Moodboard Monday: Roman’s Empire

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January 21, 2013 by Decorum DIYer

Happy Monday, all!

In attempt to keep things rolling with the blog and also get some much needed style into this house, I’ve decided to approach my Moodboard Mondays with a slightly different perspective.  Instead of dreaming up rooms for imaginary residents, I am going to be sharing my vision for frugal and functional rooms within my very own home.

The decision to make the shift was easy, as I really need to start making the much needed changes to most of our home.  When we moved in, we painted almost every room, but didn’t ‘finish’ any of the rooms in the interest of time and budget.  Also, my method of using Craigslist and Olioboard for Moodboard Monday has hit a slight snag.  Craigslist no longer permits me to ‘Olioboard It’ (very similar to pinning to Pinterest). Boo…, hiss. Yes, I can save the Craigslist photos to my iPhoto folder and upload to Olioboard and my blog, but it makes the already long process twice as long.  I really don’t have that sort of time to waste.

I’d be happy to create Moodboards for others, upon request, but in the meantime, I will try to express my vision of how I see each space in our home.  Today I am starting with my son’s room.  Roman, my son, is six and he really needs a space that suits his needs as an elementary school student and avid Lego fan.

I have always had a passion for blue and orange together.  Imagine my glee when my husband found this holographic astronaut print during the ‘big clean out’.

This is a 3-D hologram made in Japan from 1966. We kept this in Roman’s room, since moving in. The obvious ‘space theme’ aside, I love the mixture of gray, orange, and dark/navy blue. Perfect inspiration for a little, ‘big’ boy’s room.

Keeping Roman’s needs and wants in mind, here is what I have come up with:

I also have a Pinterest board that houses many inspirational photos and examples of what I see in my mind’s eye.  I have a vision of what I want, but often I use Pinterest as a means to help my husband, and in this case, my son, see my ideas.  I have taken Roman’s opinion into account for this makeover.  Many of the decisions have been made through a process of elimination by Roman.

1. Paint scheme:  Although I haven’t settled on the exact colors, I would like a lighter gray/blue on the walls and a darker gray blue on the ceiling.  But it isn’t as simple as that.  I also would like to incorporate a band of molding along the walls about ten inches from the ceiling.  The ceiling color will be painted on the ceiling as well as the thin band on the walls above the molding. Here are a few images that help you (and my husband) see my vision (most images will link you to the original web content, when available):
2. Trim:  All of the trim in the room will be painted a shade of bright white, perhaps with a bit of a gray undertone (no cream).  Additionally, shelving will be added along the line of the high wall molding for some much needed storage and display of all things ‘boy’.  Again, here is an image to help you understand:
   

   (click image for original blog post and content)

3. Furniture:  I don’t need to purchase any additional furniture, as we have accumulated quite the collection of mismatched ‘big boy’ furniture since 2007.  To reign in the plethora of wood tones and give the mis-matched furniture a more cohesive look, I intend to paint most of the furniture a dark, navy blue.  My only hesitation is the bunk bed.  I’ve seen bunk beds painted a dark, navy blue, but perhaps that is the one piece I should leave untouched?
   

   The $20 Craigslist campaign dresser that I would like to paint a weathered navy.

   

   The $40 Craigslist desk set that I would also like to paint a weathered navy.

   

   The table purchased from the Catholic School closing that has been painted in Behr’s ‘Flaming Torch’ and converted to a Lego table. I’ll share this project soon in a future post.

   The $50 Craigslist bunk bed. I am not sure if I should leave as is, painted the same weathered navy as the other pieces, or go another direction and paint in Behr’s ‘Flaming Torch’ (a faded orange).

4. Window treatments:  I’ve already purchased and hung enormous navy, roman shades in Roman’s room.  (Only appropriate, right?)  Currently, the brown/tan roller shades are still in place under the roman shade.  Again, because our windows are original to the house, we need multiple layers of window coverings to keep the cold out.  Even though there is a slight gap from the edge of my 71 and 5/8″ wide windows, I’d like to hang the pull down world maps I purchased from the Catholic School closing sale.  I think it would be a great way to give the walls some much needed artwork, cover the windows, and foster an appreciation for all things geography.  Since ‘someone’ drew on the maps already, I’m not worried about Roman ruining them.
   

   JC Penney roman shades (72″ wide) $60 for two on sale and with coupons.

   

5. Closet makeover: The Closetmaid super slide closet system that is already in Roman’s closet works great and it gives me plenty of storage and versatility.  The closet is currently painted in the lightest shade of blue (a much lighter version of his current wall color, Behr’s ‘Winter Lake’).  When we cleaned out Christopher’s maternal grandfather’s garage after his passing (remember his Veteran’s Day shadow box?), we gathered an entire box of road maps.  I think it would be fun to ‘wallpaper’ the closet.  I’m actually thinking about leaving the closet open without doors.  (Gasp!)
   

   (click image for original blog post and content)

6. Ceiling fan:  The ceiling fan will stay, but I may repaint the blades the same color as the ceiling to help them blend in.  We have a damaged, children’s drum set in the basement.  I’ll need my husband’s help to figure out a way to use the bass drum as a true ‘drum’ shade in lieu of the ‘boob’ light – something like this:
   

   (click image for original blog and content)

7. Bedding: As Roman has a bunk bed, I’d like to find matching comforters for his beds.  The mis-matched, but coordinating ones work for now, but I will be eliminating the ‘red’ from Roman’s room, so the plaid red on the top bunk needs to be replaced at the very least.  I’m currently digging these from The Company Store, but not the price tag.
   

   Click image to be linked to “The Company Store”

8. Accessories:  I have had this iPod alarm clock radio pinned for almost two years and I have been price stalking it.  This would make a great addition to his room.  We have an old iPod that we will be giving to Roman soon.  The mass of toys that Roman likes to create and display should fill out the accessories department.
   

   Click the image to be linked to the “PB Teen”. Again, not digging the $100 price tag, but when I originally saw it, it was only $60.

   9. Rug:  Since I am changing the color scheme, the current rug needs to go. Roman enjoys playing with cars and trucks, so the replacement rug must be low pile.  We have a dingy, dirty rug that we inherited with the house.  I’m thinking a good cleaning and perhaps some fabric painting is all we need.  Rugs are expensive!  I am torn between, stripes, chevron, and a union jack design (although, I’d stay true to the offset thicker/thinner spokes found in a true union jack.  I’m a stickler for accuracy when it comes to geography and flags.)

   

   Click image to be linked to Z Gallerie.

   

   (Click image to be linked to original content.)

   

   Click image to be linked to West Elm’s website.

Of course, sadly, this means that there will be no room for the circus masterpiece, nor the needlepoint artwork that my friends and family have lovingly created and gifted to me (uh, Roman).  Roman’s room is short on wall space, thanks to the large windows and bunk beds. I am not giving them away, but will need to store them for safe keeping.  I have hopes that the circus piece will find its way into a playroom wall in our one-day finished basement.  The needlepoint piece will be safely tucked away into Roman’s keepsake treasure chest currently under his desk.

So, what are your thoughts?  Any suggestions?  Any one thing you think is ‘out of the world’?  Am I being a total space cadet with this plan?  Are you tired of my cheesy space puns yet?

Until next time…, happy decorating!

 

 

 

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