On Monday we shared that we had picked a winner of our local makeover giveaway. Kevin and I decided to give Luke, an awesome teenager boy (13) a much needed room makeover. Luke’s mom had written us an email telling us how deserving Luke was of a room makeover (after we had asked for submissions to our blog subscribers). His brother has special needs and often gets the most attention and time from his parents. Luke loves his brother and is very patient (I saw it with my own eyes). They are an amazing family.
From Rachel (Lukes mom) – “Luke could absolutely use a “lift”. Our younger son Patrick has Special Needs and it has been a difficult summer. Luke tries so hard with Patrick, but it hasn’t been easy for him. We’d love you to come and help us with your amazing ideas and genius ways of tackling small spaces”.
We were thrilled to give Luke a bedroom makeover that would prepare him for this coming school year. I almost felt like it was a dorm room makeover. Our intention was to make it feel like a cool space he would want to invite his friends over to hang out in. And a place that he could feel comfortable and motivated to study and excited for things to come! Also the room had not been changed since he was a toddler. So it was time.
Thank you The Home Depot for sponsoring this post
Bedroom BEFORE and AFTER-
Luke did say that the paint was one of his favorite things about the makeover! It is actually my favorite part too. I had been wanting to paint half of the wall for awhile now and Luke’s room was the perfect place for it. Going lighter on the top makes the room feel so much bigger! Also added this rug to ground everything.
Paint-
Behr Ecological on bottom half (up 60″ from the floor) Top- Pure White from Behr
Meet Luke-
Luke is such a great kid and so very talented! His artwork was actually my inspiration for the room. I know he had a pretty strong sports theme going on in his room before. But my intention was to make it different than he had it, for a nice change (and as per his mom’s request). I also wanted to showcase ALL of his interests in a cohesive way, sports and art!
I did rotate his bed around to the other wall. I wanted to maximize the wall his bed was on with bookcases and a spot for his TV. His bed is a twin now instead of a full (as per his moms request). The twin fits much better in the space and also creates a place to hang out with friends. They can sit on the bed, like a daybed too. And keep in mind most dorm rooms all have twin beds, so we are just preparing him for college!!
Ok, but isn’t THIS faux leather chair the coolest?? It is under $100 and is the perfect addition to his room. He can sit there and read or practice his trumpet. Pretty cool spot. The Home Depot really has such great pieces for kids rooms and dorm rooms to prepare your kids for back to school (I started my shopping from THIS collection on their website)
Framing kids artwork is really the best kind of art you can have. It cost nothing and means everything. Some of Luke’s art was from when he was 6! Rachel, Luke’s mom said it had been hanging on the wall since he was 6 and never moved. And there is nothing wrong with that. But hand-selecting what pieces of art you frame and also rotating art is great to do too. And using THESE command strips makes it super easy to change up where you hang your art. (Find some similar frames HERE).
“You can see he loves Sports and still has his art projects from elementary school hanging up! We haven’t touched his decor since 3rd or 4th grade. He’s SO ready for a change! Thank you so much for considering Luke!!!”
The above art was hanging in the dining room (you can see that makeover I did for Luke’s mom HERE). The colors are perfect in Luke’s room.
Notice how I mixed in Luke’s FAVORITE sports pieces? Now the sports items are hand-selected favorite pieces that really stand-out. I asked Luke and his mom to bring me anything that they wanted back in the room. They had taken everything out and it really made it easier to sort though what they wanted to keep. Totally the Marie Kondo Method! Remove it all and only keep what you love and brings you joy.
The bookcases are big statement pieces that I found at homedepot.com SO impressed with them. For this entire wall of bookcases it cost under $200!!! (find the bookcases HERE). Bookcases are really a must-have in a teenagers room or actually any kids room in my opinion. It creates the perfect place to display items they make and also for books! The bottom of most bookcases I like to add some bulk or weight visually by adding baskets. I used THESE faux leather bins at The Home Depot, to pull in the leather accent I added though out the room.
Ella (my oldest) came and helped us the first day work on the room. She found and lettered that quote for Luke. Such a great quote for back-to-school.
Rachel asked me how often I go through and clean out my kids rooms? I told her about once a month I give them a box and have them go through and donate or trash things they no longer need. We often talk about the experience of making things is more than the actual item. So it is ok to let things go. The activity was the purpose.
We did change out the light fixture too. Went with THIS schoolhouse light. I was going to spray paint it when I ordered it. But I like to mix metals and it looked perfect as-is. Probably one of my favorite lights and I have bought many from The Home Depot (find the light HERE).
The bed is just a simple platform bed that I found for around $100 online at Home Depot. The faux black leather is really great in here. For the headboard I used a vintage inspired rug (I shared on THIS post) as the headboard. I really like that with a rug you can add a lot of height and drama without spending a lot of money and it feels eclectic and one of a kind. (I mention the Bedding on THIS post).
The baseball art by Luke’s bed was a gift from his grandpa and his grandpa brought it into me, wanting me to make sure it got put back. He also told me the story of the signed photo too. I loved that. And I believe every room should have the things that mean the most to you.
I got him a gorgeous dresser (I really want one of these in our house now!) I linked the exact one on my blog post HERE. And I did find THIS one that is half the price from The Home Depot. Before Luke had cubbies and bins for his clothes, not the easiest to keep organized (see below)…
Also the canvas art I linked on THIS blog post. I did grab some wood trim from The Home Depot and turned it into a hanging frame!
Luke you are awesome! And we wish you the best school year with your organized room. You totally match the vibe of the room #toocool
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Love the twin bed swap! So true that it’s hard to go back to a twin when you go to college! Also, I love how the green paint lined up with the top of the bookcases.
Flawless detail!
This looks great! Awesome inspiration for my dude!
Could you share the dimensions of the room?