A boy's book-filled room

Lately, I've been thinking my son's room is due for a make-over. Let's go in and take a look.



My husband and I chose the paint colors for our son's room before he was born, opting for a gender-neutral yellow since we decided not to find out whether we were having a boy or a girl. Almost on a whim, my husband said he would like to paint one wall red. I agreed, and the red wall that first greets us upon entering the room has since become a favorite feature of mine.



As my son has gotten older, I've tried to add toys and items that reflect his interests, like this replica rocket ship and vintage Babar book sets and toys.



By far, my son's favorite feature is his reading chair, which he recently moved on his own one night to a spot in front of his bed. This minor redecorating is what got me thinking we may be due for some changes.



This was the scene that greeted me the morning after he moved his chair.

"Hey, did you move your chair by yourself?" I asked him.

"Yes," my son responded.

"Oh, OK. Uh, why did do you that?"

"Well, I was thinking of trying different things."

Huh?! On the one hand, I'm proud of my little decorator. On the other, he's four years old! What "different things" does he need to try with the furniture in his room?

Well, I guess it's my job to figure it out. First of all, we may need to consolidate his books. Yes, this is a recurring problem for us since we have so many books, at least five hundred children's books spread out on bookcases and other holders (baskets, boxes, etc.) in my kids' bedrooms, our family room and kitchen.



This red box holds the current crop of reading books next to my son's chair, though he has a large bookcase anchoring one corner of the room.



This is what this part of his room looked like before he moved his reading chair.
From the start, I always knew my kids' rooms had to have one thing in addition to a crib. A bookcase, preferably one that could hold lots and lots of books. What I didn't bargain for is that the bookcase would look so messy and lack the kind of decorative appeal I'd hoped for with so many books jammed on it.



It's still a mystery to me why he moved the chair in the first place, away from the bookcase and from one of two lamps in the room. Lighting is a problem since we need it to read, but we also need it to be out of reach of my two very curious kids.

Safety is always a concern, especially since we live in an area with a high probability for earthquakes.



So, how to clean up the bookcase without purging too many books? Perhaps include more decorative touches, like this vintage See's Candies container and wooden abacus?



What to do about so many books that my son loves to spend hours deciphering?



I should mention that I'm not too fond of themed rooms and have simply filled the room mostly with things that my son loves, like this Land of Nod transportation quilt.



But now I see that the books have really taken over the room. My solution has been to buy more furniture to house all those books, like this Company Kids bench that I use as a sort of bookcase.



OK, this is a little embarassing to show, but there's even a bookcase in his closet, which houses his train books and a couple sets of Sesame Street encyclopedias. To be fair, it was an $11 sale find that I bought at Target because it was a "firehouse" bookcase.

So there you have it, folks. In this reorganization, I would like to streamline the book storage, make the artwork more spiffy and, hopefully, also showcase his artwork and other creations.

Any ideas you may have are welcome. Meanwhile, I'm off to check my magazines and favorite blogs for ideas. And, of course, to quiz my son on what he would like his room to look like after our reorganization.



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7 comments:

CACHANILLA73 said...

The room is so cozy!!! You have done a great job. I do the same to get new ideas, go to my magazines, decoration books or the blogs, good luck!!

Tina said...

Oh Minnie - your son's bedroom is gorgeous! These pics look like they came from a magazine. I love the red wall, his bed, the bookshelf, all of the vintage books (especially those Babar books) and his reading chair...I could go on! I think it is perfect just the way it is!! How cute that he felt like a change and moved his chair, that is so sweet for a 4 yr old!!! If you do decide on a change, I can't wait to see it as I love your style and know it will turn out as stunning as it is now. Loveliest of days to you - Tina x

Tina said...

Oh Minnie - I forgot to add that the lovely Anna from Lona de Anna did a wonderful post about boys bedrooms last week, if you are looking for ideas you might get some there? - Tina x

Minnie said...

Thank you for the lovely comments! Tina, thank you for the resource. I'll be sure to look up Lona's post and blog about all my findings and inspiration in a future post.

corine @ hidden in france said...

There are many baby objects from my son;s bedroom that are now in mine. He outgrew them but I didn't. That includes a winnie the poo rug.

Anonymous said...

Minnie,
I know this is an older entry in your blog, so hope it's ok to add a comment.

I too need to re-do my sons bedroom. He has just turned 5 and I still have everything from when it was his nursery, other than the bed. So many ideas out there. I think removing our upholstered rocking chair from the room is what is holding me back, along with the fact that I won't be rocking him anymore...

So thanks for the ideas you have on your blog along with that link to Company Kids. I was unaware of that site and it looks awesome!
Have a wonderful day!
Sheree

Minnie said...

Hi Sheree, My son's room is still a work in progress. Those books have been hard to whittle down and I'm still working on rearranging the art on the walls. By the way, you're welcome to leave comments on whatever post you like. I'm just happy you came by for a visit. :-) Thank you.