FLASHBACK: Kids room in Morton Grove 2009

It is always nice to see how things evolve and change over the years. Like my kids rooms for example, in 3 years they have had 3 different bedrooms all because we had to move from our house in Chicago, to  a rental and finally to our new home now.

The good thing is that, looking back, I realized that my tastes in design and decorating has been consistent. For the kids rooms, I always wanted a room that they can grow into, with fun and whimsy on one end, and practicality on the other.

I also realized that I do try to recycle as much stuff as I can and try not to throw or discard any stuff away. And I've also proven to myself that if I REALLY LIKE something, it is always very easy to find a space for it!

So here was the boys room before we moved out...

Aidan's study area

Nio's study area

I love stripes. And I, with the help of my brother painted these brown stripes ourselves. The curtains, lights, rug, shelves as well the magazine/book rack are from Ikea . The table and chairs are from there too, although I recently sold it at a Kids expo to make way for a bigger set for Aidan. Nio's desk is from Target and this is now the computer desk in Hubby's office. The folding chair has been upgraded already.

The Wall art are acrylic sign boards (that you can buy at any office supply stores) that you can rotate what's on display easily! Here I placed "Land of Nod" catalog covers I've collected - FREE! You can also display your kids art work this way.

Art Corner

This is the area behind the door, I used it to display art and some of their school pictures using cork boards. I painted the border of the other one white to make it match. The book holder is from "Land of Nod" Outlet store. I placed pillows on the floor for a nice reading nook.

Nio sleeps in the upper bunk

We mounted a small fan on top for Nio because it can get really hot in the summer and we didn't want any ceiling fan for safety reasons. I placed one bedside table for knick knacks.

Sorry for the mess

The wall art on the side is also from Ikea ( now it's still in Aidan's room). The Lava lamp was from a thrift store for $6. The bunk bed is now separated with the full bed places in Nio's room and the Single bed on top, now in Aidan's new room. I also placed storage under the bed for seasonal clothing (also from Ikea). The side table now holds our electronics in the master bedroom, it's from the Victoria Hagaan line from Target.

More views

Cabinet doors

I placed foam letters bought on clearance from "Michaels" for 25 cents each! I was planning to put animal safari decal at the bottom of the cabinet doors for added display and this was the decal...

From Elly Nelly in etsy.com

I also planned to paint a huge stripe of chalkboard paint in the middle, but then, we were on the verge of moving, so it remained this way until we left. Their names now adorn their bedroom doors in our new home.

Hope you enjoyed our old kids rooms! I will post the kids bedrooms soon after I'm sort of done!

HAPPY DECORATING!!!!