The last few months have been tough for everyone. But some of the hardest hit were kids who had to learn the last quarter of the school year in a whole different setting without seeing their pals in person.
As school is about to come to an uncertain start, one thing that could spark a little joy is an upgraded bedroom.
Two years ago, I planned a surprise room redo for my youngest son when he was visiting his grandparents during the summer. While we didn’t buy new furniture, we did four things that made a huge difference.
Paint
A few weeks before my son stayed overnight with his grandparents, I knew his dad and I were going to pull this off. I had conversations with my youngest about his favorite colors. Through it all, he seemed to gravitate towards “sky blue as it became night and the moon brightens it up.”
So I scoured paint stores for the right shade of intense sky blue with a bit of aqua and gray. We painted all the walls and the ceiling that color, and it felt just right.
Overhead Lighting
We replaced the soft white fabric fixture that had been in place since the room was a nursery, and replaced it with a large, modern orange drum shade.
Bedding
We used a modern quilt with navy, orange, red, and lime geometric patterns and solid red T-shirt sheets and paired them with an orange blanket. This combination really livened up the room.
Art
We sought pieces that would be meaningful to him, including an oversized canvas of The Flash, one of his favorite television series, and we framed a poster from his first concert (Corb Lund at Knuckleheads). Behind his bed, we hung three “Rocketeer” prints as a triptych.
The result: my son loved it. “It feels like me,” he continues to say.
I’m putting this process on repeat and doing a makeover for my oldest son who’s about to start high school.