ok well the time has finally come to focus on arlos room! no, i didn’t finish (or start) the hallway yet, but this is more dire i’ve decided so we’re gonna do arlos first. plus i’ll be sooo happy when i can walk into his room and feel happy versus immediate anxiety haha.

having a 6 year old client is interesting, his taste leaves a lot to be desired lol, but i still believe deep down it’s probably better than a lot of other kids. he is extremely opinionated, but he’s been willing to compromise on certain things too.

when we first chatted about redoing his room, he said he’d like a red room…

… yes, red…

i explained that a red room wasn’t probably something i could muster the strength for haha — but i did decide to incorporate red throughout the room while still creating a soothing palette he can play and rest in happily.

it’s a good thing i’m getting more into color because this would have been harder for me a few years ago when i was in my extreme beige mom era.

bunk beds

he has been begging for bunk beds forever now, not because he wants to sleep on the top bunk, but i think he just envies all his friends that have them and thinks it would be so fun to play on. the reason i’m into it is because he sleeps with a handful of 2-3 foot long shark stuffies and i would love to have them all put on the top bunk and give him a little space lol.

i went back and forth for a while on twin over twin versus twin over full, but ultimately went twin over full. we hang out in his room a decent amount and i just wanted to have there be space for all of us on his bed. a girlfriend who has 3 boys and has had bunkbeds for years said she wishes she’d gone full, so that sold me.

i went with a more expensive wood one than the white metal simple ones i’d been eyeing, i liked the shape of this one and it comes with a trundle — since we won’t need the trundle, i had the idea to turn it into another play space. more on that later!

(bunk bed link)

wall paint

i am in love with the color i chose, it took a few trips to the paint store but i found the perfect shade of greenish blue that’s not too light and not too dark and not too saturated for his north facing room (apparently that’s a challenge when you’re painting a room that i now understand!)

the color i’m going with is called “gray wisp” by benjamin moore. i’m going to “color drench” the room as the young people are now calling it.

(wall paint link)

wall shelves

i loved arlo’s circle shelf, but as a 6 year old who is obsessed with lego building, it just doesn’t make sense for us anymore. he just needs all the space he can get, so instead i’ll be doing shelves that span across the entire width of his ikea trofast cabinet, and i decided to do with triangle brackets because i love that look.

i shockingly love these bright brackets, because i think it’s the perfect little red accent that doesn’t overpower too much — but the price is more than i can handle for the amount of brackets i’m planning to use, so this will be a diy!

(wall bracket link)

new accessories

since he’ll be playing on a top bunk, i know i need to swap out the glass pendant light in his room soon— so i’m searching for something soft to replace the light now!

for bedding, i wanted to incorporate some more red and pattern there, i am obsessed with the schoolhouse quilt but i’m worried about spending that kind of money on kids bedding which may get totally trashed. wish there was a more inexpensive alternative! please advise if you know of something.

i ended up getting a modular nugget sofa because all his friends have them and i think he’s gonna really love being able to build forts, not to mention we’ll have a little more seating in the room. i just wish they were taller! considering getting two later so that we could stack them?

also looking for a washable rug or at least something patterned that might hide stains.

nightstand / red quilt / blue bedding / washable rug / mushroom light