British Inspired Teen Bedroom Makeover

Whenever I’m giving a room a makeover, I’m always flying by the seat of my pants, with only a general idea of the look I’m going for.  I figure it out as I go, and as I root through my house and workshop to see what I have to work with, but this time it was a doozy.

You see, a few weeks ago, I decided to give our bedroom a makeover.  We haven’t done a single thing to it, since the day we moved in, over 2-1/2 years ago.   I even posted this horribly embarrassing photo on my Facebook page, stating that my goal was to have those glossy, pine-paneled walls painted and this room looking awesome in one week, but then something happened…

We bought white paint, and started painting one of the walls.  I could tell I was going to like the color, but I realized I wasn’t excited about giving our room a makeover, because I don’t like the room.  Our house doesn’t have any true master bedrooms.  There are 4 bedrooms – all small, and when we moved in, we just picked one, and the kids all went in the other ones.  None of the rooms were good choices for my husband and I, because our bed has a head and foot board that are large, which makes the bed take up a lot of space, and there is very little room to walk around it .  There’s just barely room to fit the bed and a dresser, and the closet is only large enough for my clothes.  My husband had to put his clothes in another closet that is part of the living room.

I stood there feeling frustrated, but an idea occurred to me.   Rather than settling for a room I knew I would never love, I asked my husband if we could instead remodel this room for my youngest son instead.  He was away at church camp, so we could move all of our things into his bedroom, and surprise him with a new and remodeled room when he came home.  My husband is so easy-going and agrees to most of my spur of the moment ideas, and agreed to it.

So…instead of showing you MY room makeover (which will now be added back onto the to-do list), I’m showing your our teen’s room makeover instead.

Remember that glossy, pine-paneled wall?   Well, this is what it looks like now!  My son loves the colors black and gray, , so we repainted all the walls gray, repainted the ceiling (and ceiling fan) bright white, and added crown moulding, then I had the fun of deciding how to decorate the room for him.

He loves all things British, so I made him the Union Jack Sign I showed you a few weeks ago, and that became the basis for the theme for the room.  We wanted to keep expenses to a bare minimum, so other than purchasing just a few small and inexpensive items, I used things we already had, or repainted or repurposed many of them for the decor and furniture.

Several years ago, my mom made my son a quilt from old jeans, and the shades of blue tied in perfectly with the sign, and worked well with the gray walls.

I bought him a new black sheet set, used one of my grain sacks for another pillow case, and brought in a Union Jack pillow from Elliott-Heath Designs, that I’d been hiding away as a gift.

At the foot of his bed, is the grocery cart I turned into a laundry cart for him.

I took the easiest route possible for curtains, and bought a large drop cloth.  I didn’t do any sewing at all – I just put a few coat hooks (also from Hobby Lobby), up, and draped the cloth over them.  Quick and easy!

Remember the dresser makeover I showed you?  The dresser looks great in his room now.  I purchased 2 metal baskets (when they were half off) from Hobby Lobby to fit inside the space where we removed the 2 top drawers.

We used one of the drawers to create a night stand.  My husband attached legs at the bottom of the drawer, and added a hinged top, so my son can store things inside the drawer, then I repainted it in the same black color as the dresser.  It’s attached to the wall.

The other drawer got turned into a wall shelf.

My son loves Sherlock Holmes, so I decoupaged pages from an old book inside the drawer and it makes a perfect display for his violin.  He starts violin lessons this week, so he’s super excited about that.

His skateboard’s are usually just leaning against the wall in his room, so to get them off the floor, I added hooks to an old piece of barn wood to hang them up on the wall next to his dresser.

The old wooden doors look beautiful now, freshly painted bright white.

When my son got back from camp, we didn’t say anything to him – we wanted him to be surprised.   He walked back to his old room, found our bed in it, then walked to our old room, and freaked out, in a good way.  I had to restrain myself from putting too much of my style on his room, because he doesn’t like the vintage look as much as I do, and I had to respect his style.  He totally loved the Union Jack sign, and the dresser.  I also framed a vintage map of London, which is hanging above his bed.

The only thing he was unsure about, was an old black window screen, that I hung as a magnet board next to his bed.  I just didn’t have anything else the right size for the space, and it looked too empty to leave it blank.  I asked him to live with it for a little while, to see if it grows on him.  I suspect it won’t, but I think he’s already gotten used to it being there, and won’t care if it doesn’t come down.

He did like the little Tim Holtz gears that I turned into magnets for it though!

So, even though I’m back in another tiny bedroom, without much room to walk around our bed, I’m glad at least I know eventually I’ll be in a larger room that will hold our furniture more comfortably, and I know I’ll love it.  I just have to be a little more patient.

Blessings,

See more creative Shelves, Cabinets and Cupboards HERE.

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