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Boys will be Boys


When we moved into the house, my husband and I set the kids' rooms as a top priority.  We thought that by creating spaces for them, we could kind of get them out of our hair as we worked on the rest of the house.  ;)  We had paint, window treatments and furnishings up in the first month.  Then we gradually added the personal touches.  Both boys love the outdoors and exploring, so we started with that as a focal point. 
We found sticks in Massachusetts that became curtain rods and wall hooks.  If you paint the hooks with a clear acrylic, they are actually much stronger and will last longer.   Charlie made the explorers' map in art class!
(This area is still a work in progress.  The old chair is going up to the attic.  Our plan is to put up the hanging chair and then see what else it needs.)

These twill curtains were a real steal at Lowe's last August.  For 4.99 a pair we bought them for all the kids rooms!  I think they may need a little personality though - got to think about that!  Buttons, maybe?
We had given Matt the rock wall for a birthday present last year, but  it took a lot of work (on my husband's part) to get it up on the wall.    There's even a bell they can ring when they reach the top!

You might notice the pictures above the bed - Charlie took these in the fall and we had them printed with a border, which makes everything look gallery-quality.  (One of the rare times a project like that gets done :) ) 
On the beds you might notice the stuff left behind... this is the best present ever: a head lamp. 

You can get them at REI pretty cheap and the kids loooove using them as book lights after lights out!  And I know in the summer when they are playing flashlight tag, these will come in very handy!  They are even on sale for under $13 and they are more powerful than the kids size, AND they do fit the kids!  Click to see the link.
The wall map is from a school yard sale I went to about 10 years ago and believe it or not, never found a home until now!  It's one of my favorite things and the kids enjoy saying, "Hey can you find...?" and challenging each other to find remote places or tricky geographical spots.  Now these school maps were featured in Country Living last fall, and are going for fortunes... see if you can just befriend someone who works in a school (start with the maintenance man) that might be tossing some of these...

Plus, I can't help it - sometimes my inner teacher comes out in my decorating and well... the kids are very tolerant,

but they also know that blackboards are perfect for scrolling a little message... so we painted this IKEA table set with blackboard paint too.  But now that I look, I realize it might look cooler in red or bright green.  Jumbo pencils are not only fun to use but pretty funny looking too!  (These are a few years old from Pottery Barn Kids - but guess what? They still have them, in an even better version and they're on sale!)

The lamps are hand-me-downs from a friend that fit perfectly.

I have two more projects to do here (hopefully this week) before I can call it done, and I'll tell you the paint color too.  I know even then it will continue to change as the boys quickly grow and make their own mark upon the room.   I'll be perfectly fine with it when they do, (there's already an Angry Bird poster up)  because I'll know I started with a vision that came from them.
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