Name: Katie and son, Max
Location: Southwest Ohio
When we stumbled upon photos of Max's magical room, we couldn’t believe how well every single part of the room was being used. The room is a perfect example of getting the most out of your space. Max’s mom Katie tells us, "...the biggest thing with a small room is organization. Everything has a place in his room, from the bugs to the blocks." Clearly, Katie is a whiz at creating a fun space for Max to play, explore and dream in.
Katie's main idea behind the room was to make sure it would grow and keep up with Max. She tells us:
"Like most four year olds, he wears many hats: train conductor, interpretive dancer, painter, chef...I knew a theme wouldn't do and just really wanted the room to be a fraction of how happy and joyful he is."
The focal point of the room is the great, large chalk board paint wall. According to Katie, it only took one quart of Rust-Oleum’s Specialty Chalk Board to paint the wall top to bottom. She adds, "It's a kid’s dream to get to draw on the wall." The chalk board is echoed throughout the room as seen in the red chalk board storage boxes which she found at Target and a chalk board pot.
Katie also shows us that you don't need a big budget to create a great space that looks luxurious. You can find items that won't blow your budget and you can create your own treasures as well. Many of the things in Max’s room were made by Katie including the great paintings. By painting over various old canvases and going with Max’s suggestions, Katie made some unique artwork for his room. Max also helped Katie paint them; together they created an alligator, robot, whale and airplane.
Other DIY items in Max’s room are some pillows Katie made with fabric from Ikea, his banner flags, the art hung on string (created by artist Max, of course) and the valance made with green gingham. For Max’s bedding, Katie selected the Siffror three-piece quilt cover set. Best part is, the set is only $12. She also added a red bed skirt and sham from Target.
Among the other great items in the room are a train table from Kidkraft and the circle patterned pillow from Hobby Lobby which Katie snagged on clearance for only $3. And to bring a little of the outdoors inside, Max’s has a cute ersatz garden which features some plastic bugs and paper grass in canning jars and a white chalkboard pot. Our favorite part of the room, however, is Max’s cozy reading nook inside the closet that holds a wonderful bookshelf and bench. The nook is made even more soothing with the light green paint, Potpourri Green, from Benjamin Moore.
When asked for advice on how to approach the nursery decorating process, Katie remarks, "If I could think of anything it would be to let the room come about organically. Some of the best things in Max's room or our house, in general, have come from a thought out of nowhere or by complete accident. Find something that inspires you, whether it's your child or a piece of art or a color scheme and run with it -- and never settle for full price. If you have the time to hunt in store or online it is well worth it; especially when it ends up covered in toddler teeth marks and crayon."
Thanks for sharing your lovely space, Katie and Max!
© 2010 Apartment Therapy
Fun room! Can you tell me where the bookshelf came from?
view HPez's profile
The link for the bedding isn't working for me. :(
I lurve this room. It's gorgeous but it looks livable.
view BuddhaBellysMum's profile
What a fun space! Love it.
I assume there is somewhere for clothes in the closet also?
view schnappycat's profile
Love the chalkboard wall! We contemplated doing that in our little boy's room, but then wimped out when we realized how much work it would be. :)
view TammyE's profile
great organization! I also would like to know where all the bookcases are from.
view selena's profile
What an inspiration! This is the best kid's room tour by far!
My 4 year old keeps asking to see it over and over again. His favorite parts - the train table, the toy storage, book shelf, chalkboard wall, and the artwork.
Great Job! I'd love to see what the rest of your house looks like.
view mamalike's profile
There's been a lot of posts about painting with chalkboard paint, lately. Wasn't there a concern that there is lead in chalk? I think it looks great, but is it safe to have chalk dust in children's rooms?
view squirt's profile
This room is fantastic! It is the first nursery toured on here that I personally would like to live in! I wish I had the time and money to duplicate this room -- great job Katie!
view Green Me's profile
Very cute room! We also wonder where you're storing his clothing, though.
As for lead in chalk, the key is to use a brand that is tested for lead. Info here:
http://searchwarp.com/swa221923.htm
view ricestein's profile
thank you all for your kind words!
i thought i would pop on here and answer some questions...
the bookshelf came from big lots. i bought it when max was born and was surprised to find something like that there. it was $40 and pretty good quality for the price. the wall unit shelving is from target and walmart. the cube shelf is target ($50) and the smaller case (walmart...$20) was my husbands from high school...haha...the two fit perfectly together on that wall.
the bedding is ikea. so if you hop over there online it's in the children's bedding textiles.
there is another closet opening attached to max's reading space...the doorway to it is opposite the bookshelf. we live in an older house and got lucky with all the odd little nooks and crannies.
thank you again! you all have made my day!
view katiegirl 's profile
looks great!
view k8theriver's profile
What a lucky guy to have such a wonderful room. Great artwork throughout. I especially love the robot.
view livehappy's profile
this is a fun room, but OH MY GOD a four year old needs a TV/VCR in his room? seriously?
view kjirsty's profile
OMG kjirsty, are you one of those people?! eck.
So the difference is that your kids watch a movie in your living room, this kid watches a movie in his room?
The room looks great, Katie!
view trophyscar's profile
what a perfect room! i now have the inspiration to transform my son's room.
and just because of kjirsty's comment, i am going to put a tv/vcr in my 3 year old son's room....you sound like my 80 year old grandmother...she finds it atrocious that children today have sippy cups. "my children were never that thirsty. and if they were they had to put their hands under the faucet" and another i love, "you get massages once a year? i didn't have my first massage at 70!" well, grandma....do you think you didn't deserve one until you were 70 and my poor mother...god knows how many days she had dehydration. GEESH...take the stick out!
view gypsy marie's profile
This room has so many beautiful and simple ideas. Looks like it was made with a lot of creativity and love (the best combination). What an awesome room! You have totally inspired me to reorganize my boys' small space. I think I can make it more functional, organized and fun. THANK YOU for sharing your photos!
view patricia's profile
A on the room, i'm jealous of Max i wish my room were half as WONDERFUL as this room growing up.
view thedirtyshow's profile
Katie, you are so right that small rooms need dedicated spaces and great organization. You've done a great job. Clearly, great ohdeedoh-reading minds think alike. We just finished (are you ever really finished?) my son's room and chose the same IKEA bedding (alternating with the vintage Marimekko vehicles that I slept on). We're renters, so couldn't do the chalkboard wall, but did steal the idea (from ohdeedoh, of course) to paint the panels on his KURA loft bed (also IKEA) with chalkboard paint. We also have a similar shelving system with cubes and bins and books using the Expedit and a book nook. Just replaced the long-beloved train table with a tool bench. I also had Izzy help me with the artwork (he has a lot of maps). Now if only I could find a place for his clothes (currently in two laundry baskets in the bottom of my closet)!
view veganmomma's profile
my kid doesn't watch TV anyway, but my general impression is that a TV in child's room is not recommended. as seen here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8471072/
and here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/05/health/05beha.html
view kjirsty's profile
in response to kjirsty's concern...i think the key to having a tv in a child's room is moderation. for us, we have a small home and max's bedroom doubles as a playroom. the tv is just there as an option for him while playing (i.e. sometimes he'll watch thomas the train dvds and play along on his train table, etc....) but really this tv is rarely on in and has no cable/channels available.
it should be noted that the tv is an old one we just had laying around the house...nothing we bought specifically for the room and max has no clue how to turn it on.
regardless, studies definitely show that giving your child control over their own tv can lead to lower testing scores, etc. due to watching the tv up until they fall asleep. i suppose we'll come to that road in the future, until then...the set up works well for us and our needs.
view katiegirl 's profile
love this room! looks like great fun!
view mschatelaine's profile
can we get some info on the pillow with the circles?
thanks!
view grb's profile
Great room! Where can I find the big leaves that are over the bed?
view canuemagine's profile
the big leaf over the bed is ikea, i'm pretty sure...
view grb's profile
Thanks!
view canuemagine's profile
Some ideas are cute, but in my opinion the whole room looks cluttered. And what's with the TV?!
view amy-in-sf's profile
Love it! The wall is so cool
view bitbit's profile
I don't agree the room looks cluttered. It looks the opposite in my opinion. It looks as if a creative, happy, busy child lives there. I don't like the TV in the room and the posters who accuse us of being like grandmas over that obviously haven't educated themselves to the dangers of TV in childrens rooms. But apart from that the room is fab and I think a terrific job.
view Josephina's profile