I am looking for ideas, suggestions, testimonies of DIY bedroom makeover for a boy, age 12. The room is on the small size. He is sleeping on a full size futon, but that is really taking up too much room. Storage/shelves are really needed, it is a very unorganized room. I also need to make it exciting and clever. My budget is small. I won't have a problem figuring out curtains, bed covers, etc. I just need some practical ideas on how to make a small room more functional.
By Arlinn
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I think it's unrealistic to get a small room to be exciting and clever. Functional and uncluttered would be more practical to hope for. A full size futon can be pushed into a corner so space for walking around it is not needed. Get some industrial shelving for storage, but get them as high as possible, or stack smaller units. Put hooks on the back of doors for coats, backpack, etc.
The thing is will he utilize whatever storage you put in his room? A lot of kids just plain find it more convenient to toss their belongings where ever. A lot of the discount stores have plastic shelves that snap together that are fairly sturdy. I have two of them in one corner of my kitchen and they are about five feet tall. I still don't have enough room in my kitchen, but I don't have room to add anymore shelf units.
I'd look for a daybed.he can put pillows on either end of it when it is made up in the daytime and use it for a couch to watch tv if the set is in his room.
We use L-brackets and wooden boards to make shelving at the top of the walls. These would be for things that aren't needed frequently, because they're too high to reach without a stool. Make them whatever height and depth is most useful to you. I think it looks best if the shelves go along the entire width of the wall.
I know that this probably won't help you, but when my son was younger, we bought him bunkbeds that had a trundle underneath. He use the other bed for friends sleeping over. We put a plywood bottom on the trundle; I used the back for my extra blankets, suitcases, winter boots, and such, and the front was a large toy box.
You can have a small room clever and exciting with just a little work.
The first thing you need are boards that are the length of each wall. Keep in mind, that if each wall is the same length, you can make four boards the same length. "L" brackets are cheap, esp' if you get the gray metal kind starting at .79 each. To make it look nice, measure the studs in the walls, and mark where to put the brackets, then put them so they hang the boards from the top rather than support from the bottom.
Not only will the things you put up there cover the brackets, but you will be able to get more space from the board to the ceiling. Attach the brackets to the boards first, then the walls. Each bracket has two holes in the bottom and one in the top, but if what you plan to set up there isn't heavy, you only really need two.
If what you plan to put up there is heavy, it is worth drilling holes in the boards where the holes are for the brackets, then using bolts and nuts to secure it. 2.5" wood deck screws are the best for the studs. Don't get pressboard, as it's heavy and will warp.
Once the boards are up, your son can put things like collectables, baskets of things he doesn't need very often, or anything that would normally go on shelves that take up floor space. You can often find nice borders at a thrift store for .99 that can be put up even before the brackets, if he likes wallpaper like space ships, animals, computer hero's, etc. Another cool thing is to put up lights behind things for a festive effect, and you can even get the kind that don't need a plug in. See your local hobby shop for the kind in tubing.
If the futon takes up a lot of space, you can often raise them and put plastic tubs or cardboard boxes underneath, and never even have to have a dresser. Mirrors also make a small room look bigger, and using light curtains will keep light in the room, which helps too.
I hope this helps. Getting him involved sometimes makes things more fun and less work.
Here's a cool link that might help.
www.ehow.com/
My kid's rooms are small too. Something I did was to lower the rod in the closet to about halfway down or so and add 3 shelves above it. I put 1 right on top of the rod and spaced the others evenly up. Now all their clothes are kept in the closet, rather than a dresser. Shirts hang, pants and most other stuff is folded and put on the shelves. Socks and underwear go in a shoe hanging bag on the inside of the closet door. Shelving not being used for clothes can be used for storage.
I bought some shelving units at Costco a few years ago that were snap together. They were square pieces of grate -- like the side of a milk crate-- and assembled into cubes. They could be put together in a variety of formats, making square cubicles for storage and display. My son has used these for years, rearranging his room in a variety of ways -- using the shelves for toy storage or display. Now that he is 22 and in his own house, he is using the same shelving units for clothing storage. Best $30 I ever spent. I bought 3 of the sets.
One of my other sons removed his folding doors from his closet and painted the whole room, interior of the closet and the ceiling all the same color. Opening up the closet made the room a lot bigger, and he said he would keep the shelves and hangers neat if they were out in the open (he did!). Because it was a big closet, at one time, he put a desk inside with his TV and gaming stuff on it.
My sons liked a blank slate in their rooms -- just paint the walls and nice curtains. They chose their own quilt, sheets and pillow cases -- not necessarily matching. And then put up posters and such on the walls. My younger son used a row of CDs as a border along the top of his wall. Looked pretty great. He fastened them to the wall with that blue office sticky tac. Get your son involved in the decorating, and design the room to his tastes.
Some really great ideas here! Thank you all. There are some I especially like, and others have given me good food for thought on the topic.
Do like the college kids do and put a twin bed on top of two sturdy bookshelves.Somehow anchor the bed in place on top of these bookshelves and anchor the shelves to the wall. Place a desk, chair and shelves under the bed. He may need a ladder attached as well to get into and down from his bed.
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