Toddler Boys Room

[Meghan]

I need help.
My son, 2, is ready for his big boy room.
I am looking for cheap ideas.
We have some wall art that was bought at Goodwill or given to us as gifts from the Grandpop.

I am doing a construction theme.
He loves trucks, diggers, fork lifts etc.
He is a fanatic about race cars & it helps that daddy is a race car driver.

So any advice would be so appreciated.

[Jennifer]

Out dated calendars and worn out books & magazines make great sources for pictures. You can cut the picture to whatever size you like, mat & frame it for some nice wall decor. Also, you can decoupage it to either the wall, a piece of wood, head board, etc. Get crafty, cut out letters that spell his name or initials, either frame them individually or together for a fun dramatic effect. You can download pictures off flickr for free if you can't find the images you like or you can take some of your own.

Also, us a truck tire rim for a mini table (you can get one from a junk yard). Have a heavy acrylic sheet cut into a shape you like just a little bigger than the tire rim. It's not very expensive at places like Lowes or Home Depot plus they'll cut it for you for free! Use some epoxy to secure the two pieces together. Depending on the style of the rim, you may be able to have it cut just a hair smaller than the circumference so it sets slightly inside the rim. This way nothing rolls off his table. Some 2x4 can be cut and nailed together for a mini saw horse stool. The large plastic drums seen at many sites can be cut down for toy storage. Check with a construction site foreman to see what they do with them (dh's work pays to have them hauled away so you may end up getting them for FREE). Tools found at the Goodwill would make a great wall art too.

Keep your eyes open whenever you're at a yard sale or a thrift shop-you never know when you'll come across a hidden treasure!

[The Nester]

Your husband is a race car driver?

If he is Jeff Gordon {he's not cause he's got a girl I guess} then I'm coming to meet you!

Anyhow, my boys are so into racing! I ended up not using a major theme though and just making it boyish and that allowed me to use everything they had all through the years. I've got a 10 year old now--soon to be 11!

I use normal, grown up lighting and normal comforters and furniture but try to find fun sheets and great toys to set out. My number one thing to have in a room is a table and chairs!!! And a table for trains or racing is great too!

You could paint a black track 2/3rds up the wall just as a border and if he grows out of it, you can repaint that part easily! Also, you could have some vinyl wall words made up that are inexpensive and easy to apply and remove but you get a lot of bang for the buck. Maybe "lets go racin' boys" or something fun like that!

[Fiona Paterson]

How do you feel about painting a mural? With some simple shapes of vehicles he likes you can trace them onto overhead projector film creating simple silhouettes. You project the designs using a borrowed overhead projector, trace them onto the wall, and paint them in colours to suit the room. You could even paint one of the vehicles with chalk board paint and he can have a cool place to draw.
If this is of interest to you, please let me know as I can expand on the idea...I have more ideas!! :-)

[Meghan]

Hi all.
Thanks for the advice.
Unfortunately I can not paint anything....we rent & that is a no no.
Sigh.
He still has froggies & ducks on the wall as daddy was out of work for 6 months, just went back & last week Mommy's corporate office came in & laid all of us & closed our branch.
Good times.
Well now I guess decorating on a budget is getting kicked up notch for sure! LOL
Thanks for all the ideas girlers. I will definitely be putting some to use.

[Aimee @ Homespun]

My boys room is a construction them. I just painted the walls really cool. They are "mud" brown or "chocolate milkshake" which ever you like with a bold stripe around the top and skinny stripe in the middle of that one. Then I hung an old window over the bed on the wall because it's party of "construction". My dad builds houses, so that's where my mind goes. I bought second hand quilt and matching curtains that had a construction theme. Target had that them a few years ago so it was easy finding a second hand in good shape. I made the pull shade out of dark denim fabric and had his name "Cooper's Room" embroidered along with two construction tools on each side. I glued and stapled the fabric to an existing roller rod. Then painted an old chest-o-drawers to match his bedding. You can always find antiquish tools at yardsales and hang them like a border along the top of his room. Just use picture hanger tools and pin nails to keep holes in your wall at a minimum. Old levels, hammers, etc. Picture frames are sort of great if you use them like your are building something with them like blocks and even just put solid colors behind the frame instead of pictures. You might even be able to use corner mounts tconnect them all together. When I think of construction workers, I think of old hard hats and flannel shirts. Maybe you could even find some old orange cones or Target had plastic ones for a dollar years ago so I'm sure you could find some cheap.

[Kimberly h]

I saw a cute idea.I can't remember where I saw this but someone took tag covers ,like the chrome ones you can get to go around your tag,and they backed them with cork board to hang little cards & notes.They hung them on the wall.It was cute.I think they hung 3 or 4 down the wall .
Hub cabs ,the light weight ones could be hung on the wall.You could probably even get a clock kit and make a clock out of one.
I'm sure I'll be back with more ideas.

[Kimberly h]

They have some good ideas on hgtv's dream house boys room.I'm not sure if we can link outside links? Anyone know? They have the little cork board in that room,.She also took some cool metal and added it as a border around the room.It really is a cute boys room.You should check it out.

If we lived closer I could hook you up with stuff like that.My dh is always restoring something and has his own junk yard, just about, where my huge hidden garden was supposed to go!