Big Boy Room Makeover

As much as I hate to admit it, my baby is growing up. Earlier this summer he told us he was ready for a "big boy room." Ouch.

So we said goodbye to the baby blue, tractors and bunkbeds; and I started the budget hunt. We decided to reuse as much as we possibly could. See the cornice board in the picture below? My husband originally made it for the nursery with a wallpaper boarder running between the pieces of moulding. We painted over it and added the tractor wallies for the toddler years. Since it fits his window so perfectly, we decided to use it again.

This time we used mini MLB baseball pennants (package of 30 for $8.99).

We chose to do board and batten with a shelf that runs around the room. With 3/4 of the wall being white, I decided to be very bold and paint the remaining 1/4 Tricon Black (Sherwin Williams).
I can't believe how much bigger his room seems. His giant "M" came from Hobby Lobby. It was ugly-gold, but for $5 I knew it had great potential with a little spray paint.
The tall chest came from my room. It's been moved to several places in the house over the years but it was originally part of our bedroom suit. It's called a lingerie chest, but don't tell him that. ;)

This basket was a yard sale score. It was a bicycle basket with a nasty water bottle attached. Other than being dusty, it was in good condition. I just took off the attachment pieces and cleaned it up. For $3 I was thrilled. {Cheap thrills}

Remember the green locker? We just gave it a new coat of paint.

I am partial to buffalo check. I don't know why. I just love it. So when I ran across this bedding (on sale for $35) it was love at first sight. (I liked this color, too, but thought the red would go with the baseball theme better). The baseball pillow came from TJMaxx. It was like the icing on the cake.

I sacrificed my own bedside table for the makeover. He needed some extra drawer space for socks 'n stuff. We reused the lamp which I had bought on clearance at Target a few years ago. The stitching on the shade looks like baseball stitching.
In case you are wondering about the board and batten, here's the scoop: We used 8' firring strips cut into 5' lengths. Firring strips are a little more rough than trim boards but not enough to be noticeable. You didn't notice, did you? The price difference? $7 apiece for trim boards or $0.98 apiece for firring strips. Yes. BIG difference.
We spaced the strips 18" apart and tapered the ends at the base. My oh-so-smart husband created these snazzy supports for the shelf from left over pieces of 2x4's:

This desk has true sentimental value. It was my husband's childhood desk. Not just any desk. He and his grandfather made it together.
It even opens from the side for some great storage.
Total cost of the makeover: $108

Happy Birthday, "BIG" boy!