After several months of shopping, planning, painting, and organizing, my nephew Ben’s room has finally all come together. You may remember a few months back when I showed you the mood boards for the project, and if you’re an instagram follower, you’ve also seen some of the progress. I’m pleased as punch as the way that it turned out, but most importantly, so is Ben.

I’m using the term “before & after” pretty loosely here as my “before” photos were lost. BOO. So if you’re wondering what it was before, think back to how your high school bedroom was and you’ll have a pretty good idea. 🙂    Ben’s room gets a ton of great natural light due to two large windows and also offers quite a bit of square footage.  In its previous life, it was home to a bunk bed that offered little in the way of storage or, frankly, function. The closet was pretty much under utilized with only hanging racks. So in addition to the overall look of the room, we also had to add some storage to make it the perfect mix of form & function.  The room was painted a pale grey with an accent wall in a charcoal color, which was great — it meant I didn’t have to paint anything too much, but it needed a pop of color to make it feel fresh and not so blah.

Initially, the inspiration was actually the Houzz logo; Ben was really digging the interlocking triangle design as well as the color scheme. From there, I worked up this beginning mood board to set the tone for the project.

And here’s the final result! We taped off the wall one Saturday and using a couple of quarts of chartreuse and white paint, we whipped this little triangle pattern into shape. The result was entirely fresh & transformative.  We even randomly found a triangular patterned pillow at Target to complete the look.

The ultimate find for this makeover was this set of vintage lockers that I found locally. They were a steal of a deal and extremely heavy. One Saturday I loaded Ben up in the car and off we went to go pick it up from the antique shop where I’d found it.  The car felt SO heavy as we drove it back across town and we cracked up the whole way.

We drug it out onto a tarp on the front lawn and spray painted it chartreuse, along with this combination table and lamp from Target. I love how the spray paint transformed both of those pieces. The previously black lamp became a cohesive part of the design with the addition of the color.  All in all, the project maybe took 2-3 hours total. It’s the perfect piece for any teenage kid – and one that he can get tons of use out of, even one day when he goes to college and gets his own place. Plus there’s tons of storage space.

The bedframe came from Ikea, and all the linens came from Target.  (Psst –> You can find all my sources, including more ideas at my Pinterest board.)

We even outfitted his closet with an entire set of ClosetMaid shelves & drawers from Home Depot.  Now all the things that were previously scattered about finally have a home, especially important for things like tshirts, jeans, etc. that don’t typically get hung up, but rather, folded. Plus, the drawers make the perfect catchall for socks, etc.

Another important element for Ben was a comfy chair where he could hang out, read a book, or surf on his laptop. The chair we chose from Ikea can also extend into a twinsize futon, and it also had the cool industrial look that we were going for.

Overall, we both love how the room turned out. Heck, I might have to move in when he leaves for college in a few years. It’s such a great space. In the future, we need to add a desk and probably some more artwork, but it’s definitely a great start in the right direction.

Big huge thanks to Ben for letting me come help you out; I love how much time we got to spend together and we made some memories that I know I won’t soon forget. xoxo, Aunt Rachel.