The Boys’ Room- A Budget Friendly Refresh
I have twin boys. They are 5 years old, best friends, completely different in almost every way and they share a bedroom. When we moved here 2.5 years ago we installed neutral carpet in our upstairs hallway and bedrooms, replaced all the thin wood baseboard and casings with a chunkier, simple white trim (Chantilly Lace- Benjamin Moore OC-65) and painted almost all of the walls in our house off-white. As much as I wanted to use colour, I was hesitant to make too many design decisions while we were in a rush to move in. I wanted to live in the space and thoughtfully put our stamp on each room. However one of the places I wanted to start with colour was the boys’ room. I knew I wanted an olive-y green (but not too olive-y green) and I looked at dozens of paint chips from many retailers and tried half a dozen samples before landing on Great Barrington Green (Benjamin Moore- HC-122). This green is part of Benjamin Moore’s Historic Colours Collection and has a traditional, masculine tone with just enough yellow undertone to make it a touch olive-y without leaning pukey. The window in their room does not get a lot of light and I opted to paint only two walls the Great Barrington Green and leave the other two walls off-white (they are Intense White by Benjamin Moore OC-51). I find this helps reflect the little light that does come into the room and keeps the space a little lighter.
Aside from choosing this paint colour the decor was very simple. We used a lot of pieces that we already had on hand to provide function in their room and it has worked well for us over the last few years but now that the boys are older we would like them to use their room for activities other than sleep. We want them to have an escape if they need time alone, time to use their imagination, look at some books and maybe even entertain themselves for an hour on weekend mornings before waking us up?! So, I am going to be finishing off their room with some storage solutions and fun decor that will provide them with their own personal space that they will want to spend more time in. Here is my mood board, capturing how I want to space to feel when I am done. The Green and off-white are the colours of the the existing Walls - Great Barrington Green and Intense White (Benjamin Moore). The other supporting colours (pictured here is Candy Apple-Behr Paints and Aegean Teal- Benjamin Moore) represent the other colours I will include with decor. Where available I have included sources for these items.
Mood Board- Julia DeDecker Interiors
Curtains: Amazon.ca , Wicker Basket: Indigo.ca , Book ledges (similar): Ikea.ca Dinosaur Print: Etsy, Poster holder: Ikea.ca Fabric for bench cover: Nate Berkus (purchased at Fabricland), Area rug(stripes): Ikea.ca, Area rug (red): Urban Outfitter Canada, No link available: (bedding (no longer available but purchased from ikea), beds and cedar chest (no source)).
Currently I am trying to focus the majority of my budget on the main living areas of the house, so to accomplish this project I am looking for some budget-friendly solutions. This works for our family because as the boys age their needs for their room will likely change. If we are still in this house in 5 years we will be re-evaluating this space for the needs of a couple of 10 year olds (whoa!). Here are my tips for planning a budget-friendly make over:
Plan Ahead: There isn’t a time where I will tell you not to plan your design ahead of time, because it can help avoid costly mistakes. Realizing you have chosen the wrong paint colour after your walls have been painted, or that the furniture you purchased wont work with your preferred floor plan is money and time you don’t want to spend unnecessarily. So plan ahead. If you are not sure exactly where to start a good place is to take inventory of what you already have…
Source Your Items In Stages:
1. Shop your home: Identify the function of your room and identify what, at a high level, you need e.g. closed storage, open storage, wall lights, lamps, area rug, picture frames. From there walk through your home. Is there anything you can use in your new design? Sometimes we get so used to where things are in our house and what their current function is, we forget to look at its potential. If there’s anything you can spare that may be of use, take a photo of it and remember new stain, paint and upholstery can breathe new life into items. Don’t let the existing finishes sway you from including something as a possible item you can use in your design.
2. Search second-hand items on Facebook Marketplace and antique and consignment stores, or if you are lucky enough you may find something in a relative’s basement that they would be happy to part with. Stick to your design plan parameters (colour, textures, theme and dimensions) and try to picture each item in the context of your finished design. This can be difficult for some people to do but it gets easier the more you practice. You may not always find exactly the item you had in mind but if you can find something that suits your design and provides the proper function for your space it can leave you more funds in your bank account or in your project budget for those items you want or need but have to pay full price for.
3. Source the last items you need from retailers. If you are willing to take one more additional step use Google Image Search or Pinterest to search your item for similar images online. This may lead you to find a similar piece of furniture (or maybe the exact same item) from another retailer for a fraction of the price. It’s something I often try before settling on a source for a design project and on a few occasions have saved a hundred dollars or more. To search an image in Google open the website with the image in Chrome, right click and select search image with Google Lens. If you are using Pinterest, select the image (often you can search retailer items on Pinterest and find the exact image you want to search), and then scroll down to “More Like This” to find similar photos, some of which may be the exact same or similar item available elsewhere for less.
Be Patient: As always when working on your home, but especially when working on a budget, be patient. Finding the right pieces and executing your plan to suit your needs and vision will be worth it in the end. It doesn’t have to take years to finish a room, but don’t expect to make every decision or purchase in one weekend. This is the fun part of creating a home - the hunt for what makes our designs so personal and unique.
I started this refresh of their room when they moved from toddler to twin beds. I got part way through then switched my focus to the kitchen renovation. Now that the majority of the kitchen work is complete I am pushing through to the finish line to create a space for my boys to enjoy. I look forward to sharing the finished photos with you soon.
