Frazier's "New" Room

For months, I'd been planning in my head how to update Frazier's bedroom.  All the decor I chose for his nursery even before he was born, I'd selected specifically because it could grow with him presumably as long as we're in this house.  However, there were still a few things that had to change.  The changing table had to go, the glider had to go, and the crib had to be exchanged for a big boy bed.  I did a lot of research on the options available for "big boy" beds and decided on the kura bed from Ikea. I felt like it was the best in terms of utilizing our space and budget.  I moved the changing table out and switched it for a big unit of cubbies a couple of months ago, but we waited until the Europe trip was behind us, to really tackle the bedroom project and a few weeks ago we finally went to Dallas and got the bed.  Naturally, it came in a box (that fit in my car!) in a bunch of pieces, and it took us 5 hours to put together.

But it was worth it!!

Once it was together and set in place, I realized that the trees I'd painted on the walls...the ones that were supposed to grow with him indefinitely...had been planned to carefully fit around the crib. :(  So I bought a little bit of his wall paint and repainted so that the tree was moved over just enough to accommodate the new bed.  See?

I also felt the placement of the bed (which stuck a bit into the window where the crib did not) necessitated a change of curtain as well so I found a valance to replace the long brown curtains in the same red as the comforter I bought.

My next project was the curtains around the bottom part where he actually sleeps.  I bought this hedgehog fabric from Ikea as well and made some simple curtains that create a cozy little tent!

It was all a big hit with Frazier who took the change very well, I thought.

The last project was to transform the top bunk into a reading area.  I wanted to configure the bed this way where he essentially sleeps on the floor, but has the top as a loft so that he didn't really lose any play space in his room.  When he is older, we'll let him sleep on the top and use the bottom for playing in or put shelving down there for storing stuff, but for now he's safer on the bottom and the top is great for playing.  I sent Josh to Lowe's for some plywood and we had it cut to just fit the top bunk, then covered it with a mattress pad (stuck to the board) and covered that tightly with a fitted sheet that matches the one on the bottom bed.  This way it's just a little cushioned floor for the loft so it's comfortable for sitting and reading or having picnics or playing with cars, but it isn't very thick which leaves the sides quite high...for safety reasons.  I moved the little bookshelf from under the tree at the end of the bed and put it next to the loft and piled a bunch of pillows up there.  Lastly, I found one more lantern to go with the collection.  I just felt like it needed one more at the end to balance it out now that the bed was longer.

 Here's the rest of the room:

Happy revamped bedroom, big boy Fraz!

In case you don't remember how it looked originally...here it is.