A Knight's Tale

My mom recently decided to redecorate my brother's room and called me in to assist. I was happy to help...Hizzy Tizzy loves a good design challenge! I don't have any before pictures ULGH...but let's just say it was a hot mess. The bedspread was my old bedspread from middle school...I am 25 now. It was not good.

The Project: Trace's room

The Budget: $100

Trace is 11, and he loves 3 things: reading, knights, and horses. Those were the design inspirations. Several things couldn't change: the bed, the dresser, and the books! That kid had books on his bed, under his bed, on the dresser, and overflowing the 2 small bookcases he had in the room before.

The first item of buisness was to change out the 80's purple bedspread with a more up to date look. One trip to Ikea, and we were set. This bedspread/skirt combo is perfect for a young boy and is neutral enough to let the knight accesories, like the art and accessories, pop out and make the room. The red velvet pillow was just enough to set the bedspread apart from being plain, to being part of the theme. And yet, remove the pillow and it is plain enough to be versatile for later years where a "theme room" may be too young for him.

Things to note: we took out the 2 smaller bookcases against the back wall and replaced it with one larger bookcase. The bookcase was a budget cheat because I had it in my house, but ran out of space for it and donated it to the cause. However, it helped tremendously!

The gazillions of books all had a home at last.

The other thing Trace had at LEAST gazillion of was little knicky knacks. Turns out, he is a severe pack rat at the ripe old age of 11 and has saved anything anyone has ever given him. In addition to these saver habits, he has been known to ransack Goodwill bags and take items out to place in his little bedroom rescue habitat. He might end up on Oprah for those hoarding shows they talk about where people live in millions of piles of crap and make tiny piles through it all. The bookcase helped to display some of his favorite knacks, and the solution for the rest was 2 seagrass baskets stacked up beside the bookcase. They are easy to navigate and provide excellent storage for all his little treasures.

Trace and mom take all the credit for the big picture above the bed. Trace picked out the print, and mom took it to have it framed and matted. It turned out wonderfully and was a perfect addition to the "knight room".

Another neat idea we had for inexpensive art was to hang toys on the wall! The two swords were toys Trace had outgrown, so we threw them up on the wall as art. They look great, they were cheap, and it reduced the clutter on the floor. Win- win for everyone.

Another budget cheat. Trace had a birthday right around the time of his room design, so big sis Hizzy Tizzy made this super duper bean bag chair for relaxing and reading. I used red velvet, grey flannel and a houndstooth print to work with the Knight theme but be cozy and soft for lots of hours spent reclining and reading.

This piece of art is another Hizzy Tizzy original. I made this using an old window frame. I painted it black to match the theme and attached a fleur de lis hanger on the bottom for storage and display. I alternated cork and patterned paper within the frames for displaying pictures and other special items. It fits so well in the little corner it lives in.

Designer's Challenge Complete!! A Knight themed room for a a great little dude.