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Designing a children’s room is always a balancing act, and the main issues are: How can you maximize the respect for a child’s interests that can change the next day (imagine sudden Blueey to Barbie changes) without breaking the bank? Do you regularly change furniture and decorations?
DIYer Stephanie Hofer (@2thesunnyside) she tackled this very question while redoing her nine-year-old son, Aiden’s bedroom. one room challenge. What is Aiden’s latest passion? Star Wars.
The project started when Aiden swapped bedrooms with his teenage brother. The previous room was designed with older children in mind, with a Kelly Green striped ceiling, rocker beds, wood and pipe desks and shelves, and light fixtures made from wooden spools. There was an industrial element of
Aiden liked his brother’s desks and shelves, but he set out to model his new room after a galaxy far, far away (i.e. closer to his Star Wars interests). . So Stephanie, along with her partner and her own mother, set out to make Aiden’s intergalactic dream a reality, with some smart and practical precautions.
“I wanted to create a bedroom that grew with him,” says Stephanie. “So the shell of this room is neutral, and the Star Wars theme is only brought into the room by the accessories.”
First, Stephanie and fellow DIY enthusiasts used Sherwin Williams Pure White and Caviar to create a modern (and versatile!) black and white color palette. As she points out, this color palette also embodies the dark and light sides of society. Star Wars legend. I also dyed the existing curtains black and remade them.
Rather than looking for brand new furniture, Stephanie and her family chose to remodel what they already had by sanding and staining the wood of the pipe desk and shelving a deep black (minwax “true black”). I made it The process took days, but Stephanie says she saved a lot of money by disassembling and dyeing the parts. It cost just $32 compared to hundreds or even thousands of dollars if purchased all new.
Stephanie’s personal favorite part of the process was transforming a traditional nightstand that her mother kept in a warehouse into a sophisticated floating nightstand. DIY users didn’t even need to use force to make it hover. Instead, they removed the nightstand’s traditional molding, cut it up, added geometric designs to the drawers, painted it glossy black, and used French cleats to mount it to the wall. .
Aside from showcasing Star Wars memorabilia such as lightsaber collections and canvas art, incorporating colorful, glowing lighting was a major priority for Aiden. Stephanie didn’t want the light feature cluttering the cords, so she decided to partially shield the lights with cove molding and partially shield the cords with curtain panels. This effect lets the light shine while hiding unsightly wires.
“The LED lights sync to his Bluetooth and can change colors and dance to the beat of music that Aiden loves,” says Stephanie.
Thanks to this series of DIYs, Stephanie and her family were able to keep the $500 budget they spent on the renovation and build Aiden’s dream Star Wars room for $497. And as Aiden grows, that space becomes infinitely more adaptable. “I love the fact that within a year the room can easily be transformed into his new obsession, simply by changing the bedding and wall decorations,” says Stephanie.
What about her advice for parents who are letting their kids redecorate their rooms?
