Last year we initiated the big “room switch” between Max and Elle.

They had been begging for years and finally we gave in.

So one week when Dave was in China we worked our little hearts out changing this:
to this:
(Yeah, it needed a bunch more work, but believe me, that was a lot for one week with all the stuff we switched around.)

Over the course of the last year it has finally come to look like this:If our kids ever wonder who our favorite son is, all they need to do is go look in there and see that larger-than-life picture of their brother. Wow, that turned out a little bigger than we had anticipated but we love it.

Oh what is that you say? We only have one son? Well, he’s definitely our favorite šŸ™‚

Ok, so here are some pictures of the process:
We bought a new dresser and nightstand at IKEA.

Now, IKEA sounds like a great idea when you look at a picture on the internet and check out the prices. It even sounds good when you see that piece of furniture live all put together like it’s easy-peasy in front of you in that giant-maze-of-a-showroom.

But when you get home and take out all the pieces you think you should probably just go ahead and kick yourself.

…until it turns into a giant project with your kids helping…particularly that one who is going to use the furniture.
You think that they may not be able to follow those tricky instructions, but then you realize that really, they are smarter and more crafty than you had given them credit for.


We assembled the bed together as well. Bonding times.

I don’t have a picture of the finished dresser but you can see part of it in that first finished-product picture. Here’s the finished nightstand:I love that he has a drawer for each thing…school textbooks, spiritual (scriptures and seminary) stuff, electronics, etc.

Let’s talk about where we got some of this stuff because I know people will ask and this will save some time answering.

That first huge mural of a wave up there in those top pictures was from IKEA…but it wasn’t quite what we were going for, so we returned it. (We envisioned a humongous picture of Max instead šŸ˜‰

We got that comforter cover at West Elm. I really love that store. We got his bed frame and headboard from there as well.
And the lamp is from Target.

The pillows, box shelf things on the wall on the left and plants are from IKEA.
This string-hanging-thing we hung all his fav. flags on is from IKEA too:
(More college brainwashing going on šŸ™‚

This is is view from on his bed:
Those are all his trophies lined up there…the girls and I put them up there as a joke cause we didn’t know if we should keep them or throw them away but he likes them there so there they sit, gathering dust.

That green rug is from IKEA too…just something to add a little extra texture. (lots of these ideas came from my good friend Denise…love her)

And last but not least, here’s his bathroom with a picture of the place our ancestors came from that my mom and I bought in Denmark to give it a little extra color. (And hey, gotta love the sentimental stuff.)
Oh, and the paint color is “Foggy Day” from Dunn Edwards…made a little darker in the bathroom than in the bedroom.

So there we go…finished Max/guest room.
I’m sure the guests love that humongous picture of that handsome boy too šŸ™‚

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36 Comments

  1. LOVE it. Everything is perfect for a teenage boy. Although, I found myself wondering…how often does it actually look like that? Ha! šŸ™‚

    A question…Please share with me what kind of carpet that is in Max's room. (Not the rug, but the actual carpet). We are about to replace our carpet with a flatter waffle weave like that. It looks like the same stuff as what is on your stairs, am I right? Has it worn well with your kids? What is the brand and color? Thank you!

  2. It's the perfect boys room. Not over the top decorated, but simply stated and what I love even more is that there is not a lot of "junk" all over the walls. I would love to redo my 15 year old son's room, but he pulls out posters and stuff and I just cringe.
    How did you make the over sized picture of Max?
    C'mon now…you knew we were going to ask on that one.

  3. I want that bedside table! Looks like I need to make a trip to Ikea soon. And just wanted to say BYU is a good school, but I vote for Max to go to San Diego (he should probably be a Charger) when the time comes.

  4. Love it! Very nicely done.

    I just about died when I read that you were considering throwing out the trophies. Does your family seriously do that? ; ) Or do you just put them away in a box.

    Another question…

    I've been meaning to ask what the reason is behind the two kids BEGGING to have their bedrooms switched. Nice that they BOTH were wanting to do that….but why? Just curious.

  5. the huge picture is hilarious. i had no idea max was such a larger-than-life skater. looking at this i would think his life revolves around stakeboarding. and modeling.

    love you and getting excited to see you guy soon!

  6. Love it! It turned out great! Loved the comment about putting together the IKEA furniture too- as I write this my husband is putting together a desk for me with lots of huffing and puffing!

  7. does your son find the huge photo of him looming over his head weird? my husband had a photo of him playing golf over his bed before we got married and i never stopped making fun of him for it. love the drawers, and the bedspread!

  8. I'm totally impressed that you & Max put the IKEA items together!!! I don't know if I would even attempt that šŸ˜‰
    I know this is redundant – but what is the link for the pictures of Elle's "new room"? Or could you post the pictures? I am working on my tween's room and and loved her mulit-colored frames! Thanks!!

  9. That is one terrific teen space!! I see the new "Old Spice" toiletries in the bathroom. That is what my teen guys wears too… the Fiji ones! šŸ™‚

  10. Dawn, the huge picture of Max is a canvas. We won a canvas at an auction for the youth in our church a while back and I could choose any image for it so I decided to use it for Max's room. It is 3 x 5 feet. Yeah, huge. I have a friend (the guy from the auction) who does a really great job at custom canvases. Let me know if you want his contact info!
    Tiffany, I wish I knew what our carpet is…I love it but I dont' remember the brand or color. I should keep better track of that stuff.

  11. Oh, and I forgot to say, they begged to switch rooms because Elle didn't like being the only one downstairs and Max drooled over that option.

    And no, it does not always look like that, but he does make is bed pretty much every single day. (That was a big promise he made when switching to the-room-right-next-to-the-front-door) He hand to kind of earn it by showing he could handle it and he did. He even flushes his toilet more often these days! šŸ™‚

  12. Just stumbled across your blog for the first time! Love it! And what a great job u did on that room! Very nice! But Also what caught my eye is the "Hjorring" poster from Denmark.Are you sure u bought it in Sweden? I was born and raised in Denmark, and Hjorring is a wonderful little town in the northern part of the country. If u didnt know, the poster is a celebration of their 750 years o being a city. I myself grew up in Odense (back in the 90's they celebrated their 1000 yrs) and it is very common that the town makes a posters, stickers etc to commemorate the celebration;-) oh and Danish flags on everything is something that we do especially for birthdays ( our cakes are covered in them. ( hence probably why there are Danish flags on the poster. ) anyhow, just wanted to share a bit of info since u have ancestors from Hjorring. Always nice to meet a fellow Dane:-)

  13. Oh my word Cahterina, yes, that print is from Denmark. I must have had a serious brain-freeze when I wrote Sweden. Man alive I'm getting old šŸ™‚ Thank you for that clarification!

  14. It looks awesome! I love before and after projects. Now when are you going to post a picture of your master bedroom, I need some serious inspiration for mine!

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