Snips, Snails & Puppy Dog’s Tails – A Boy Room Makeover

In today’s home remodel post, I’m going to show you the Boy Room Makeover that we did for our 4 year old son when we moved into this house. I hope it gives you some ideas and inspiration!

Our son is now a tween, and we’ve recently transformed this space again in a Tween Boy Room Makeover. So be sure to check out the updates at the end of today’s post to watch this room grow up.

Boy Room Makeover Before

When we moved into this house, I knew that the very first room I wanted to get completely done, was my son’s room.  He’s 4, and I felt that getting his room finished quickly would ease the transition for him.  It also didn’t hurt that we were reusing everything from his old room in his new room.  He told me that he would start sleeping in his new room as soon as it was blue, so we needed to test that theory as fast as humanly possible.

The room itself is a basic squarish room.  It’s slightly bigger than his last room, and the window is wider but higher on the wall.  The only issues were that the closet rod & shelf were falling off the wall, and the electrical outlets are in weird places.

Closet Makeover

The first order of business was to do something about the closet.  I chose to take out what was in there and start fresh with an IKEA Billy Hack. See more about how I rebuilt his closet here.

The Paint

The only request my son had for his boy room makeover was that he wanted a blue room with blue doors.  Ooookkkaaaayy.  I guess we can do that.  Blue is my favorite color anyway.

He had a light blue room in the old house, so I went with the same idea, only this time I chose Benjamin Moore Light Blue in Eggshell.  I used their Ultra Spec Line, as I did in the rest of the house. Mostly because it’s cheap.

I don’t know where he got the idea to paint the doors blue, but whatever kid, it’s your room.  I was game until I got to the 3rd coat, and my hands were cramping.  

I used the IKEA curtains as inspiration, and picked up a quart of Benjamin Moore Advance Satin paint in Evening Blue.  Each side of the door took 3 coats, with light sanding in between, to get even.  I then switched out all of the brass hardware for chrome.

The Furniture

I am a BIG fan of IKEA furniture for kids.  It looks good, and it’s cheap enough that if they destroy it, its not the end of the world.  We already had the Malm Bed & Dresser, as well as the Trofast & Expedit storage units.  The train table was a Target Toy Clearance find (I got it for $20!!!) a few years ago, and the nightstand is the Martini Side Table from West Elm.

Train Storage & Display

The train storage/display turned out awesome!  I’m so happy with it! I love being able to incorporate decor into a room that is also functional. Here, the trains, bridges and accessories double as wall art when they are not in use. Get more details about his train storage here. 

The Book Ledge Wall

The book wall was a favorite of his from our last house.  He asked for another one, and I thought this area behind the closet door was a great space for it.  These are the shorter versions of the same Mosslanda Picture Ledges ($5.99 – $9.99 each) that I used for the trains. You can find similar versions at Target, or you can make them yourself!

Toy Storage

This Trofast Storage Unit was in his closet before, but here, it didn’t fit.  I never meant for it to be in his room, but when we were moving the furniture around for his boy room makeover, it just seemed to gravitate to that corner.  It’s the perfect spot for his lamp and iPod.  Yes, my 4 year old has an iPod.  We originally got it for him when he was a baby for his lullabies, which he still likes on while he sleeps.  So the Trofast stays, holding Play Doh, Costumes, Little People, Legos and other various Little Boy Things.

The Blinds

The blinds in this room were 2″ metal scary looking blinds.  I didn’t want to keep those, and it just so happened that this house came with 2″ wood blinds in the very large window over the front door.  I’ve never seen blinds in a window like that, and I didn’t want them, so I had the painters take them down when they were painting the foyer.  It just so happened that these two windows were the same width, but not the same length.  No problem!  After I cleaned the blinds, I installed them in this room, then took out the slats that I didn’t want, and shortened them.  Voila!  Instant wood blinds that fit this room!  That saved me $100 at least!

New Decor Items

I did buy a few new decor items for this boy room makeover.  The little metal blue and burlap bin in that last picture I found on clearance at Target.  We’re using it for balls.  I also found the green & blue boxes on the shelf and in the closet on clearance at Target.  Most everything else we had.  

The the divided hamper at the end of the bed was from Land of Nod.  It has 3 sections, and we use it for stuffed animals.  He uses a Skullcandy Chrome Pipe iPod Dock for his tunes when he sleeps.  He’s partial to Rockabye Baby!

What’s Left To Do

There’s still a few things that need to be done in here, like:

• Replace the window & screen
• Get Plantation Shutters
• Replace the Ceiling Fan
• New Return Vent Grille
• Replace the Carpet with Hardwood Floors
• Update the baseboards to 5 1/4″ baseboards

But all of that stuff is WAY down the line. This room is done for now.  The only thing I might do soon is add some Glow In The Dark Stars to the top of the trey ceiling, but I’m not feeling some compulsive gravitational pull to get that done right this second, so we’ll let that wait for a bit.

Boy Room Makeover Before & After

I love some before and afters, so let’s see them!

So what do you think?  What’s your favorite part of the room?  Anything you want to incorporate into your son’s (or daughter’s) space?  Want to see more detail on how I did what?  Let me know in the comments!  

Update!

In 2020, we participated in the One Room Challenge and completely transformed this room again for my son’s 11th birthday! You can watch this room grow up and read about all of the fun DIY’s we did to transform this space here:

• One Room Challenge Plan & Mood Board
• Paint & New Ceiling Fan
• Lego Storage Cart
• Lego Display Shelves & DIY Bedside Table
• Giant Pegboard
• The Desk Area & Full Room Reveal!

Check out all of the Stacy’s Savings Total Home Makeover posts here!