A Kid’s Bedroom Makeover Makes One Little Boy a Happy Camper

Six-year-old Stephen loved his large bedroom in a Beverly Hills duplex, but despite 195 square feet of space, the room was cluttered.  Stephen slept in a hand-me-down queen-size bed situated beside his old toddler bed, which he had outgrown.  Toys were in assorted bins or piles around the room.  It was a mess that even a mother could not love.

Braving the challenge, local interior designer Baiyina Hughley took on a makeover project to bring organization to the room.  She envisioned a camping themed space that was playful yet organized which could grow with Stephen over the years. 

A Fort Night

To encourage play and discovery, Hughley made a focal point of the room a five-foot high mini teepee from House Inhabit (Etsy, $130).  To complete the vignette, she added a Felt Campfire Playset with S’Mores (Etsy, $50) and a cozy IKEA STOCKHOLM cushion ($14.99) a TEJN Faux Sheepskin rug ($9.99).  Above the tee pee she hung a special Moon in My Room nightlight (Toys R Us, $20.99).

Tree Tops

To make the ceilings appear higher, Hughley used a modern color scheme and removable white vinyl birch tree decals from Décor Your Wall (Etsy, $115) against a backdrop of light gray (Sherwin-Williams, Harmony Light French Gray).  She chose a bright white for the ceiling (Sherwin-Williams, Harmony Extra White), and placed a decorative wood trim border just under the curve of the cove ceiling to add charm in line with the original architecture.  All trim and the door were also painted bright white (Sherwin-Williams, Harmony Extra White). 

Hughley replaced the toddler bed with space-saving bunk beds, featuring two drawers underneath (Overstock, $1,345.99), topped with twin and full mattresses (Beautyrest Elements Plush Pocketed Coil, twin $239.99, full $284.99), which are shipped rolled in a box and unfurled and plump into amazingly comfortable beds. 

Orange is the New Bed

She chose a bright orange and white Rugby Stripe Duvet Cover ($69 twin, $99 full) from Pottery Barn Kids with a matching sham ($24.50) monogrammed with Stephen’s initials, and Pottery Barn Teen Reverse Dottie sheet set ($22.99-$38.99). Under the covers she used down alternative inserts ($29.99 each)  for the duvet and gusseted pillows,( 2-pack $29.99) from BrylaneHome.com with accent pillows from HomeGoods.

Light it Up

Hughley lit up the room with plenty of lighting options.  Overhead she hung fun and modern petrol blue FLY Suspension Pendant light by Kartell ($350).  She added two blue-and-white accent lamps from HomeGoods ($25 each), a orange Euro Style Lalla Desk Lamp (Overstock,  $66) plus two white plug-in Eyeball Sconces ( Urban Outfitters, $29 each) which gave each bunk its own reading light.

Closet Case

Hughley added function to the small closet with the help of a WoodTrac system, expertly installed by the skilled handymen from Handybook.  The system neatly held all Stephen’s clothes and collectibles in its drawers, cubbies and shelves. For fun and whimsy, Hughley decorated the closet with custom-framed wildlife artwork from postercheckout.com and dog-tail clothing hooks (IKEA, $2.99 each) and wicker storage bins (HomeGoods, $20).

Hughley chose a modern kid-friendly geometric patterned rug, 8x10 Handmade Hexagon Light Blue N.Z. Wool Rug (Overstock, $447.95) to ground the space. 

Elementary My Dear Boy

Other furnishings included a Pottery Barn Kids white Schoolhouse Basic Desk ($589), a molded plastic side chair and complementary  armchair rocker (InStyleModern, $99 and $135) , IKEA’s black-brown MALM 6-drawer dresser ($149) and IKEA TROFAST ($39.99) storage rack with plastic bins ($3-5) For books, Hughley chose an array silver bookcase from CB2 ($189).

Made in the Shade

On the windows she hung black dotted roman shades from Pottery Barn Teen ($189 each), to  contrast with the paint to create the illusion of brightness, framed by IKEA AINA grey linen curtains ($49.99 pair).  

In the Zones

 “I hope that I've created a space for Stephen to grow with over the years.  It was very empowering to create a foundation and direction where he still felt open to making it his own,” said Hughley.  “One of the biggest successes of the project was making the process of letting go of old toys and clothes a positive one.  He was making space for something new!   The space feels completely different now.  There is a sense of peace with having less and he can actually find and play with his favorite toys.”