I am so excited to share this bedroom makeover reveal! We moved into our new house this November, and have been so busy getting everything unpacked, painting rooms, hunting for furniture, and making it our own. We painted our bedroom and bathroom, my oldest son’s bedroom, and then worked on the littles’ shared bedroom for a few weeks. We kept it a secret and the boys stayed in our room during the renovations. I had a pretty clear vision of what I wanted their room to feel like, and I think it turned out wonderfully. Here is our cozy vintage-inspired shared boys bedroom!
My husband did the majority of the work- all credit to him! He removed the wallpaper, patched up the walls, installed the beadboard and trim, painted everything, and repaired the closet doors that were covered in glass panels he had to remove, patch and sand down and then paint. I just picked everything out and decorated- the fun parts, in my opinion! I am thankful I have a patient husband who is always up for a project.
If you want to see my boys’ reaction to the grand reveal of their bedroom, you can watch my reel over on Instagram HERE. (It is so sweet!)
I didn’t take many “before” photos, but in this video you can see there was a wallpaper boarder near the ceiling, glass on the closet doors, and lots of holes to patch before painting.
The details
We have the beadboard at 4 feet tall because it sits on the baseboards. I really like this height for beadboard- not too short, not too tall. We got the sheets from — and cut them ourselves. My husband bought a laser level and it made the job much easier! We have also used it several times since, and I wish we had invested in one sooner.
The walls are painted Schoolhouse White by Farrow and Ball and the beadboard, trim and doors are painted Light Blue by Farrow and Ball. This blue is exactly what I was looking for- a bit muted and vintage feeling, while still being bright and playful for a child’s room. The boys’ last bedroom was also blue, but it was a bright powdery baby blue that was more for a nursery. I think this blue will grow with the boys.
The big investment was the bed– I had planned to thrift the bunkbeds, but I searched for weeks with no success, and I knew that I couldn’t really wait on this one. We live in Montana and there are just not as many FB Marketplace finds as there are in other places we have lived. Less people= less stuff! The bed I was drooling over is this one from Pottery Barn, which was way out of budget. The second best I found was this one from Max and Lily. I love the deep brown color of the wood, and that it is a low bunkbed so I can easily change their sheets and make their bed. I also knew I wanted stairs instead of a ladder because my boys are just crazy and I knew one of them was bound to fall off of it. This bunkbed is so perfect and I am SO happy we went with this one. When they are older, we may have to get a larger traditional bunkbed, but perhaps not.
The bedding– I was wanting a mix-matched lived-in, effortless vibe with the bedding. But again, my taste far exceeds my budget. I wanted the organic cotton bedding from Piglet or Pottery Barn, but that is ok. For now, we got these super soft blankets from Amazon and I think they are super sweet.
This is a duvet cover set that I actually just put over an old Pokémon comforter! The blue stripes are vintage-feeling and perfect for a little boy. The quality of this one is really good- It is cotton and has a bit of a linen feel to it, with a zipper closure.
The red gingham comforter is also from Amazon, and super affordable. It is very soft and works well year-round. Red gingham feels Christmasy (the season we finsihed the room) but also will be cute for Summer time. I took the pillow case from each set and switched them to give that mix-matched look.
The sheets were both thrifted- the planes I found for $3 at a local shop, and the Santa sheets were actually a FB Marketplace find and from Pottery Barn. When it’s not Christmas, we will be using old sheets we already have- most of them are just cheap striped cotton or flannel sheets.
We already had this dresser- a Facebook Marketplace find from years ago that we painted.
The lamp is from Target
The rug is from Walmart- it is so soft and a nice place to sit and play. I wonder if I should have gone with a larger size, though? I wanted the brown colorway of this rug, but accidently grabbed the grey, and ended up liking it!
The rustic wood wall shelf is from Hobby Lobby and super affordable (grab it when it’s 50% off!) I just wanted a little shelf to add some knick-knacks and things. I may get a larger shelf down the road, though. The boys have so many cute little things I want to display!
These black wall sconces are rechargeable and battery-powered! I didn’t want to mess with running electrical – they were kind of an afterthought, but I think it adds even more coziness to the space. There is no overhead lighting in our old farmhouse, so we need lots of lamps and cozy sconces like this. It comes with a remote and has all these fun settings… the boys love them! And the battery life is so long, I have not had to charge them yet. I am really happy with the quality of these, and you can’t beat the price.
This poster I have had for many many years and bought it at a little boutique. I have yet to find this exact one online, but Etsy and even Amazon have cute vintage style ABC posters. I just tacked this on the wall, but a wood hanger would be better.
The gallery wall
The gallery wall is my favorite- I love how it turned out! Most of the art is from Etsy or thrifted from years ago. A few pieces in the room are from Hobby Lobby, and most of the frames are from Hobby Lobby. I wanted a mix of realistic vintage pieces of art, and new colorful playful pieces. And I am sure I will be switching these out all the time. Full transparency- I had thrifted a cute little shelf that fit perfectly on the gallery wall and held a few little books next to the bed. It was precious! But my youngest ripped it out of the wall a day later, taking with it a chunk of paint. Oops! So I just covered that with this mountains wall art I had! I don’t know if this is what will stay here, but it worked to cover the blemish for now.
I found the perfect shelf on FB Marketplace, but the sellers never got back to me. I want a long, sturdy low wood shelf that we can paint a fun color. We have LOADS of picture books still packed away in boxes in the garage, so I need a much larger bookshelf to hold all of them. Until then, we have this old IKEA bookshelf that holds a few books and toys. The drawer is nice for extra storage, but it is broken, so the boys have a hard time closing it. This is a piece I can take my time with and search for the perfect shelf.
Most of their toys live in the closet- an old Target cube shelf and rope baskets, plus labeled plastic bins on the top shelf that I can rotate in and out. (They also have bins of toys in our living room!) It’s nice to be able to shut the closet door and not see all the toys.
Their room is the coziest room in the house and I really love spending time with the boys in there. Story time before bed is extra cozy with the warm light from the wall sconces.
Our home is forever changing and evolving, and I am sure this room won’t stay this way for long, but for now, I am cherishing this sweet little boys room. It is cozy and nostalgic and calming. What else do you think it needs?
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