Big Boy Bedroom Room Reveal – Design Ideas that Score Big with the Whole Family

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Depending where you live, your summer fun is over and your kids have or will be heading back-to-school soon. As a mom myself, I am excited for my son to start kindergarten and simply hoping he can avoid using the word “poopy” in front of the teachers. Yes, he is only five and his maturity level isn’t quite there.
 
I got to know another mom who is doing a double-take of her young son who will attend preschool this fall. Jeannine Benoit Adams, is the mother to Ethan a beautiful and spirited four year old. He is also now a big brother to a baby brother who joined the family just this past July. Those are both big responsibilities and some new life skills are on the horizon for him this year.

To get Ethan ready for the school year and his new role as big brother mom and dad called upon YouthfulNest to hook him up with a big boy bedroom of his very own.

Pride-of-place inspires the entire room.

Jeannine and her husband are typical over stretched modern parents, both with the building of their own companies and making time for family. They also knew that once baby number two arrived that their focus on creating a new, more mature space for Ethan would be much lower on the to-do list.

I started working with Jeannine last spring and chatted a lot about what she wanted and didn’t’ want in the new bedroom. She most definitely was not a fan of themed boy rooms so things were really wide open in terms of inspiration.  She did have a definite style that I saw in the rest of her home and what I would describe as California, casual chic.
 
Jeannine had a few pieces from his nursery that she was interested in working into the new room including his dresser and wave wallpaper. Her only other two specific requests were that the room be age appropriate and eclectic, but not cluttered look. She wanted the mature design to stand the test of time, but with whimsical authentic touches.
 
I started with the new design and layered in some too cool for school beachy décor to play off of the existing wave wallpaper and brought in some big boy functionality like a reading seat and lighting.  After seeing the first design and reflecting on things Jeannine decided to go for an all new look without the wave wallpaper.

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Before. Ethan's nursery with graphic wave wallpaper.

Before. Ethan was missing a place to sit and read.

Before. The dresser was re-purposed.

First Style Board and room design.

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I encouraged her to talk things over as a family and they all agreed on some new inspiration, their beloved city of Chicago. So pride-of-place is what inspired the new design. Without being too literal I selected finishes and details that were related to sports and the city if Chicago. Ethan also had a few of his own to throw in the mix.

I started with getting Jeannine’s approval for the wallpaper as it is such a focal point of the room that I knew all the other elements including bedding and décor would hinge on this oversized element. After landing on something that was classic, but felt youthful I lost the beachy elements and curated kid friendly Chicago accents.
 
The result was a home run loved, by the whole Adam’s team mom, dad and most importantly young Ethan.

Final Style Board and room design.

This crowd pleasing design scores big with the whole family.

Every kid's room needs a bit of whimsy.

Clean white walls from Colorhouse Paint in Bisque .01 make all the Chicago wall art and books pop.

This cool, minimalist version of the Chicago skyline from Minted works seamleely in the mix.

Comfy place with a Kroma Carpets washable, faux fur rug in white.

Keeping this little boy safe while he sleeps is his new Naturepedic Organic Mattress.

Who doesn't still need their teddy by their side.

Rooting for the home team doesn't mean your room design needs to scream sports.

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