Blue Sky Boy's Room

When I was pregnant with my second son, I spent an enormous amount of time scrolling on Pinterest looking for inspiration for his nursery – as one does.  I stumbled upon this photo of a Scandinavian modern house in Latvia and couldn’t get enough.  Especially the ceiling.  His room-to-be had a similar ceiling, it just wasn’t all dressed up to show it off properly.  I decided to change that.

Bedroom inspo.

The room before was unremarkable with cream carpeting and peach walls.  I replaced the carpet with vinyl flooring in the spirit of making it indestructible.  Then the walls became white.  “My woom don’t got no colow!” my son used to cry out in woe as a toddler.  But that was the whole point.  To create a blank slate that he could change as he got older instead of going with a wallpaper or mural.  I wanted this room to be timeless and adaptable as he grew.

Uninspiring original state.

First, I had the contractor put up pine paneling on the ceilings.  It was so pretty I considered leaving it as exposed wood.  However, a kids’ room is my chance to do something fun and finally get some color on a surface of a house that otherwise looks best in white.  The color I used was Sherwin Williams Poolhouse (SW 7603).  Don’t the ceilings look great?  It’s my favorite part of the room.

Raw pine panels.

The finished product.

Other kids’ room essentials include blackout shades.  There really is no other choice.  We all need sleep, and those shades are the key.  Then there was the bookshelf.  I scoured the internet in search of the shelf I had in my mind only to find that it didn’t exist.  So, I drew it up and my dad made it.  One of many father/daughter design-and-build projects in my lifetime.

Tic-Tac-Toe-esque shelves.

My dad insisted on adding those grooves. I like them.

The dressers and desk are all family heirlooms.  Either mine or my mom’s childhood furniture.  The desk you see spent many years as a changing table.  Folks, I mean it when I say it – they just don’t make them like they used to.  If I had a list of top items to buy vintage, dressers would be at the top.  Find one that has been refinished or put in the work yourself and you’ll have something that will last several lifetimes.

My childhood dresser stripped of the white and pink paint and refinished.

The bunk beds were a later addition to the room.  My kids kept dividing and multiplying and before I knew it, I had a third boy.  The room can accommodate full-sized bunk beds and since they are going to share a room up through high school, I had to close my eyes and imagine beds that would be suitable for teenagers. 

Most of the decorative items were all collected.  A vintage map of South America from Rust-n-Shine in Baltimore.  A beaded lizard from Antigua, Guatemala (my youngest loves critters). The blue metal lamp from an antique warehouse in West Virginia. The embroidered plants were made by me during that sweet time when I was on maternity leave and had time to sit idly while my son nursed.  The templates are by a local Baltimore artist. 

Templates by Sarah K. Benning. Check out her art. She is amazing.

My brother hunted the racoon that made that hat.  The red chair?  I hunted it. Once everyone was out of diapers, the changing table could finally return to being a desk which meant it needed a chair.  For whatever reason it had to be an antique wooden folding chair painted glossy red.  I flipped my brain into predator-mode and hit the salvage yard.  Sure enough, there it was.  

Then I got stuck on the red color.  I wasn’t feeling any of the reds on the paint color fan deck.  I’m sitting there stumped when I look up and see an etch-a-sketch randomly sitting on the desk.  That was it, the perfect red.  I took it to Sherwin Williams, had them match the color and painted the chair with four coats.

Davy Crockett vibes.

Heat-of-the-moment IG Story post.

Chair color inspiration.

In process...

The view from the doorway.

Eight years later I still love this room.  It has grown and changed seamlessly as the boys grew older.  The ceiling looks great.  The floors are indeed indestructible.  It gets torn apart and put back together again regularly without too much trouble.  Practical.  Beautiful.  Room for change as they grow.  It checks all the boxes.