Having two teenage boys share a room in close quarters is not a tidy, organized situation. It could be, but with these two in particular it is not, nor has it ever been. I have gutted, deep cleaned, decluttered this room countless times. They cannot maintain it. They will not. There are times where I'm out in a social situation, I am groomed to look my best, I appear relaxed and having a great time. There is no indication I live next to such chaos. But
I know.
Oh, boy do I know.I know I have years and years ahead of me where all of this stuff will be gone, the room will be fresh and neat as a pin, scented and decorated, used just how I choose. It is coming. Perhaps a child will come stay a night or two, even. They will see how much better life could/ can be!
Adren mentioned that he'd like to make some changes in his room. He'd like a darker color on the walls, perhaps make it easier and more comfortable for friends to hang out in. (He was picturing a "Space" or "Galaxy" feel.)
I responded something like, "That sounds fun..." and dismissed it. Because when a room looks like this there is no motivation or excitement to update. He brought it up again a few weeks later. I started to come up with some ideas, and we began to move forward. It's really discouraging to paint a chaotic room. Where do you put all the stuff? Do you shove all the junk in the closet? (Turns out you do. You also stack it in the hallway and behind your parents bedroom door. You also store all the fragile Lego models on your mom's dresser.) Eli's response to anything I suggested to do to the room is his usual, "I don't know." (said in a higher pitch, cheerful tone. It's something we all imitate now.)
I started with selling these shelves Jon built through facebook marketplace.
First I organized them a little for the selling picture:
But knew better and cleared and staged them.
There was immediate interest and they sold right quick!
I thought it would be fun to put the beds in an "L" shape- sort of like a sectional couch. I kept trying to think of ways in my head how to make upholstered head and sideboards to run the length of two walls~ and not spend a million $$$ on wood. Jon had the great idea to use palettes. This worked so great- and free! We loaded some up from a friends workplace and I stapled batting and fabric over them. Jon cut shelves from scrap wood in the garage to sit on top- sort of cap them off as well as add a shelf to make it cute~ because every couch needs a shelf for a lamp behind it. The boys spray painted them black and Jon secured them to the covered palettes and the wall and we're in business!
I ordered them a neat-o ceiling fan with remote and Bluetooth features. Adren loves the sound of a fan at night, and they both like it on full-blast-torpedo speed all night long. Seriously, if you're over 7 feet tall and you walk in their pitch-dark room in the middle of the night, you will lose your head.
Eli's bed has had issues. We realized he didn't have a box spring (not sure how that happened?)- and his frame was crooked. I wondered why it always felt weird when I sat on it. So, we got him all set up with a real comfy situation. (New frame and box spring.) All the kids got memory foam mattress toppers for Christmas, and I have to say, those beds are comfy!
I had Adren take down their blinds that were starting to resemble a haunted house and make me cringe when I saw the scene from the front of the house.
I ordered them some black black-out curtains and the boys hung the new rod. We marveled at how dark it makes the room! Like hotel dark. It will help with the heat from the summer setting sun. I got some metal ring clips which make it easier to slide them open and closed. A pair of white roller shades installed
makes it all look really nice and uniform from the front of the house, and helps them control the light and privacy beautifully.
The boys helped me paint the room a charcoal grey and freshen the white trim. What a difference that makes right there! Adren helped hang some guitar hooks onto the wall and we love how they look hanging all together. (Instead of falling over on the floor or propped in the closet.) Jon also added some pegboard the boys painted to hang their airsoft guns. My hope is they will appreciate a place for everything, and everything will be easier to locate and keep safe. It really isn't pretty, but it works!
I scoured facebook marketplace for a few days for a dresser. Eli came with me to pick up the one I found in our criteria: Five drawers and under 50" & $100.
It was at some guys crazy packed storage shed. We stood there awkwardly while he emptied each drawer, balancing the junk on top of piles of more swaying junk, whilst he was wedged in-between even more junk. He kept muttering, "I should have come here earlier to do this..." Yeah, ya should have!
I was going to have the boys paint the dresser, but one day it was so lovely outside, I slapped a few quick coats of spray paint on it, swapped out the hardware, and they brought it up to their room. They now each have a drawer for their special things to keep safe- and plenty of drawers for socks, shorts and undies. And because it is under 50" tall, there is room to keep their record player and console on the top.
Jon cut some wall shelves for Eli's LEGO's which will really free up his shelf space for other things as well as avoid damaging the precious and fragile creations. They also started adding their used skateboard decks to surround the top of the walls. Way cool.
It really does not resemble anything close to "Space Galaxy", but the boys don't mind a bit. Sometimes it takes an initial vision to get the ball rolling to then let it evolve how it will evolve. While it still looks cluttered and is never tidy, they sure have friends over a lot more and I appreciate having them all piled in their room instead of my couch. They are thrilled with it, which is all that matters.
