My littlest - soon to be big brother - is officially out of the nursery, out of diapers (except for a pull up at night), and after much ado is sporting a big boy haircut!
The new big boy room was originally our nursery when we moved in and Nicholas was just 2 months old. We quickly learned it wasn't an ideal nursery since it is above the garage and in the summer is quite warm and the winter quite cold. We also had to avoid going in and out of the garage while the baby was sleeping. Our first winter, we moved the nursery to the cozy room which sits directly above the furnace and moved our office furniture and spare bed into the room over the garage. In the summer and winter we'd just close the door to that room. It also became a dumping ground for random things that didn't have a home in other areas of the house or that we planned on taking down to the basement when we got around to it (which was never since we just closed the door and didn't see it!). The kids also liked to venture in and get into stuff they shouldn't like office supplies. Here is what it looked like at the beginning of November.
Note: the bunk bed was a relatively new addition from when we redid
B's bedroom. Previously we had the double mattress and box spring on the ground in here as our guest bed.
In order to make the transition from office to big boy bedroom, there were a few things that needed to be done and first thing was first, we needed to address the temperature issue. DH caulked the inside of the windows throughout the entire house. He also insulated the garage door with foam insulation panels which were very cheap. We did notice a marginal improvement in the temperature in there after making these improvements but decided to also buy a ceramic heater with a thermostat and automatic setting for back up just in case. We'll also use this at our trailer at the beginning and end of the season so it will serve a dual purpose! Of course we've also doubled up comforters on all the beds in our house for the winter so we don't have to keep the heat so high.
We got it at
Home Depot and thought it to be a good deal with all the features and the 3-year warranty.
For safety reasons we took the stairs off the ladder of the bunk bed since N is still little. We also got rid of the bookshelf out of the room (worry wart over here) and swapped it with the lightweight utility shelf we had in our laundry room. We used the shelf in the closet along with some cheap bins I bought so N had easy access to his clothes for dressing himself. We thought about a fancy closet system but since we're on a budget it didn't seem worth it and I was actually really happy with how the utility shelf worked out in there. His sweaters, jeans, and good clothing is hung up in the other side of the closet. He rarely wears these unless we're going somewhere special. Now he has easy access to his socks, underwear, pyjamas, long sleeved t's and track pants.
As for the decor... we painted this room originally when we moved in for the nursery and were still happy with the colour so that saved us time, money, and work. Similar to B's room, when we were cleaning out my mom's basement, we came across a print my dad, a motorcycle enthusiast, had bought from an artist in Quebec on his travels. This art seemed incredibly suiting for N who loves vehicles of all kinds. We had it framed for the nursery originally so the colours work well in the room.
We had the navy comforters and white sheets (a set for each bunk though we don't have the top ones on currently) from B's old bedroom anyway but I came across these absolutely adorable plane sheets in Marshall's back in the summer and since N is obsessed with planes and the colour scheme worked well with the room, I bought them. There was only one set but that's fine since the other sheet set is just plain white with a small navy trim at the tops.
There were a couple of pictures and sentimental items I wanted to display but keep out of reach of little hands. This shelf from Home Depot was perfect. The footprint frame was a baby gift, the
name puzzle I bought from a Farmers Market in Edmonton, and the photo of our Yorkie was something I've had since we got him but has just been sitting in a box and since N is the dog's biggest fan it seemed like a perfect fit. There are a couple more things I need to fix/find that I'd like to also display - a wooden car and a metal fire truck piggy bank. In time!
Finally, the little reading nook. The chair was mine from my university days! The cozy animal print fleece blanket used as a throw was a baby gift originally for B but well loved by N. The lamp was a hand me down from a family friend that we used in our first house. The black wicker basket which holds all of his books came with a wedding gift and the Animals of the World poster was a gift from my brother to N. You'll notice B has a similar Solar System one in his bedroom.
The Cost
Lasko Heater = $64.99
White Shelf = $8.49
White Brackets (2 @1.38) = $2.76
Clear plastic storage bins (3 @ $0.87 each) = $2.61
Airplane Sheet Set = $19.99
Total: $98.84
Not a bad transformation for $100 bucks!
