The Delightful Home {Teen Boy Room}

I always love to start room tour posts with the journey of how they have evolved over time.  On move in day John’s room had stained blue carpet, dark wood train, an outdated ceiling fan and a popcorn ceiling.  In the plus column was the size, the two generous windows and the two closets.

From the time that Whit came out of his crib through John’s fifth grade year, the boys shared this room.  Whit had his own room right across the hall but they loved having each other’s company and I loved having them together.  Sweet boyhood memories were made here – I often heard them up way past bed time whispering, or even dragging Pokemon cards out of the closet, trying to not give themselves away.  But, they are growing up and were ready to move into their own spaces.

As John entered middle school, his top priorities were a big bed and a lounge space for his updated room.  We kept most of the furnishings and decor and worked together to fine tune his new tween room. 

We once again put our heads together to update John’s room the summer before his senior year. You can see that we expanded his gallery wall back when we took his second closet to add to the master bathroom. I suppose it will likely look like this for many years to come.

Sources:
Paint – Benjamin Moore Clay Beige (walls) and Benjamin Moore Alabaster (trim)
Floor – unstained white oak
Rug – Mod Cow FLOR carpet tiles (see how we did it here)

Back in the day, it was originally two rooms, but one of the previous owners took the wall down between.  It measures about 14’x24’ now!  Oh, how I wish I could talk to the original builder turned owner.  I’d love to hear more about our home’s history and the other two families that were raised here – I hear they had all boys and that my two are numbers 11 and 12 raised here since 1964!

The bed is the same he has had since middle school from Restoration Hardware Baby & Child.  He still has (and loves) the Zinus Memory Foam Mattress  and  Zinus Smart Box Spring.  The kid is also picky about his pillows and LOVES these  luxury gel pillows. I have replaced those since middle school :-)

The quilts, duvets and euro shams are all from their original twin sized bed from Pottery Barn.  The sheets are new from Land’s End and he loves them. (Little brother also got a similar set that he loves.)  I’ve had the little mirrors from One Fish Two Fish in Savannah since the boys were sharing the room. I did have to replace the reading lights after one “fell off the wall when I wasn’t even home”. The monogrammed pillows were a “forever gift“. The crab painting is by Catherine Lovett and was in Whit’s room until he said it was “too scary” when he was a toddler. 

With all of the heavy furniture in the room and monstrosity of a desk, I wanted the bedside tables to be practical but not visually take up more space. These acrylic tables fit the bill. I love that he can put his water on them and not ruin the finish.

The gallery wall is hasn’t changed much since we expanded it. I did print a bunch of photos for him and let him swap out any he wanted to update. The frames are Ribba from Ikea and are my go-to for gallery walls.  You can see all of my Gallery Wall Tips & Tricks here.

The antique dresser was the first piece of furniture I purchased for John’s nursery almost twenty years ago. The fish painting is by the darling Catherine Lovett of Savannah (same as the crab).  Mother and I made the curtains years ago from Robert Allen Linen Duck with Towers by Premier Prints on the trim back when we moved in the house.  The bamboo shades are from JC Penney and the curtain rods are from Home Goods.  He’s had the shell full of game balls for so many years, and wanted to keep those. I framed the felt pennant flags from his senior poster, added a lamp and an alexa. (we all use them for so many things!) The tiger rug was from Five Below.

This massive desk was the one Honey bought during covid when he worked at home. It lived in the living room for a couple of years and when I reclaimed that space, John jumped on the chance to get a larger desk. All three of my guys are gamers and always have multiple screens and laptops going. It’s not pretty, but it’s real. When John is at Auburn, Honey moves his operation in here. I love that the room is still used every day. It doesn’t feel so sad walking by! The giant Aubie poster is by Brandon Thomas. I originally bought it for John’s dorm but quickly realized it was WAY too heavy to hang over his bed with command strips.

In the lounge area, the sofa folds out to a twin sized bed for guests. It was from West Elm many years back, and was such a great addition.  We chose the Acrylic Waterfall Table back in middle school because he thought it was cool and I liked that nobody could harm themselves on it.  The Accordian Side Table was from Urban Outfitters. The reading lamp is new-ish and still available. The turtle shell was one he found long ago, and the J dish was something he made in school.

The bookshelves are the only new furniture item and are from the Ikea Billy Collection. I chose these because the stain leans charcoal in color, which matches his bed well. He loved the look and simplicity of this one, and I loved the price.

I laid out all sorts of options of things to go inside and he picked the things he wished to showcase. It was also his idea to add his lacrosse helmets. I then put it all together for him. I loved how it looks, and everyting there represents a special stage or phase of his life. I figure it will continue to evolve over time.

I love this little remnant of his nursery.  Sister gave it to me before he was even born.

Other than the bookshelves, the major project in the room as organizing his closet! Of course, he took a bunch of things to Auburn with him. We also went through all sorts of keepsakes and narrowed down to those that could fit into two tubs. This door hanger and this adjustable rod were great space making organizational tools!

I have so many more rooms to update y’all on. Next up: Whit’s space!

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