Before & After: A Teen’s Sports-Themed Bedroom
Teenage boys.
Raise your hand, and a can of deodorant, if you have one.
Recently, after we did a room shuffle with all the kids, the teenage boy landed his own room after 12 years of sharing a bedroom. He was pretty stoked. I’m not gonna lie. This room began as the nursery, was transformed to a little boy’s room for our youngest son and now it’s home to the resident teenage sports enthusiast. He and I had a blast perusing Pinterest (okay, maybe that was more me than him) and finding all the details to make this room his own.
It’s my honor to share all the details. And, AND! If you have a penchant for awesome photos as artwork, keep reading as I have an awesome giveaway for you, too.
Let’s look at the original, original before. Look at those cute little people!
After a coat of paint and thousands of diaper changes later, it turned into this…
And, now, THIS!
Put on your MC Hammer pants and let’s break it down.
The bed (now discontinued) was one we originally had for our daughter, but ended up putting it in storage when we bought both girls matching beds. I just couldn’t bring myself to get rid of a beautiful sleigh bed. We found the bedding on sale at Pottery Barn Teen and it was our big splurge for the room. I happily financed it by selling a few things around the house that we no longer used/needed during our great purge of Summer 2015. The “Will” letters just followed him from his previous room. We’ve had them for nearly 12 years!
Long live Homegoods. We found this awesome sauce chair on major clearance and that pillow just had to come home with us, too. The blanket is one Scott and I received as a wedding gift. Shhhh. I just turned that part around! Will is a major reader and he tells us he’s loving this chair. Most of the time it’s covered in stinky socks and dirty t-shirts, but hooray for a blog post. It has a way of making a teenager clean his room.
The bookcase got relocated from the playroom and the drapes were on sale (60% off!) at Bed, Bath & Beyond. They have a nice blackout option which I hear is good for teenagers who like to sleep – which, we just happen to have. Take note moms of littles. Someday they will sleep so long you’ll have to bomb them out of bed. We added a few shelves, too, for architectural legos and meaningful keepsakes, as well as hooks for baseball caps, backpacks and stinky clothes. Whew. Moms of teenagers, you know what I’m talking about there.
After we completely revamped our homework area, we decided the high schooler needed a desk to call his own. This one we scored at Ikea. That really deserves its own post because, hey, we survived Ikea! It’s got drawers, a file folder area and a notebook slot.
But, really, the pièce de résistance is that pegboard my husband made. We love its versatility, functionality and simplicity. We cut a 4’x4′ piece of pegboard, mounted some 1’x4’s for hanging on the back and then spraypainted it gray to match his room. All those ribbons, plaques and knick knacks can be moved as he grows. We love it.
And, of course, it’s not a room without a Johnny Football poster. Or his autograph. Here’s the full story on that.
For a month or so, Will’s room sat like this, but I just felt like it wasn’t completely finished. Something seemed off. Then Photos.com came calling and Will and I both fell in love with this photo. He’s a HUGE Clippers fan. Don’t ask, I have no idea. But the blues of the photo and the very cool aluminum finish really completed the room. It’s the first thing you see when you enter and that makes Will one very happy teenager. He was able to select the photo, the finish (and they have a ton), the frame and the size. So many options for so many budgets. I was impressed with the wide selection, the high quality and the quick shipping. And, it’s made in the USA. Even better. Really, I can’t recommend them enough.
Room Guide
Paint Color: Navy 2 by Valspar
Clippers Photo: Photos.com
Bookcase: Pottery Barn Outlet (similar)
“Will” letters/bed (discontinued): Pottery Barn Kids
Bedding: Pottery Barn Teen
Chair/pillow/hooks/pencil holder: HomeGoods
Drapes: Bed, Bath & Beyond
Desk: Ikea
Pegboard: Mr. Whitaker
Johnny Football autograph: Johnny Manziel
To enter to win a $150 credit to Photos.com, raffle it up. And, if you’re looking for some great inspiration, a blogger who knows a thing or two about finding a great deal, Ellen at That Chic Mom, is hosting a Twitter party tonight at 10pm EST, using the hashtag #loveyourwalls. She is a treasure trove – true story – of living well, and fashionably, on a budget.
lucky young man!
Great transformation! I love the Wonderlust Gallery on photos.com… Amazing travel pics.
Love it! We definitely need décor in our living area, so I would pick something from that category!
I love all the Harvest category but especially the Autumn in mountain print – so gorgeous! so fall-like!
The Americana category is pretty neat!!
That peg board is a fantastic idea! The room looks great! Good job!
I’d choose from the animal category because I’m a sucker for cute animals!
This turned out great!!
I would probably choose landscapes, not sure which subcategory. Architectural would be a close second!
We just bought preemptively bought a bunk bed (good deal from someone at work) for our 2yo and 10mo. I can’t imagine decorating for a teenager!! I’d love a landscape for our hallway!
The room looks GREAT! Love the color on the walls!
Once again… you have done an amazing job! Love it!
V
Amazing transformation – it looks lovely. Will is a v lucky young man.
My daughter has asked if we can decorate and re-do her bedroom this weekend – so if you’re not busy (!) come on over !
Amazing transformation – it looks lovely. Will is a v lucky young man to have such a talented mum.
My daughter has asked if we can decorate and re-do her bedroom this weekend – so if you’re not busy (!) come on over ! 🙂 (I have no idea about interior design so it’s going to be a struggle)
I’d love a photo of St Paul’s Cathedral in London, if I could find a good one.
Nice room! We will be redoing our son’s room next summer. His will also be sports themed, but it will have a hockey flare (Go Blackhawks!).
Thanks for sharing these ideas.
Awesome! And seriously – the peg board is genius for over the desk! We have one sitting in our garage and now you have my wheels turning. What a great space for Will to call his own and the framed pic looks great.
Oh Kathryn, can I just say “Welcome to the Teen Boy Cave!” Will’s room looks a whole lot like Drew’s; lots of mix & match furniture, sports posters (+ race cars for Drew), religious articles which have their own special shelves and that place for all those ribbons and mementos. Just be forewarned: he will outgrow that twin sleigh bed in NO TIME at all – vertically, horizontally, diagonally, you name it. : ) You will be back at IKEA loading up a full- or queen-sized bed soon, very soon. Seriously, I know he’s loving the new space he can call his own, so congrats on a great job!
Love the new room! We have a place for my son to hang his special ribbons and such, and he loves it! I need to work on finding him a place to keep all those “treasures” that he collects.
We are working on putting new touches in my son’s room. We haven’t really re-done anything in it since he was a wee little one! For him, it’s NHL photos, so I think that’s what I would look for next.
Love the redesign and would love to win!
I would probably choose from the Animals or Transportation categories.
This looks fantastic!! It’s so thrilling to use what’s around, add a little Pinterest, and watch the magic happen. I’m sure your teenage son loves it!
We had a baby boy in our nautical nursery when we learned a baby GIRL was on the way. Hobby Lobby and Pinterest saw me through that fun transition. Decorating projects are so satisfying! Beautifully done, Mama!!
Love the natural patterns.