(NOT a sponsored post)
I have always been a very visual person with a passion for design and crafts, but have never been formally trained in any form of art or design.
So putting together details and decor for a space got me rather enthusiastic and I was all game to transform this room into a space that Kyle will be drawn to and enjoy spending time in.
I wanted to re-use some of the furniture, namely, the baby changing table, an item we purchased for Kyle since he was an infant and minimise buying new furniture for his room.
Nonetheless, we went with three items from IKEA.
(L to R): Micke Desk with integrated storage $99, Micke Drawer unit on castors $89 and MALM Bedframe (super-single) with 2 Drawer Units $449
I think IKEA furniture is good for a growing child’s room, as it is affordable. But since it is hardly durable, it becomes a necessity to update the furniture after 3-4 years.
IKEA furniture can look generic, i.e., you can probably find 10,001 other copies of children’s room that will look the same as your child’s room if you don’t make the point to decorate the room with other items. Can totally understand why IKEA Hackers exist, as I would likely fall under that category of consumers if I had more wood-working knowledge and time on my hands.
So with a lack of knowledge of how to hack furniture, the next best thing I can do to a room is to put together stuff tastefully.
The Room BEFORE 
The Room AFTER
The neutral shades that are fundamentally in his room are white, grey, black and brown. The grey curtains darkens the room, but the room needed curtains that blocked out the sun, especially during weekend mornings so that the boy can sleep in on non-school days. Besides I abhorred the design of the curtain that came with the house.
I layered multiple sources of lights to the room with table lamps and other lighting near the dark curtains to create a warmer ambience.
The shades of blues, greens and primary colours from the art and plants in the room adds some vibrancy and creates a more personalised touch to his room.
The accessories for the room such as the ‘block out lights’ curtains, potted plants, lamps and other lights (fairy lights from IKEA, others from Lazada.com), cork board from Art-Friend work out to be less than $200.
All artwork in the room is by Kyle created over the past 1 year, some are on canvas, while others have been mounted on cardboard.
Air Balloon Hanging Mobile near window is handmade, patterns and instructions can be found on the blog here.
Except for the one with ‘washi-frames’, which were very old but much-loved postcards of dogs that I kept for years, that were dugged up from the dusty boxes from the rental storeroom space.
The most challenging part of decorating the room has to be fitting the old furniture into his room; the baby changing table, a 5 year old table and IKEA plastic chair.
The old changing table is now a book shelf. All I did was to reduce the number of books that Kyle has, by keeping those that he currently likes and read and having a decluttering sale to clear the rest of the other books through my Facebook page. So with less books, I am able to brighten the shelf with some green but artificial plants.
I have created a little Lego building / reading nook behind his bed, and brighten it up with ambient lights and the boy helped me put up more of his artwork on the side of the bed.
I am still toying with the idea of up-cycling the old table and plastic chair, but until I am done with fitting in the furniture and work on the decor for the other rooms, I will work on this table and chair at a later time.
So far Kyle loves being in his room, as it is not just a comfortable place to sleep but a cosy place for him to read and play as well.
I am sure this space will continue to evolve, but before I work on anything, I am sure to run the ideas by him first. I have made a point to ask for his input on various things in his room and included him in on the planning, as I want him to feel like he is a big part of the planning process for the decor of his room.
When we move again in 2-3 years time, he will definitely be included in the process of the design of his space in the home.
Love the colour palettes you’ve picked, the multiple sources of lights to the room, the handmade air balloon mobile, and most of all, the book shelf that is converted from an old changing table! Well done, Rachel! Curious to know how will you up-cycle other furniture;).
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