goes in the boys’ room. Hopefully, I’ll have more updates to share soon!

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

43 Comments

07.May.2014

Oh you just gave me a fab idea for my basketball obsessed 4 year old son. !!!

07.May.2014

I like the room a lot so far. All the little touches that are there and will be there (including the gold basketball hoops) will make the space really nice for the boys. Are you going to add curtains to the window? If you do maybe some orange ones, or white with orange trim will add the pop of orange they were wanting. If you add your own trim with velcro or something similar (maybe the bottom third could be orange added on with buttons so you could switch out the colour any time you wanted) it would be easy to change out if they no longer like the orange in a few years

07.May.2014

My son (7) is obsessed with sheepskin pillows, etc. Every time we go into West Elm he begs me for the giant $80 or so pillow. Which is not what I’m spending on a pillow for a little boys room :) He has a soft throw from target and a couple Ikea skins.

07.May.2014

LOVE the basketball hoop. That is hilarious and wonderful at the same time. Be proud! The room is great. Love the dark wall. I say yes to the west elm pillows, they are the best! More texture! You got it, the room is well on it’s way to greatness.

I always love a black wall! This one looks great:) Love the club chair/stool combo too.

07.May.2014

I love the new look of the boys’ room, but I have to say, my favorite part of this whole post is that Everett asked you to paint his basketball rim gold. I hope I hear those words come out of my little boy’s mouth (you know, one day when I have one) someday! You’ve brought your kids up well. ^_~

07.May.2014

The striped wall is gone (sniff sniff – this is the room it was in, right?), but I love how much brighter the room seems already. And I am in LOVE with the gold rim on the basketball hoop!!! Way to make a basketball hoop seem quite sophisticated!

That gold hoop is great!!! Love modifying kids toys to make them stylish — even at the request of your own kid. haha.

I can only pray that my children will request such classy decorative objects in the future. I mean seriously! I hope theyre appreciating that gorgeous chair and ottoman as well!

07.May.2014

Love the room so far and love the basketball hoop! I saw and it thought you did it and how great it is, love it even more that it was Everett’s idea!

haha, love the gold basketball rim and the wall color too

07.May.2014

I am so jealous of their room! Now…more about those pillows! I can tell the black/white is from ikea, but how about the rest? Love them!

07.May.2014

Layne was diagnosed with a sensory disorder on the mild side of the autism spectrum when he was 3 years old. After years of occupational therapy and other helpful activities, things are so SO much better but there are little reminders of the sensory overload. For instance, the sheepskin. Anything fluffy and soft – he’s a HUGE fan. I found cheap body pillow covers at Target that resemble faux sheepskin. They were less than $10 each. Hopefully, that will suffice!

07.May.2014

I scored the pillows on a recent trip to visit my sister near DC. The large tan ones are from West Elm. I found them in the clearance section for $20. I already had 26″ x 26″ cushions from Ikea so it was meant to be. The smaller tribal print (red, black, white, tan) is from H&M home. It was on clearance for $12!

07.May.2014

My daughter has SPD, always tactile seeking. Her’s tends towards the messy, lots of shaving cream, water, etc. Even now (she’s 12), when it’s been a day I pull those things out.

08.May.2014

I love how your design influence is rubbing off on your kids! Like that gold basketball hoop is sooooo cute

08.May.2014

Hi Dana!

You may have already addressed this question in an earlier post and I just missed it but where did you get that “toy” box? I say “toy” because it can be used for so much more!! I love it. Great job on the paint choices (B&W sound a lot like my boys who are 5 and 6) and I give you mad props for finding an awesome compromise with both boys!! Sometimes that is a tough, tough job to do.

Jennifer

08.May.2014

I enjoy your blog posts and pictures so much. I cannot wait to see the room all finished.
Can you please share where the chunky throw is from on the white chair? It’s totally awesome!
Thank you!

08.May.2014

Love the room, love the basketball net. If you are looking for art with a touch of gold, I recently discovered a great Etsy shop called Sweet Peony Press: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SweetPeonyPress. They have so many great inexpensive art prints with simple sayings or abstract prints, including quite a few with gold (and black).

08.May.2014

It’s a Mexican blanket from a local antique mall. I bought it this past winter for $12!

08.May.2014

The wood crate was made by my father-in-law for Everett. I gave him some dimensions and requested unpainted wood but other than that the design was all his. We use it for books (and a basketball). There are casters on the bottom so we can roll it around the room and out of the way of the trundle. It’s so useful!

08.May.2014

Be PROUD of your basketball hoop makeover, and props to Everett for thinking of it! My son currently has an affinity towards all things lime greed and red, God help me.

08.May.2014

I love that you aren’t afraid of doing something different. It always turns out so impressive and I think, “Why didn’t I think of that?” The black and white paint, the new legs for the Ikea chair, the gold basketball rim, the beautiful pillows for a boys’ room (I usually don’t think about “beautiful” things for my boys’ rooms, but I’m learning from you, to be more open minded). Thanks for sharing your ideas! I need this to spark my own house tweaking.

I was a big fan of the striped removable wallpaper, but I feel confident in saying I am a BIGGER fan of this change! We actually painted our guest bathroom Besalt after seeing it in your dining room :) The guest bathroom is actually the bathroom my boyfriend uses (I get the master bathroom. Separate bathrooms = relationship harmony :P ). I am really digging the mixture of textures you have in here and I think it’s ADORABLE that Everett wanted you to paint his basketball rim! He must know you are great at makeovers!

08.May.2014

It’s all looking great and so on an so forth – but that Layne asked you to paint his basketball hoop gold is HILARIOUS!! He’s a boy after his mommy’s heart, and possibly developing VERY great taste!!

OBSESSED with that gold rimmed basketball hoop! What a clever way to change it to fit the aesthetic of the room! Great idea, Everett!!

08.May.2014

I know you just said you wouldn’t change anything for ages, BUT! Love the black wall, but it would look so cool in chalkboard paint! Imagine the little doodles above each side of the bunkbed! :D

08.May.2014

The room looks great!
The best thing I ever did with my kid’s bunk beds is to ditch the bead spread and simply use decorative sheets with a folded throw at the foot that stays permanently tucked around the mattress. They each have a comforter they hide behind their pillows each morning when they “make” the bed.

08.May.2014

I suggested chalkboard paint when Layne mentioned black walls. But he has some sensory issues and told me he would NOT like it. (It’s a chalk dust thing.) That was fine with me. I had the leftover Besalt on hand anyway!

08.May.2014

Love, love, the room! I like the contrast of the dark paint of one side of the wall against the white walls. And the gold rim is a nice twist too! I think your fondness for gold paint is definitely rubbing on them. Check out this article I found about more accessories for the growing boy here – http://uratex.com.ph/blog/cool-bedroom-accessories-teenagers/.

09.May.2014

I Love It! Although, I am biased as I just finished up a very similar scheme for my boys’ room. (also a room a painted a handful of times). When I pained their stool gold my son asked, “why does our military room have to be fancy?” lol

09.May.2014

Love the paint colors. Good compromise. And, the basketball rim—too great of an idea. I can imagine my son and husband now as I try to convince them that a gold basket ball rim is sooo much more fun than an orange one. They’re going to definitely look at me like I’m crazy now. Thanks for the inspiration!

09.May.2014

LOVE their room! (I’m also in love with your nursery, too.)

11.May.2014

I liked their original room, and am liking how this one is shaping up, but am kind of surprised by your choices here. You got rid of the black and white wall stripes only to then paint the walls black and white. You took out shelving but are now adding shelving. You said you wanted it to make it seem more like a “boys’ room” but your palette for the room is lots of white, black, gold and sheepskin.

I honestly don’t mean this as criticism, and I hope it’s not coming across that way. I was just really surprised by this post, and sometimes it helps to get outside perspective when you’re in the midst of a project.

12.May.2014

That gold basketball hoop! I guess it coordinates better with the rest of the room/house. I love that footstool and the new feet on the armchair.

14.May.2014

A gold basketball hoop – LOVE!

[…] For a cheaper sofa, you could always hit up Ikea for $399 and then add some custom legs like Housetweaking did or you can stain them like Young House Love did.  Ikea Karlstad sofa–the price […]

22.May.2014

Are you happy with the Ikea duvet covers? Soft and wearing well?

Is the white blanket from Ikea too!?

23.May.2014

I really like the duvet covers. They are holding up well – no pilling, no holes, no lost buttons. The white blankets are from Ikea as well but I don’t like them as much. They are kinda stiff / rough – not as soft.

09.August.2014

Thanks! Now I’m searching for that paint color and am having a hard time – is it Ace’s Dark Basalt? Besalt isn’t giving me any results. Maybe it’s discontinued?

07.November.2014

Do you remember give or take how much you spent of the chair legs? i’m checking out the company and was wondering is each peg sold seperatly or in a set?

11.December.2014

[…] had a hard time with the boys’ room. Especially the recessed wall that the boys’ beds are pushed up against. It’s the […]

11.January.2016

Hi! Im loving this room! Could you tell me the height/width etc of the adorable vinyl footstool? I LOVE it!