…AKA “Eighteen is not adulthood and you still need me.”
Our firstborn son turned eighteen last week. I’m not really sure how and when that happened, but it did! The days are long and the years are short, I guess. I thought I was doing fine with it all, until he went on a few college visits with my husband and daughter over the fall break. All at once I became completely overwhelmed with emotions. I took those emotions and put them into a nicely refreshed “man child” room for a big birthday surprise.
When we moved into this house in February 2021, I was eight months pregnant with our seventh child, and our first born was a sophomore in high school. I was knee deep in diapers (again) and was somehow able to keep thoughts of college visits and ACT scores on the back burner. Since then, I have a fully decorated home…. except our son’s bedroom. I don’t know what was holding me back. I guess decorating a teenage boy’s room is a bit of a design challenge for me? Or maybe it’s something more psychological? But let’s not go there. Now that it’s finished, I’m kind of glad I waited. Now his room is so nice, he can never leave me!
This project truly is the definition of what I call a Room Refresh. Use everything you have first. Shop the house for items that can be repurposed or changed to fit this room’s vibe, as the teens say. Purchase new and updated pieces, and don’t spend too much on trends. Invest only in the things that will stand the test of time.
The paint color is the same as it was when we moved in, and I think it works! The IKEA bookshelf has moved around with me since before I got married and is such a useful piece. David collects vinyl records, so we purchase these wall mounts so that he can display the covers with the records inside. They are super practical, and I love how they look! The drapes are blackout curtains from Bed, Bath, & Beyond by Ugg. I find black out curtains are essential in Indiana, especially during the spring and summer months.On the days when my teenage boy wants to sleep in, the black out drapes maintain the cave like feel he needs to hibernate. I found most of the accent items and faux plants at Hobby Lobby, Target, and Homegoods. They seem to have the best deals on decor, and I rarely walk out empty handed. Given how precious time is these days, I really like to stick with the stores that deliver. It was a little challenging for me to embrace the more mature, more masculine styles, but once I made peace with the charcoal greys and blacks, it became easier to coordinate everything without being too “matchy-matchy,” and I was intent on steering clear of anything that screamed “little boy.”
The little black lights you see above the bed and above the record player are from Amazon. They are dimmable, battery operated, USB rechargeable reading lights with a sticker wall mount. Perfect for this space, and so easy to install. The light attaches to the wall mount magnetically, so when you need to re-charge it, you use pull the light off the mount and plug it in to the charging cable. Pretty cool!
My husband and I made the headboard when we were newlyweds. It has been reupholstered three times since 2003, and by “reupholstered” I really mean this: I bought some inexpensive fabric, laid it on the floor, placed the headboard on the fabric, and stapled it to the back! It really is an easy way to change up the look of a bedroom in an instant.
David shares a Jack and Jill bathroom with his sister Lucy. His sink area is what you see through that doorway — without a door. I am notorious for removing doors to create a better flow in our home. In the case of David’s bathroom door, it was a matter of practicality. The door opens into the sink room, and the shower/toilet room door also opens into the sink room. Poor planning with an easy fix: Remove the sink room door!
This project really was a labor of love, mother to son. Creating cozy spaces for my children has always been a way for me to show I care. I think this Room Refresh, in particular, was one of those projects that helped me to express to my teenage son that I’m going to miss him terribly when he goes off to college, but that he will always have a soft place to land here at home. Commence ugly cry.
