Vintage Military Inspired Boys Bedroom

Welcome back for a quick, fun and cheap bedroom makeover!

 

My 12 year old son is very interested in everything military which is why I decided to direct his room makeover in that direction.  He's also a Nerf gun collector which tied into the military theme nicely.

 

 

 

We only had a couple days to do this project, and it started with his closet makeover you can see here.

 

 

 

For those of you that are new here, this room used to be the master bedroom up until a year ago.  So for a year this boy has been camped out in our old blue room with my white plank wall. Not the worst thing ever,  just not really his style.

 

 

 

The process of this project was pretty basic.  We painted three of the walls white and the plank wall a dark gray color.  On one wall I wanted to create a simple yet classic military design. 

 

 

I started with a level to mark straight lines across the whole wall.  Then using a pencil and a string I found my center point and used it as a compass to create the perfect sized circle.  I used one of my barn stars from my garden fence and traced it for the inside of the circle.

 

 

It was super simple and I did this entire wall in about 1 hour.  I used the perfect ARMY green as an accent color and then painted the center stripe the same gray used on the plank wall and ceiling trim.

 

 

 

 

For some simple artwork (I didn't have much time to pull this room together) I printed some free vintage military graphics from the internet and mod podge to mount them onto some scrap wood left over from craft club that I had painted black.

 

 

I had two matching black frames in my storage that worked perfect to surround my DIY plaques which made this a completely free design.

 

 

 

 

 

Hours before the kids got home I headed to Real Deals Sip and Shop event and grabbed a couple more items to finish off his space. 

 

 

 

I also scored this free desk on craigslist that I knew would be perfect in his room.  I planned to turn it into a night stand and take apart the broken desk part.

 

 

 

With just over an hour left before the kids arrived home, the room was finished! 

 

 

We added the peg board gun storage as seen all over Pinterest, and let me tell you, it's amazing!  He has a vintage military bag that will now be his laundry hamper!

 

 

 He officially has his own teen appropriate space where he can have friends over and enjoy their time in there.  His grandma and grandpa got him this fun convertible couch for his birthday that he can have his guests sleep on when they stay over.  It's been a big hit so far!

 

Well, there you have it!  Quick simple and almost free room makeover!  Visit here to see his 9th Birthday that was Army themed!

Thank you to my readers for stopping by today.   Don't forget to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest, and you can find me on Instagram @OneThriftyChick.

Come Join me weekly at the following Parties:

 

Monday: I should be mopping the floor, Home Stories A to Z, Sugar Bee Crafts, Carrie this home, 

                Mad in Crafts

Tuesday:  The DIY Dreamer, The Winthrop Chronicles, Thrifty Décor Chick

Wednesday: Gingersnap Crafts,

Thursday: A Glimpse Inside, The Pin Junkie, The Answer is Chocolate, Imparting Grace

Friday: Remodelaholic, The Shabby Nest, Serenity Now, The Crafted Sparrow , Tatertots & Jello, Just Us Four, The Pin Junkie, My Turn For Us

Saturday: I heart Naptime,  Flamingo Toes, Sew Many Ways,

 

Closet Makeover ~ Built-In Guinea Pig Cage

 

This past weekend all 3 of my children were on a 5 day summer trip with their grandparents and cousins. 

 

Many think that the hubby and I would have taken those 5 days and relaxed and enjoyed some quiet time, however we started a project, that led to another project and ended with a BIG project.

 

 

 

Our kids head back to school in one week and we knew we needed to give their rooms a little TLC to get organized for the next 9 months.  Since we built the addition and our oldest son took over our room, we literally left the space un touched. 

 

His bed was moved in along with random furniture, the walls were still the color from where I did this makeover years ago, and he was pretty much camping in our old space.

 

His closet was nothing but a dysfunctional mess to say the least.  Check out what he had going on.

 

 

Chaos is all I see in that closet.  Last year for Christmas his grandparents got him the most amazing guinea pig cage for his fur babies, the only downside is that it takes up WAY too much room.  This was what his room looked like with the cage in the main space.

 

 

I knew something needed to be done to not only organize his space, but to also free up as much room as possible to maximize the function of his bedroom.

 

I'm going to skip the long narrative and give you a run down on how we created this built-in cage.

 

 

First we took out that awful wire shelving....  never again will I install that!

 

 

Using 1x3's we installed a rail along the walls where we wanted the lower level to rest.

 

 

Using 3/4" plywood, we cut a shelf to fit in the space. 

 

 

We needed the extra 4 inches inside the door jamb, which meant notching out the plywood and installing two extra small supports.

 

 

We then did the same above, leaving enough room for the cage below and enough space to hang a mens shirt above.  The top shelf is only 19" deep, just enough to provide storage for clothing.

 

 

Using whiteboard 1x3's we added faces to both shelves.

 

 

During this reno I found this amazing product.  FastPatch 30 by DAP.  It was amazing, and was perfect for quickly filling all the holes and the grooves where the old shelf supports were.

 

 

While this was drying we installed the closet rod support rails that you can barely see in this photo.

 

 

 

 

Once the joint compound was dry we got right to sanding.  It was a MESS!

 

 

After the wall was sanded we grabbed a can of Homax Spray Wall Texture that dries in 5 minutes and went to town.  Quick and easy!

 

 

Right about the time we started painting, I got a phone call that my sweet grandmother had suffered a heart attack and I needed to get to the hospital, so I left the project for my hubby to take over.  Grandma is doing well, and is expected to make a full recovery.

 

 

I came home to a beautiful white closet that was perfect.

 

 

He took the time to caulk every last bit, not missing a single detail.  He's a keeper!

 

 

 

It was time to move the girls in.  The cage fit perfectly and was exactly what I had wanted.

 

 

We will need to build a set of drawers for the bottom, but we were running against the clock, because this closet project turned into an entire room makeover that I will be sharing with you very soon.

 

 

I am so happy with how this turned out, and look forward to a more spacious and cleaner bedroom.  12 year old boys are not the best at keeping things tidy!

 

 

 

Here is the before and after side by side!  I would say this was a success, and said 12 year old boy agrees.  He loved the surprise when he arrived home from their trip!

 

 

Thank you to my readers for stopping by today.   Don't forget to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest, and you can find me on Instagram @OneThriftyChick.

Come Join me weekly at the following Parties:

 

Monday: I should be mopping the floor, Home Stories A to Z, Sugar Bee Crafts, Carrie this home, 

                Mad in Crafts

Tuesday:  The DIY Dreamer, The Winthrop Chronicles,

Wednesday: Gingersnap Crafts,

Thursday: A Glimpse Inside, The Pin Junkie, The Answer is Chocolate, Imparting Grace

Friday: Remodelaholic, The Shabby Nest, Serenity Now, The Crafted Sparrow , Tatertots & Jello, Just Us Four, The Pin Junkie, My Turn For Us

Saturday: I heart Naptime,  Flamingo Toes, Sew Many Ways,

 

 

Laundry Room Progress

 

This room is so exciting in more ways than one.  I don't even have a photo of the sad space in our garage that was called the laundry room for over 50 years.  Mama finally has a real laundry room that is bright and will be so cheery, a place you would actually want to do laundry!

 

It all started with this tile for the floor.  The tile sales man really wanted to sell this tile, so he gave it to us for such a cheap price, and I was SO excited to have something different on the floor.  This was not at all what we set out to put in here, but couldn't be happier.

 

 

 

The space is awkward to take photos  of due to the placement of the doors, so I'll show you the main project space we are working on right now.  Started with this blank slate.

 

 

Just having my washer and brand new gas dryer sitting in there made my heart happy!

 

 

 

It sat like this for weeks as we thought about what we wanted to do in here.  Once the plans were drawn, we got right to building on our workshop.... I mean living room.  Its a great dual purpose space!

 

 

We built a surround for the washer and dryer along with a sink base using some plywood we had left over from other projects.  We used more of our free pine planks to create the countertops in here as well.

 

 

Using some pine from Lowes, we trimmed out the entire base and prepped for staining.

 

 

During the planning process I searched for the perfect utility sink.  So many are either too pricey or too cheap.  I went to our locally owned home improvement store and the kindest gentleman told me about a closeout kitchen sink he had sitting up on a shelf.  He pulled this beauty down and I knew it was perfect.  It's deep, its plastic and I know that small right side will make the perfect soaking sink for stains, all the while not taking up the entire sink.  And I paid $99!

 

 

Time to stain.  We used Minwax gel stain for this, and I hate to say it but I don't remember what color we used. 

 

 

Here is what it looked like after brushing it on, without wiping.

 

 

And this is where the magic began.  Look at those!!  I think they are stunning if I do say so myself.

 

 

We did 3 coats of polycryclic, and will do 2 more once the entire room is done, just to give it a little extra protection.

 

 

She is so puuuurdy!

 

 

Once the base was in, it was time to plan for the upper cabinets.  We used the left over kitchen cabinets (yes my $100 cabinets had enough for an entire kitchen and laundry room) to create the perfect storage.

 

 

 

We built some open shelving between them and added some pine trim to make the entire piece blend together.  You would never know they weren't built together.

 

 

 

I will leave you with this sneak peek of what's to come.  My husband has been working very hard on this project trying to finish it up and mark it off the never ending list, and I cannot wait to share more progress with you!

 

 

 

Thank you for stopping by to see what we've been up to!  Please be sure to follow me on Pinterest and Facebook, and head over here to see where I like to party each week!

 

I hope you have a fantastic DIY day!