Sep 18, 20204 min read

design plan: our vintage inspired shared boys’ bedroom

We reached a huge milestone on our new house build – we have officially made ALL of the design decisions for the items that we’ll be doing with our builder, so dirt can start moving! As we shared in our post last week, we’ll be doing quite a few updates on the back-end after we close on the house. My brain is now shifting to what happens after move-in, which includes furnishing this new house!

We have 3 boys and are definitely a room-sharing kind of family. So, even though the new house has 4 bedrooms, the two younger boys will continue to share a room like they do now. Their current bedroom situation has a lofted bed over a vintage bed. It was the only way we could get 2 beds to fit at this house, but happily the bedrooms at the new house are a couple of feet wider. So, now I can execute the shared bedroom plan of my dreams with two matching beds! Is there anything cuter than two matching twin beds in a kids room?! Not in my book! When AllModern reached out about teaming up on a bedroom design, we were ALL IN!

(Quick Disclosure: Some of these links happen to be affiliate links which means when you click the link to purchase something on this page, it won't cost you more but we may receive a commission for sharing this with you. Which is neat, because I was going to share it with you anyway! You can view our full disclosure policy here).

It’s important to note that I have a bit of an aversion (quite possibly a blind-hatred) of themed kids bedrooms. OK, maybe hatred is a bit strong. Let’s just say I greatly prefer to design kids’ spaces that have staying power. Also, I apologize if I offended you with this harsh blanket statement. If YOU love your kid’s Paw Patrol bedroom then you do you and don’t let me stop you!

Hey, I love design more than your average person, but I don’t want to have to re-do things every few years as their interests change. My philosophy is to focus on foundational pieces that will serve them well for years, then bring in some of their likes, preferences, and personalities with things that are easier to change. So maybe instead of a race car bed, you frame a piece of race car art that you can swap out in 2 years. You feel me?

You might be saying “OK Tara that’s fine but without a theme WHERE DO I START!”. Don’t worry; I got you. Stick with me.

All of our boys love the outdoors and camping, as most boys do. We hope to start taking them on more camping trips to state and national parks as Theo gets a bit older (meaning he can be reasoned with and becomes less of a flight-risk in the woods). As I was searching through the art on AllModern I found this vintage-inspired National Park print and it stopped me in my tracks. The style! The colors! It was the perfect anchor-piece for the room and became the jumping off point.

Next, incorporating their other interests. Max, who will be the oldest resident of this room, is super into rock music. This kid is, like, a thousand times cooler than I will ever be. He loves Soundgarden and Queen and AC/DC. He’s basically the Zach Morris of the 1st grade. For him I added in the vintage vinyl art print and we’ll probably hang our guitars on the wall. We have 4 for some reason, even though we’ve hardly played over the last 10 years. But I digress…

How do a National Parks print and a Vinyl Album print work together? They both have vintage in common. So rather than the theme being “camping” or “music” which might feel limiting, it can be both. For their room I want to create a space that’s masculine and modern, but also casual and kid-friendly. Vintage will be the element that ties it all together. We’re focusing on a feeling or an atmosphere (relaxed + vintage), instead of just an object (camping + music). It leaves our options open and will allow room to grow and evolve over time.

Now to round out the rest of the room. The beds feel a bit Danish Modern and a bit American Shaker. I like the crossover between the two styles, especially considering our home will be a crossover between Southern Traditional and Midcentury. The rug looks aged and worn, which is great because it checks the vintage style box and if it already looks worn it will be harder for my kids to destroy it. If you have kid’s you are nodding your head right now. The nightstand is metal, so is super durable, as are the lamps (no glass lamps for these boys).

The rug and art set our color palette, so I rolled with that and brought in more colors from nature in the plant, the olive curtains, the rust colored pillows, and the slate colored bedding. It’s colorful, which kids like, but in a muted way, which Mama can live with. It fits in and flows with the rest of the house.

There you have it! Check out the details below with info on all the items we’ve shared!