Decorating for My Little Boy’s 9th Birthday
Oh my goodness, friends, I now officially have a 9-year-old little boy as of this week. My little man’s birthday was this weekend, and we partied hardy at the lake with our whole extended family. While I’m a mama to three kiddos, he is my only little boy. And I’ll be honest, nine years ago when the ultrasound tech told me it was a boy, I was FREAKED. I only had a sister growing up. I’m a girly girl. I knew nothing about boys. I was married to a grown-up boy, and that was about it.
But as any of you Boy Moms know, they steal your heart. While part of him is all “boy” – running outside in the woods and trying to cut down trees with a butter knife (yup, that was this week) – he is also a fantastic artist who can draw for hours. He’s a keeper. And in honor of his 9th birthday this week, I wanted to share an update to his bedroom makeover I showed you last fall.
Transitioning to a “Big Boy” Room
Last year, I decided to revamp his toddler room into his “big boy room”. I updated it with a new Adventure/Camping theme – a style he can grow into. He loves swimming in the lake, running around in the woods, and getting poison ivy every single year, so it was the perfect fit. I first shared his big makeover reveal as part of last year’s One Room Challenge.
For this birthday (besides the Lego sets and Captain Underpants books), I wanted to do something special as a gift. And I’m smitten for all things customized, personalized, or monogrammed. Since his whole bedroom design is all about adventure, the outdoors, and camping, I found the perfect piece – a custom star map from Modern Map Art. This custom print shows the picture of the night sky for the day he was born. How cool is that?
Updating with New Accessories
I’m always rearranging and changing up little stuff in our house. So after his big bedroom makeover reveal last year, I have found some fun new odds and ends for his room. At a recent trip to HomeGoods, I scored this red camping-style lantern and red metal box that reminded me of a vintage first aid kit. And we still have Mr. Buffalo hanging out over his dresser area. We were blessed to have his dresser and bed as hand-me-downs from my in-laws, and the rustic, distressed finish is perfect for a boy’s room – the scratches are already in it!
One of my favorite new additions is this framed National Parks pass. Two years ago, my 91-year-old grandfather passed away, and I got his old pass. This man was so full of life and adventure, and proudly carried this very well-used pass with him in his wallet. It’s old, worn, and taped together because it actually got USED. He traveled the world a dozen times over and explored our nation, even into his 80s. I immediately knew the perfect place to put it – in my son’s bedroom, to remind us that adventure lasts a lifetime.
Creating a Cohesive, Durable Design
I don’t know about your kids, but mine like to squirrel little “treasures” away, so we actually use this first aid box to corral all of his little things he finds! And just to make you all feel better out there, I promise there is nothing in the lamp, so no little campfires inside!
I’ve tried to keep the wall decor fairly minimal in his new bedroom makeover. Over his bed is a “Go Outside” felt banner, and next to his bed, I used a camping-style “Explore” felt pennant over his new star map print. The little interactive metal calendar was a HomeGoods find and is perfect for counting down the “sleeps” until big events… like his birthday!
The final piece of wall art was the oversized buffalo print over his dresser. I love using large-scale pieces when you have a large blank wall. It was a digital download off Etsy that I blew up to this 24″x36″ size and flanked it with these metal accordion sconces.
Believe me, guys, nothing in this room is too “precious” or breakable. Everything is meant to be durable, cleanable, and that he can enjoy. I truly believe a kid’s bedroom needs to be livable, so sometimes that means holding off on certain items until they get older. You don’t want to be hovering over them in their bedroom, reminding them about what they can or cannot touch. Believe me… this comes from 10+ years of learning all the ways kids can destroy something in my house!
Creating a Cozy Reading Nook
In this empty corner, I snagged a faux leather chair from Target for a little reading spot. I topped it off with some Crate and Kid’s camping pillows, and he keeps his books in the adjacent closet. I try to always add a rug to all of my kid designs – you know them, they love to roll around, play on the floor, and it’s nice to have something soft under them. This one is discontinued from Urban Outfitters, but you can find a similar swiss cross rug at ABC Home.
I loved how his new star map fit with the whole camping, outdoors, exploration theme. And these metal sconces are actually plug-ins, so we didn’t need an electrician to hardwire anything into the wall, which saves time and money.
A Unique and Personalized Gift Idea
If you are looking for the perfect baby present, nursery decor for your own baby, or even for your big kid’s room like I did, my favorite new gift is going to be a custom star map! I think it’s the sweetest present to give a new mama for her baby’s nursery. It’s a unique and personalized touch that will wow any new parent.
So I hope you grabbed some ideas today for how you can update your little one’s bedroom, playroom, or even nursery with this gender-neutral, will-grow-with-them Adventure/Camping theme. It’s been almost a year now, and we all still love my son’s new room. I’m happy to report all of the items have been super durable, easy to clean… and I think just plain fun. And he has hosted plenty of indoor “camp-outs” with his two sisters many times in his new bedroom.
You can shop this whole room by clicking on the link above to my Free Resource Library. If you have a little boy of your own and need some ideas for your boy bedroom, nursery, or playroom design, I got you covered, friend. Here are some more Postbox Designs makeovers fit for a little prince.
