HAMM DECOR | Kyler's Bedroom - The Research Center

Of all of the home decor projects I have done so far, I can say this was my favorite.  I'm not sure if it is because we took Kyler's room from "little boy" to "young man" or if it was the theme.   I can even venture to say, maybe it was because he had so much input and was really excited about the shark/research theme.

With any makeover, it's a must that I post before pictures.  Allow me to apologize NOW for my picures.  When I took these, the concept of a blog was not even born.  These were for me to show to my friends and family.  As we move forward and post additional pictures on the blog, there will be better step-by-step pictures, PROMISE!

Here are the deets.  Kyler's bedroom was the smallest bedroom, completely appropriate for a kiddo. The walls were cream colored and textured.  His nursery big boy room was a vintage sports themed room, even had an AHMAZING baseball ceiling fan and a super cool picture of dad playing at the football state championship in high school.  

We transitioned into the bunk/loft bed and honestly, bought the bed for a steal off of Craigslist.  Of course, it came with its own decor of stickers and marker.  Kyler, ahem, added to this incredible design motif.

This bedroom was 10x11, so getting pictures was pretty hard.  You will even see shadows in some of the pictures as I placed my finger in the way of the flash.  

It's almost not fair that I cannot get the whole room in its amazing glory. (SIDE NOTE: I now know to "clean" the room for the "before" pics- lesson learned!)  So WHERE do we go from here?

Like the rest of the house, we decorated in gray and blue.  You will see I have become pretty partial to these colors.  I change things so often, the classic neutrals are a necessity.

The bedroom had to have practical storage and use for the kiddo.  Including MASSIVE storage to build with Legos.

• We painted the loft bed with "boo boo" paint from Sherwin-Williams ($15/gallon).  This was an enamel paint that dried fast and had a hard protective layer, but boy did it STINK. 
• The "RESEARCH CENTER" letters are the wood letters from Hobby Lobby.  They were $1.25 each (on sale of course) and we used paneling nails to put those into the wood.  
• The little rugs that "lead" you into the research center (where there is an amazing aquarium full of swimming species of sorts) were purchased for $5 each.
• The shark print was made up of several pieces, all DIY of course.  Total cost for the print itself was $10.  It's an engineered print.  Read more here: Inspiration and Tips for Making Large Engineering Prints

KGH Headquarters is an assembly of Kobalt garage shelving from Lowes.  We needed items that would be durable, even if kiddo decided to swing from the shelving...although I am SURE no one else out there has a boy that would even consider doing such a thing.

The shelving held all of Kyler's legos, a small area for him to build, and the components for his television. AWESOME use of space.

On the wall were three magazine racks purchased from TJ Maxx.  Each cost $15.  When you have two girls prior to a boy, there are a lot of reading materials laying around for the kiddo to breeze through.  Project: Inquiry was born.

With any home decor and DIY project are the details.  I don't know why, but this was my fav find.  It's a pendant lamp from Lowe's.  I found it on the clearance aisle for $40.  Keeping the ceiling fan was not a great idea for the kiddos head.

I don't know about you, but this space looks great and was functional for a young man ready to take on the world of engineering and research.  Dream away and accomplish all God would have you do!  

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) | For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.