What? Do I hear a request for more house porn? You got it!
This was the original real estate picture of Ian's room. I really do need a wide angle lens. This photography hobby is like crack, dudes. Don't get started.
Then we unpacked and just put things randomly in rooms. Ian pasted pictures of video game figures and his favorite words on the walls, dressers, and doors of his room.
I think this wallpaper was original to house. Circa 1959. It's not a horrible pattern, but it just isn't appropriate for a boy's room.
Here's the new room. Benjamin Moore Moroccan Red. Ian's room doesn't have the white built-ins like Jonah's room, so we had to buy more white accessories. Like a white board, which was positioned low enough to be an easel. It was from Target.
Mid-century houses are lovely in many ways. We're saving $400 a month in energy costs for a home that's double the size of our old house. But then we have to deal with tiny windows and character-less moldings. I'm not a big fan of curtains, but this room demanded them. These are all from IKEA. It's cheap, but there were meant for drama, not function.
All the new accessories in this room, including the paint, probably cost $150. The labor was the pricey part. Two guys worked full time for one week to remove the wallpaper in two bedrooms, fix the cracked plaster in the hallway, deal with the painted over wallpaper glue in the bathroom, and then paint everything. I could have done it, but it would have taken three years.
The wall over Ian's bed is too blank. I thought about hanging a framed poster over his bed, but then what if there's an earthquake and the picture falls on his head? Because earthquakes happen every day in New Jersey. I though about putting up one of those huge wall decals. But then I decided that he needs space to tape up his stuff. An area that he can totally trash. Waaaah!
We have an unofficial formula for decorating – 1/3 investment pieces, 1/3 IKEA, and 1/3 knackered old thing. Those framed train prints are investment pieces. We bought them for $25 at a train museum in Virginia. They're signed and numbered by the artist. They remind us of a stage of our lives when the boys were obsessed with trains and we visited every train museum in seven contiguous states. The frames were very expensive, but they are lovely prints and they have great memories associated with them. The lamp cost $7 from IKEA. The desk is a beat-up hand me down from Steve's folks. The glass blotter comes from IKEA, too.
The duvet cover is new. It's from Garnet Hill. I like getting duvet covers from fancy places and then using sheets from Target. Because it is better to look good, than to feel good. Jonah has the same one. I like that the life preservers are blueberry and maroon. I bought this from their clearance catalog. $44.
Apt. 11d 
Like it that Ian got to choose the color. With the blank wall, could you do something like the clotheswire picture hangers they have at Pottery Barn Teen or Ikea? Or, paint a large poster frame or put up a huge empty wooden frame (light weight, no glass)? Then Ian could tape up his work within the frame.
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it is wonderful! will you paint the desk white? i think it could work.
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I like that color on the walls. I want to paint an “accent wall” a similar color (or maybe burnt orange).
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Laura says:
“…what if there’s an earthquake and the picture falls on his head?”
I’m California-trained, and I could never, ever hang stuff over the head of a bead, no matter where I live. (I’ve occasionally seen designers put a bookshelf loaded up with heavy books in that location–no, no, no.)
“I decided that he needs space to tape up his stuff. An area that he can totally trash. Waaaah!”
I’m hoping to do a big corkboard for each of my kids once we buy a house next year.
MH says:
“(or maybe burnt orange)”
Don’t do it!!! You are being seduced by the color-of-the-year people. (I guess it’s OK if you’ve always loved orange, but if it’s just the past year or so that you’ve started liking orange, you’re probably an unwitting color trend victim.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/trend-report-color-it-orange-in-2012/2012/01/24/gIQAsyOgSQ_gallery.html
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My daughter had a similar “blank” wall next to her bed, and while I was deciding what to do with it, she started wallpapering it herself with animal pictures torn out of magazines and calendars. I’ve let it go completely now, and her “animal wall” is covered almost to the ceiling. I figure it’s one of those “not overparenting” things.
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Love it! I think the color is fab! How do you like it?
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Not to mention the lights, pics, bedding–lovely. We’re both boys pleased?
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I really appreciate what you’re saying about the windows. Our house was built in the 1940s, and we have the super-small windows too. Right now I just have short cafe curtains on them (they cover the whole window). That’s mostly because my toddlers like to play with long curtains. But I’d also looked at window treatments, and while I knew that best interior design practices call for floor-length curtains, I’d thought, if I had those long curtains on these puny windows, people would think, who are you trying to fool? But then an interior designer came to my house (free consultation coupon!), looked at my windows, and declared that YES, I should definitely have full-length curtains, even for windows as small as mine. Your curtains look good — they help me visualize how my kids’ rooms could be improved.
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The boys love it. Ian’s color is very dark and I was first afraid of it, but now I really like it. I tried to convince him to do an accent wall, but he wanted all four walls dark red, so that’s what he got. And it’s fine. It’s very cozy and rich. A very sophisticated take on the traditional boys’ red.
Yeah, totally, Jackie, about letting the kids do their own thing and not “over-parenting.” I like giving them a zone for their random-ness. BTW, I do that to Steve, too. He’s allowed certain zones for his mess. Controlling? Who me?
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where is the bookcase from?
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IKEA
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