The Painted Chandelier

A Creative Companion Home/Design blog to Interiors by Melanie Robinson

Gray and Green Teen Boy’s Room with Restoration Hardware Vibe

by 16 Comments

Gray & Green Teen Boy’s Room with Restoration Hardware Vibe



 I’ve been working on updating our home, and have finally finished my oldest son’s room! We have been in our home for 11 years, so gradually I’ve been trying to update colors and furnishings throughout. I love the grayed colors that have shown up in the design world in the past few years, but honestly didn’t see how it would work in my home until recently. On Instagram, I shared an epiphany with my followers that when I started looking at my dog babies (Weimaraners) in every room in my house, they matched everything! Charcoal gray or dark graphite, which is the closest description of their coloring goes with green, taupe, tan, brown, pink, etc. It really is a neutral like black! So with that affirmation, I decided to use gray in both of my recent room makeovers for my sons. I believe you can use grayed colors in many spaces, but it has to be the correct gray in order for it to work. So let’s move on and see the new room…

Mission: To update the existing paint color to a more “mature” green-gray shade, provide more hidden storage options, display my son’s artwork and accomplishments, give new life to old furniture, update bedding to compliment new upholstered headboard, and provide adequate task lighting.


So let’s move on and see the new room…I’m excited to show you!!:)


Here are some “before” shots of my oldest son, Wesley’s, room.

 

 This room had been nice looking at one time with the apple green and blues, but it looked very dated. I searched everywhere for a good “before,” but couldn’t find one! As you can see, I sampled MANY different gray-greens and green-grays in his room before taking the plunge. There are so many factors to keep in mind before painting a room: what the paint color looks like with the furnishings/fabrics, at different times of day, with lighting,etc. just to name a few. Color can be very tricky, and even more so when you are working with colors that have multiple undertones. The color we finally chose was Promenade by Behr. Runner up colors were Benjamin Moore Dry Sage, and Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage. In the end, Promenade was the color that appeared more green-gray, which was what I was looking for, and happened to be Wesley’s choice, also!
(I don’t have it pictured, but his previous headboard was an antique Early American oak that had a headboard and footboard. I was SO ready to be done with that!)

 
Promenade by Behr
 
 
Wesley only had a bookshelf beside his bed for many years, that acted as a bedside table/bookshelf. I found these cherry side tables at a thrift store, and bought them because the height was perfect for his bed height and new lamps. When I got them home, to my surprise they were Pottery Barn, but not in the best shape. I could tell they were good, quality wood because of the weight and interior construction, but a few of the drawers didn’t slide easily, and the tops were pretty scratched. Nothing a little paint couldn’t work magic on, and for the sticky drawers, a little wax paper rubbed on the tracks worked great.
 
Before
 
 
 
 
 
After- Painted with Benjamin Moore’s Raccoon Hollow & Glazed with RL Tobacco glaze
 
 
Geode bookends~a Home Goods find; wooden sticks/flute carved by my son
 
I usually use Behr flat enamel paint + primer on walls and furniture ( it’s a washable flat ) and if I’m going to use a glaze,  I love Ralph Lauren glaze in Tobacco, to tone down a color or add depth.Here, I used it over the Raccoon Hollow paint. ( I loved Ralph Lauren glaze when Home Depot carried it; I’m using the last bit of leftovers I still had from years ago.)
 
I chose a dark graphite/charcoal gray for the bedding, thinking that would add depth and a strong masculine touch, and also look amazing with the green-gray walls. It is a quilted bed cover by Threshhold for Target. LOVE that collection!! Also, I love the fact that these quilted covers wash so well- an important factor in a household where dogs sleep with boys! I kept the sheets light and airy to keep it from getting too dark. All throw pillows are from IKEA. The swordfish picture was kinda the inspiration for the whole room. It represents my son’s love of Gulf and Bay fishing, as well as our whole family’s love for it.
 
 
 
Lamps are from Walmart’s BH & G’s new collection
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
My smart hubby made another headboard, but this time he added a curve. I will have to do another post on that, because he made a template, and used alot of Georgia Tech high level Math and Engineering skills to make it (lol!!) But seriously, I will have to get all the steps and write a separate post. He added a piece of wood to the edge, so I could hammer the large bronze upholstery tacks in, after I covered it in dropcloth. A local design shop sold me the amount I needed. One of Pottery Barn’s upholstered headboards was my inspiration for using the large tacks vs. the smaller ones. I measured every 2 inches along the edge, then marked it with a pen before hammering them in. I really like the way it turned out.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Curtains are Lenda by IKEA
 
 
 
 
This is the other side of Wesley’s room. This is the view you see when you walk into his room. He has had this dresser since he was little, and it’s a good quality dresser, so I just decided to paint it and add some pulls in oil-rubbed bronze. The curtains are a natural color by IKEA, and not only are they really long (100″ or so…still need to hem them ), but they are made out of a beautiful linen blend. They are unlined, and this room is South-facing so it gets really hot in the Summer, but there are blinds on the windows, as well. I love the light, airy, carefree look they lend to this room!
 
 
 Here’s the best “before” of the dresser I could find! But needless to say, the “after” is definitely an improvement! Are there things in your home that you have looked at daily for the past umpteen years and never changed? Then after you change it, you say “Wow, I should’ve done that YEARS ago?!” YESSS! That’s exactly what I was thinking!
 
 
 
A tufted office chair thrift store find! Needs recovering, but works for now
 
 
 
 
 
 
Before & After desk area
 
I spray painted the desk in Rustoleum’s Camouflage paint in Khaki, then glazed it with Ralph Lauren Tobacco glaze. 
 
 
 
 
The inspiration for this wall shelving unit was a pin I had saved on Pinterest. On the blog where I saw this great idea, they used cut and stained cedar, galvanized floor flanges, pipes, and caps for the brackets to create their own version of Restoration Hardware’s Reclaimed Wood Wall Shelf. I am fortunate to have a RH outlet near me, so I was able to buy the 36″ reclaimed wood ready for shelving. After pricing the galvanized flanges, pipes, and caps, the price of each floor flange was so expensive, that the hardware alone was going to be more than RH’s reclaimed wood shelves ( 2 pieces of wood measuring 36″ x 5.5″ x 1.5″ =$40, $20/each ) I decided to go with the black flanges, pipes, and caps and it saved almost $30. The color is called “black,” but is actually more of a dark silver, which worked better in the space anyway. I love the industrial element it adds to his room!
 
 
 
 
The art on the shelves and other items are special for various reasons. The pottery was made by my son in an Art class, the replica of him was made by a friend of his in the class ( which thrilled me to no end!), his Drama letters and memorabilia in the shadowbox from all the years he has been in acting, a subway art piece I found that encourages him to live his life passionately, coral from our favorite beach location, an Aztec head that was in my Grandmother’s house for many years, etc. I also love the whale he created. 
 
Did I mention that my son is a Senior this year? And that he is going away next Fall to college? It seems kinda bittersweet for me to be decorating his room when life is about to change, but he is very happy with the way his room turned out. And that makes ME a very happy Momma! I think design works that way….I love designing for my family, but also for clients because helping other people love their spaces and their homes makes me happy. Happy to see them happy. There is truly “no place like home!!”
 
Thanks for stopping by, friends! Have a great Wednesday, and rest of your week! 
 
xxooxx
 
 
 Melanie+Signature+Styles
 
 
 
 
 

Comments

    • Thanks so much, Lindsey!! I love my son being able to see his art daily, and hope it encourages him to keep pursuing his gifts & talents! I agree with you about the paint….what a wonderful tool it is! 🙂

      Reply

  6. I really like the charcoal bedding and the dark painted dresser! Just the other day i went into my 15 yr old son’s room and noticed his shelf has his baby blocks on there! The shame I tell ya! I’m a decorator and my son’s room looks like this? You motivated me to do something, anything to this poor kids room! New reader by the way! Found you via don’t disturb this groove…

    Reply

    • Hi, Luci! Oh, I know so well what you mean…kinda like ” the painter’s house is never painted? ” I can relate! That’s why I’ve slowly been redecorating each of my son’s rooms! I basically waited til they said they didn’t like their rooms anymore or their feet were hanging off their twin beds….OH, is that terrible?! LOL Thank you so much for stopping by… I appreciate my readers!! Checked out your site today,and love your work, and blogposts! 🙂

      Reply

  8. Hi, Kristen! Thank you! Sometimes I see these pieces at thrift stores, buy them, and they sit in my basement until the proper moment of inspiration hits me. Thankfully, this one worked out pretty good! I would love to recover it someday though…… Thank you for stopping by:)!!

    Reply

    • Well, thank you so much, Michele! I love the way his room turned out, and now he’s going away to college! 🙁 lol I read some posts on your blog yesterday…love the Summer series! Thanks for stopping by 🙂

      Reply

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