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Our Little Adventurer’s Bedroom Makeover: Finding the Inspiration

by on Mar 25, 2015

We moved into the Curbly house when our little boy was two weeks old. It was a whirlwind, an epic frenzy of a time, and while we eventually put together a cozy nursery for our new little bundle, his nursery never developed a personality that reflected him. 

Somehow, years passed, and despite me begging him daily to not grow older, he became 2 1/2-years-old. And, he has a lot of opinions. He knows the names of more heavy machinery than I do, he has a coterie of “guys” (little Playmobil figurines) that go on adventures together. They have names like Miguel and Benji. He loves dogs and trains and mountains. 

In the last few months, he has outgrown the babyness of his room, and we were excited to create a bedroom to reflect the little guy he has become. We partnered with Land of Nod (our very favorite kid’s furniture store; it’s all so magical) to create a room for our budding boy.  

But, before we tell you about our plans for the room, let’s take a look at the “before” space.

Here’s the room the day we closed on the house and the ceiling began falling:

Before: Little Boy's Room Makeover

And, here’s the nursery a few months after we moved in: 

Boy's Room Makeover, Before

To be clear, there was nothing wrong with this room. It was just devoid of any real personality. 

Building upon some of the things our son adores, we put together a room centered on mountains and adventure. Because, mountains were the greatest common denominator among his interests. 

We created two mood boards that featured large- (a painted mural) and small-scale (tiny hand-drawn peaked wallpaper) mountains. 

Boy's Room Mood Board 1
Boy's Room Makeover 2

Mountain Image from: Syrinveien

We’ve said the following sentence so many times we sound like a broken record, but is deserves to be said one more time: Creating a mood board whilst putting a room together will be your BFF

Here’s why: There are so many directions a room can go when you’re starting with a blank slate. And, while spending time on Pinterest is a great way to gather ideas and inspiration, it can quickly become overwhelming. Instead, choosing a few gorgeous pieces (in a bedroom, a staple like a bed is a good place to start) is helpful because it keeps you focused. Building a room around a few integral pieces is wise because you already have the bones of the room in place. And, working those key pieces into a mood board makes it easier to visualize the space as you build the room.

In our case, we chose to focus on a bold accent wall: hand painted mountains, a gorgeous bed that is aesthetically flexible (it can really go any way in terms of style), and a vibrant rug that grounds the room (literally…BAM!).

Land of Nod Andersen Bed

Land of Nod Andersen Bed 

Land of Nod Patina Rug

Land of Nod’s Patina Rug in Blue 

From there, we mixed the old with the new and composed a room that feels layered and very much like our little boy. A peek at our Pinterest board will give you an idea of what’s to come, and we’ll be back with the big reveal tomorrow; in the meantime, here’s a sneak peak:

Curbly: Little Boy's Room Makeover

We partnered with Land of Nod to create this bedroom makeover. All opinions, words, and designs are mine alone. 

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6 Comments

  1. I love that mountain print/wallpaper(?)! Where is it from? Excited to see the reveal!!!

  2. Thanks, Meghan!

    Samantha: You should get that bed for your adult bedroom! It’s a winner.