The Boys' Room

When we moved into this house, I was kind of overcome with all the possibilities that each room presented. I had the opportunity to start from scratch...everywhere! That's a pretty daunting task for someone who has learned to make do with whatever hand-me-downs and crappy old apartments have come my way.

When it came to the boys' room, I was inspired by the color scheme I saw on some of Jude's baby pajamas. I loved the fabric, but couldn't find it (or anything similar) anywhere. Nothing had the exact right colors I wanted in one piece to tie the whole room together.

So, I made my own. I looked at Jude's tiny little jammies and painted a similar design on a cheap square canvas from Michaels, and VOILA! Color scheme set!

I wanted to have a set of homemade artsy pieces together on the wall, so I took the same colors used in my painting and had each of the boys make their own.

Jude needed some help at his age, so I painted rainbows on his feet and made him stomp around on the canvas.

Josh had fun painting his square a little each day. He ended up mixing some of the colors so much that they did not match at all, but with a little guidance (force) he covered that up with the next coat and even signed his name.

I know these pictures aren't great, but it was hard to get good lighting on the day I took them. Especially with navy blue walls. You get the idea though.

Another fun idea for an easy and cheap way to fill up wall space:

Take photos that look like the letters of your names. My sister gave us a frame two Christmases ago with similar pictures that spelled our last name, and I loved it. Such a good gift.

These ones are special because the boys and I took a walk around the neighborhood one day to find each letter. 

Excavator + wheel + marble track + garbage can handle  = J O S H

(All things that he can't live without!)

Umbrella + shovel + rock + tree branches = J U D E

One more idea while I have your attention.

This idea was inspired by a friend's blog, who did something similar with letters. I took some cardboard boxes and cut out these shapes: a train, a truck, and an airplane. Then I took some leftover yarn (I always have a bunch of little ends that I hate to waste) and wrapped it around the cardboard until it was covered. That's it! Easy, and absolutely free. And it's nice to have texture like that on the wall.

 

And lastly, I took some of that same paint from before and painted the dresser knobs to match. Again -- easy, quick, and free. My kind of project!

I don't know why I have no pictures of the whole room. The boys are asleep right now or I'd get one for you. All you're missing is a red rug, an aqua bedspread, some accent pillows, and an old bed and crib painted white. I love it all. 

I think all of the above projects only cost me about $25 total to complete. And they were really fun to do with my kids. Hope some of these ideas help if you're looking for cheap ways to decorate.