The Grandkids' New Bedroom

The AFTER : )

We recently replaced the carpeting in the two upstairs bedrooms with hardwood flooring, so decided that this was a great time to decorate the grandkids' bedroom. I'd been wanting to get in there for some time now.

As we already have hardwood in the hallway and living room, we tried to get the same, or as close to same look as possible. Turns out they no longer carry this scraped flooring (remember how big that trend was?) so we looked for something that was compatible. The planks are wider, a bit different in hue, but they look really nice in the two rooms and fit well with what we have. If it had been in the budget, we would have replaced all the wood so that it matched, but that was not to be.

The BEFORE picture. Drab dirty carpet. The baseboards had already been removed here, in preparation for the new hardwood flooring. It is a small room, took some figuring to decide what to do for the littles to have sleep place, toy storage, and play space.

I was glad to get rid of that carpeting, I must say. It was really dirty and impossible to keep clean with the dogs (and the grandies). Not to mention how much better hardwood is for my allergies.

Changing out the floors started a chain effect... of course I wanted to upgrade both bedrooms at the same time. We are still working on our bedroom, but the grandies' room is (pretty near) finished and turned out super cute.

Check out how short those legs are, eh?

The Beds

Our granddaughter is now 2.5 and no longer sleeps in a crib, so we decided to get new beds for both kids so they match. I have two grandies, a boy and a girl (siblings). We sold the crib, we sold our grandson's bed, and we bought a new stackable bed from Ikea. We chose this bed because they can be stacked to make one bed, and because they are low to the ground (in case one of the littles rolls out of bed).

These twin beds are called Utåker. It is sold as you see in the picture, one stacked bed that turns into 2 beds. It only comes in this unfinished pine, just like Ikea used to do back in the 'good ole days'. I really liked the idea of raw pine as I had already planned to stain them.

The original plan was to just put it up as one bed for more room to play, as our granddaughter is not yet quite ready for a sleepover. However, she really, really wanted her own bed set up, so who are we to deny our princess?

This window faces south, so this is also my seed starting room : )

The legs, as you can see in the Ikea photo, were very short and low to the ground. We wanted short, but not quite that short (hah!). Hubby remade all the legs. If you know Ikea furniture, you know that there are always a whole lot of strange bolt and nut and socket type fittings. It was a fiddly business but hubby got every single hole in the right place, and the right size.

I then stained the beds in Worn Navy Varathane, two coats to get this lovely deep hue. I love them! The perfect colour, fast and easy to do.

The mattresses they recommended with these beds were not for the feint of heart. Holy doodle, they were thin and firm (rock hard). We decided to upgrade. I think the upgraded ones are still a bit too firm, wish I would have purchased the mattresses from somewhere else entirely. Will need to buy one of these eggcrate foam toppers (this one has cooling gel - sounds kind of like the answer for those hot summer nights) for when an adult guest (or me, perhaps) will be sleeping on it.

The Toy Shelving

We already had 6 wooden crates that we were using as toy shelving but felt we could use a bit more. I had hubs pick up two additional crates, but they ended up being a couple inches bigger. So it goes. I put them on the bottom and they just hold a bit more stuff. I stained them to match the beds. Crates are an inexpensive option, make a great shelving unit, are real wood (love that), and can be switched out into other configurations.

The Bedding

You all, I am so in love with this bedding! The twin comforters are cloud light and soft, warm as can be, and I adore the terracotta colour. They come in other sizes and colours, too. Some pretty blues and greens, but I like a little pop of colour for this room. These comforters are so big that I have them folded in half on the beds. They will keep my littles so very cosy and warm. I love these comforters to much, the softness of them, that I want one for our king bed, but in blue.

These sheets! Are they not the sweetest? I cannot tell you how hard it was to choose as the selections were all so good. Love this green forest animals bedding, was seriously considering going just green and blue in the room. You can also get unicorns, dinosaurs, foxes, astronauts, so many cute sets for a kid's room, but I loved these dark blue owl sheets the best. They come with a top sheet, as well, but I have put those aside for now.

The Wallpaper

The wallpaper was my starting off point, where all the other ideas stemmed from. It is called Persian Ikat, is a peel and stick type wallpaper so we can change our minds at any time. I will admit that it was a bit of a learning curve to put it up. If your hubby says, no we don't have to cut it first, tell him he is he's wrong, hah! It is so much easier to put up if you cut the pieces first, leaving a bit of extra to trim off top and bottom when you are done. Overlap the edges just a titch. Oh, and check to make sure you get it right side up!

All The Other Bits & Bobs

These arrow hooks ended up over the bed but I did not want to have to start patching and painting the walls, too, so we decided to leave them be. I hung up a little heart bunting that I had made for Christmas/Valentine's Day decor. I'll eventually hang little purses, or other fun girlie things on it. The artwork we already had, it works well in this room.

As we could no longer hang the toy baskets on the arrow hooks, we needed new hooks somewhere else. I grabbed an extra board from the workshop, slapped on some white paint, and screwed on the hooks.

I love these black metal hooks, this is the second package (12 pack) I have purchased. You might recognize them from my foyer, holding the dried roses? The rougher the board, the better it looks to my shabby chic soul.

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I made a flag banner to add a bit something. I wanted to make two but so far have only managed to make the one. Hopefully.....

I have not yet found anything to go above Gage's bed. He really wants something there and has requested 'minecraft'. Hmm, I think maybe not... I'll pop into the antique shop in town to see if they have some artwork or toys to hang there. Maybe a small bookshelf?

You might recognise the rug as one of the machine washable area rugs that I alternate in the sitting room, the one I like to use in summertime. The colours work so well here in the bedroom... and gives me an excuse to buy a new one for the sitting room. The link takes you to a rug that is not exactly the same, but very similar.

I was ever so happy for the hardwood and rug this weekend. Our wee Gracie is potty training (you know where this is going). She was so excited about the new room that she did not want to leave play time to visit the potty. We've all been there. Whether it's dogs or kids potty training, some times life is too exciting to make it in time. I threw the rug in the wash, mopped the floor, room is good as new and now smells fantastic once again. There is nothing precious in this room that we need worry about.

This room has been on the roster since we moved in, but was way down low. When the flooring happened, the time was right to get it done. We used a lot of what we had, a whole lot of handmade and recycled items, and otherwise invested in things that will last for many years. These beds, while (still) low, are sturdy, made out of wood, will last the grandies for many years. The other beds went to new homes, nothing went to the dump except that dirty old carpet.

May your February days be busy and happy ~ Tanja