Fall ORC Week 1: My Son’s Room

It’s that time of year again for the One Room Challenge and I am excited to pull off a finished space in just five short weeks. 6 posts… five weeks. In previous ORC’s I have have done my master bedroom, and my side porch. This time around I am making over my son’s room. I actually love it how it is but this was his room when we was very young and its time to grow up the room along side of him. Pause for mom tears. This one needs to last a while and be able to transition from pre-teen to teen in 3-4 years. So lets begin…

Isn’t his room super cute? It kind of looks like reveal week over here. This room was actually a room makeover I did when I wrote for a DIY website called Curbly. I love how it turned out but hearing my family story might help you understand why it needs to change.

We adopted our son from the foster care system when he was 7 years old. He was actually in foster care for 2 years. For those of you who don’t know how it works, when a foster kid is available for adoption it takes months to be selected and it takes another 6 months of transition for the kiddo to move from his/her foster home to your family. We barely knew this sweet kiddo at age 6 when he met him. By the time he moved in a year later, it was the first room he could truly call his own so we wanted to make it great….for a 7 year old.

I think we accomplished an adorable room but the reality of it is we did not really know him that well. Look at all that generic art that is styled for the photo shoot. Why? We had no pictures, no school art, no things that reflect him. Now are are overflowing with awesome moments of his creativity and of our time together as a family. It’s time for a new way to showcase things that are about him. A few of those pieces will stay but in a new and different way.

We also had no idea the things we was really into playing with. These are a few of the toys he came with when he moved in. The jar are treasures that had meaning to him. We had no idea what storage or function would need. Let’s be honest, we had no idea his favorite color. We asked and he didn’t know.

Fast forward 5 years and our seven year old has turned into a 11 (almost 12 year old). His needs have changed, his likes have changed, and WE have changed. This time we know him well. It’s time to give him a room that works for him.

I might cry while I am typing this but this needs to be a room for a preteen that can easily transition into a teenagers room in a few years. It needs to be grown up… but not too grown up. He still has such a young spirit… yet, junior high is upon us and it’s time to take the picture books off the shelves.

Just for fun this is what the room looked like when we moved in 6 years ago. Oh the damask textured wall paper. Whew… that one was crazy.

We did totally gut the upstairs with new windows, refinished floors and needed insulation.

Here is Mom’s ideas and plans for the space.

• New Window Treatments
• New wall paint or maybe even wall paper
• New Rug.
• Jazz up the built ins.
• New bed and bedding.
• New light fixture… maybe… I love that old one.
• Room for a desk
• Organized closet

Here is “B’s” (my son’s nickname) ideas and plans for the space:

• bright blue walls
• a loft bed
• a bungee chair, a bean bag chair, and a hanging chair (LOL)
• a mural one wall, his art on the other.
• a climbing wall
• a soft and squishy rug
• more pictures
• more closet hooks
• no curtains
• one last plea…. bright blue walls

I don’t think you will need to wait for the reveal to find out there will not be bright blue walls. I promise I am not a mean mom just more practical one…hence probably less fun. We have a rule in our house. The ones who pay the mortgage payments gets to have final say on permanent things that are harder (or take effort) to change. He can paint the home he rents or buys with his own money some day. I will even help him paint it. Before your write me off as the least fun mom ever…. I have some plans to give him his bright blue.

The one thing that is staying is the adorable vintage sleeper sofa. It’s heavy as heck. We live in a three bedroom home so when our family comes to visit, my son moves into a little room that is attached to our bedroom and we have a full bed and twin bed for aunts, uncles, or cousins to use. One day we will renovate our attic to make the fourth bedroom/bathroom. I hoping that is done by the time he is 16 so I can move this vintage sofa up to the attic and give him a bigger bed where is sits.

He actually doesn’t love it because he can’t snuggle into it. I get it but I think if I add a place for him to prop up his feet with some comfy pillows he will like it a little more.

I also love… love those curtains and the cute roller shade DIY I did with a sharpie, but curtains don’t work well and the roller shades have been torn to shreds by a boy. I am thinking roman shades with no fuss.

Next week I will have the full plan and the room with it’s beginning updates. I am excited.

To stay up to date with all the fun things that happen during One Room Challenge Fall 2019 click here.

Okay… get ready for inspiration overload from the amazing designers. They post their weekly makeover posts on Wednesday. Check out their posts here.

Of course on Thursday you need all the fun spaces of the guest participants. Some of my favorite reveals from the spring came from these amazing spaces.

See you next week! I have got work to do.