A Boy's Train Themed Bedroom

I have been working on this room for some time ... it isn't totally finished but I just couldn't wait to share how it is coming along!

My oldest boy has always loved trains and so I decided to go with a theme of trains in general and not just with Thomas so that I had more flexibility in terms of bedding etc.


This is what the room looked like before we moved in (not quite as bad as the Nursery though):

We kept the blue walls (though I would like a deeper blue, this works for now) and now we have nice hardwood.  The pictures below I took with a wide angled lense, which makes the room look huge - wish it were that big!

The first obvious purchase (other than the IKEA bunk bed) was the bedding itself. I always like to start with the bedding and get inspiration from there, and this quilt set from Home Sense was perfect.

The red carpet and table lamp I found at IKEA and the little bedside table is an antique student desk that I have had forever.  I love the idea of having a little bit of history in a space and I enjoy the fact that it isn't your traditional bedside table.  The train picture above the table was a flea market find from my sister-in-law.  It is actually stamped metal (for lack of a better explanation).

The cherry red accent colour in the room I took right from the quilt.  I incorporated the red in the clock (a Walmart find):

and I used cherry red to paint my old white wooden bookcase that I have had since I was a little girl:






















This bookcase required five coats of Home Depot's BEHR paint, FIVE before it looked halfway decent.  After talking to a few people I learned a couple of things:

1. Always, always, always use a tinted primer when you are going to paint something red, and
2. Always use good quality paint like Benjamin Moore; it pays for itself both in time and cost, believe me!

The hanging train quilt was quilted by a friend of the family when my son was born.  It wasn't big enough for the bed and I really wanted to display it, so I took a nice piece of oak, stained it with a clear lacquer and used velcro to attach it to the oak.  Boy that stuff sticks!  

The train table was a neat addition to the room.  It was made by a friend for his boys when they were young.  They had long outgrown it and he offered it to us for free.  Um, YES!


















The only change I made was adding a piece of indoor/outdoor carpeting to the table top.  The friendly people at Home Depot cut it to fit the table and it cost me the big sum of about $8.  The train carpet I found on ebay and I love the bright colours!

My favourite part is the railroad crossing sign that I made (pictured at the top).  I used two MDF pieces which I primed then traced and painted on stenciled letters that I had picked up at Walmart.  I painted the sides the same cherry red as the bookcase but chose to use some acrylic paints I had on hand rather than that awful BEHR paint I had used on the bookcase.

As you can see, I didn't aim for perfection in my paint job.  I liked the overlapping paint which, I think, gives it some authenticity (which basically means, it looks handmade).

If you have a keen eye, you might have noticed that the door to the bedroom (pictured below) is missing its' door handle ... for a very good reason! I got tired of rescuing my little guys every time they locked themselves in their rooms :o)  It puzzles me why every room in our new home has door locks on them.

The first time my six year old locked  himself in his room, it took me 10 minutes to get him out ... I was in a total panic and ready to break the door down! I found the smallest screwdriver on the planet, jigged the lock and opened the door, phew! I  immediately took the door knob off and has been off ever since :o)

What is left to do?  Well, I am thinking of painting an accent wall, just to break up the sea of blue,  but I think I will wait until warmer weather to start that.  I'm also planning on sewing up a simple valance for the window...

- Kristin -

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