I love the opportunity to try new and fun things with decor and I most certainly love a challenge when it comes to design. This tween boys room afforded me both and I'm super excited with the way his room turned out.
When using Pinterest to garner ideas for a jungle-themed room, the majority of pins I found were geared towards a younger audience. Lots of nurseries, rooms with stuffed animals, and even images of Noah's Ark kept reappearing, but since my client was a twelve year-old boy, cute little animals and crib mobiles definitely weren't going to cut it. We needed a jungle theme fit for a young man and I think we achieved it.
First? Picking the colors. "K" wanted green paint so we chose three vivid shades of the color to bond with for a little bit. And when I say "bonding" I mean just that. Anytime you're considering a color for your walls, you've got to make sure to inspect it at different times during the day. How one shade may look in the morning might look totally different at night and also vary room to room within the same home. Lighting is everything when choosing the perfect paint color! Soooo, long story short: we went with Valspar's Houseplant (#2 in the picture below) for the accent wall and SW Mindful Gray for the neighboring walls.
Valspar
HOUSEPLANT
Once the walls were painted, it was time for the most funnest part ever (just go with my vocab,): the decorating! Roughly twice a year Hobby Lobby has a big sale on decor where one can pick up some sweet finds. Since we were incorporating a jungle theme, I managed to find a cheetah, an elephant, a tiger, and a few other knick-knacks that would fit right in and tie the room together. The rest of the items for this gallery wall were picked up from Ross (see that great elephant print? $20!), and Marshall's for a really great price.
"K" was also down with my suggestion to icksnay the drapes for his window and create a really cool awning instead. My carpenter, Nate constructed this masterpiece (a modified Pinterest idea) which added a cool rustic/industrial feature to the room for only a little bit of money. Win-Win.
And how about this for a design challenge? A big, square cut-out right in the middle of the room?! The point of it? I have no idea! Initially I thought we would cover it with a backboard and add a hoop for some fun, but "K" wasn't on board. Option 2? A mount. Using the same backboard idea but implementing a metal, 3D mount I scored from Hobby Lobby for $20. Nate came to the rescue (again) by adding that awesome corrugated metal and bam! A custom piece that looks crazy cool and covers up the awkward hole that literally housed nothing.
The bedding? Amazon. A black and blue plaid comforter to compliment that green and give his beautiful new headboard and matching nightstand (also Amazon) some add "umph."
Oh, and how about this desk and shelving?! It ties everything together, is super functional, houses a number of books, knick-knacks, and one super cool bearded dragon. Special thanks to Nate Koogle (yet again) for his amazing skills. "K"--enjoy your room. It'll definitely be one to grow with!
What do you think? Is this room wildly fun or what?