Monday, March 14, 2011

Max's Big Boy Room

Finally...pictures of Maxwell's big boy room. Click here to see more pictures like this of what the room looked like before.

BEFORE

It was pretty much an ugly guest room with his crib in it. My vision for this room came from two things: This special picture of Maxwell's great grandpa 'Papa.'


And these awesome $5.00 school desks that I found on craigslist. Using those as my starting point, I scoured the pages of Restoration Hardware, Ohdeedoh, and got some great tips from my friend J. The room has been done for awhile but I waited to post pictures because it's not completely done. Sometime soon he'll move into a real bed, but until then...here's Maxwell's big boy schoolhouse/airplane room.

My talented husband built this incredible chalkboard for us. He used sheet metal because I insisted that I wanted the space to be magnetic so we could hang cool things  like these flashcards (bummer they sold!), or use the wall to display the kids art work.


I gathered  pictures of each of Max's great grandfathers to put this wall together. I love the idea of using special family pictures to inspire him. He can gaze up and see these amazing men as football players, pilots, fishermen, and entrepreneurs. Who knows what path he'll choose...


My Uncle David helped me find the picture of Papa in front of the jet and these others above Maxwell's bed. I love that he can fall sleep looking at the plane flying above him.



Framed pictures of Maxwell and his brother and sisters.


I LOVE how it turned out. I wanted it to look 'vintage schoolhouse/ old airplanes,' but mostly, to reflect things that Maxwell thinks are cool. He loves showing off his room. Both of the kids have space to play and the desks and chalk board are such a fun way to keep them creative.


Desks clearly cleaned up for a photo opp...it's usually a beautiful mess of paper and crayons.

Closet shelves and doors to go up next. Pretend you don't see all the 'stuff.'





Room details that I can remember:
Paint- Sherwin Williams, French Gray
All frames and lamp- Target (thanks for browsing the clearance shelves Mom!)
Airplane Shelf- Yard sale, saved and painted by Gma J
Chalk board- Sheet metal glued to MDF, painted with chalkboard paint, created and framed by my Mike
Hanging airplane- Ross, found by Aunt T
Clip boards- Staples
Rocking chair- craigslist
Desks- craigslist
Dresser- family handmedown

To be continued with...updated knobs for the dresser, and a closet door and shelves.

I linked here.

10 comments:

Chicago Mom (Heather) said...

Hands down the best boys room I have ever seen. You are brilliant to have gotten those old school desks! And the photos of grandpa brought tears to my eyes. What a wonderful way to decorate his room. I love everything about it! If I ever get that house I'm going to copy you. :-)

Your new header is also so cute. I love that photo!

Mrs. Davis said...

Amazing job!!! I love it!

brian, meghan, finley, and adalaide said...

adorable! those desks are so fun!

~j~ said...

Meg!! The room looks AMAZING!!
It is everything you envisioned.
Mike! you are brilliant, such an amazing husband to do all those honey do's! A girls dream ;))
Thanks for sharing Max's new digs!
LOVE!
xo
julia

molly june. said...

SUCH a cute room! i was putting your pics up over there, getting distracted by all the cuteness :) LOVE the chalkboard. and the desks. and the cluster of pics with the clipboards! AHHH! it's all so good. what a lucky guy!

hows the grey color? bluey? purpley? it's SO hard to find a good grey. but it looks perfect in the pics! i'm looking to paint a&e's room grey, so i'm curious :) you might've found a winner for us all! hehe.

Unknown said...

Wow what a difference! I'm a huge fan of grey walls, very nice choice. A little jealous over those desks - great score! And the chalkboard - awesome! I would suggest moving it down to floor level so the kiddos can reach it better. One more thing, Papa J was one handsome young man! I love those old photos!

Betty said...

You are sooo good....I love the room and I love the plane shelf ...I got to ride home from Michael's house in the back seat with that plane, a big stuffed elephant and whatever grandma Judi could find for the kids .. there was just enough room to sit ..but we couldn't more for four hours ...lol .. Now I see why she wanted the shelf so bad.
Hugz ...gma Betty

bandofbrothers said...

HOW on earth did I miss this post! so cute! john wants me to get desks! i love the big ole' chalk board. super cool!

Unknown said...

SO adorable! Great job, the desks are such a fun touch! And your kiddies are so super ridiculously cute too! :)

Anonymous said...

so cute - love the desks!