It had pink walls with a snow white border running along the top of the wall, perfect for a little girl like me. Yet, I was never comfortable in this room and rarely ever stayed in there alone.
I remember how happy I was to move out of that room and get a real room of my own. Except the room was actually the den of my Grandmother's home. It was hardly anymore welcoming than the basement room, but it would do.
All I ever wanted was an awesome room. One that wasn't scary and that felt like it was mine.
I guess that's why I've always enjoyed decorating my kids rooms so much. My first room design was some what of a Sesame Street theme. I found Sesame Street ceramic statues that are about 18" tall which I put up on a wall shelf. Then I got alphabet foam letters and with Velcro attached them like a border to the wall around the room. It was so simple but I loved it so much because it was different.
When Dorian was born I wasn't ready to move DeAndre out of the sesame street room yet, so I did a new room for Dorian. For him I painted the words "Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are" and some various sized stars on the wall above his crib. He had a moon and star theme.
Since then, I had moved Dorian into the Sesame Street room and painted over the star room which turned into a Lightening McQueen room for DeAndre and now both those rooms are now gone. I will pack away my Sesame Street Statues because I love them and want to keep them, perhaps for grandchildren if I am to be so blessed.
Over the past few days Adrian and I have been busy creating new rooms for the boys while they had a sleepover with Nana and Poppa. They both wanted to have a Star Wars theme so we decided to try to create a 'light side' and 'dark side' room. DeAndre would be the light side and Dorian the dark side (it's a little inside joke).
It didn't quite work out having a light vs dark side though because it was hard to find the supplies for the dark side (at an affordable price anyway). So this is what we came up with:
This is the "Dark Side" room.
We put more of a focus on the Troopers in this room. One sticker I ordered has not arrived yet, It reads "Fear is the path to the dark side".
This is the "Light Side" room
We focused on Jedi's and Yoda in this room (hence the green wall). A sticker for this room has also not arrived yet. It reads "Do or do not, there is no try".
When the kids came home to see their rooms they were very excited. Adrian and I wanted to create an extra dramatic effect so we played star wars music just before the big reveal. Dorian's music was the Darth Vader theme-Imperial March and DeAndre's Theme was The Jedi theme-New Hope. Dorian was feeling sick today so his excitement wasn't completely there when he first saw his room for the video but he's been enjoying his room since. DeAndre never hides his excitement but he did contain himself quite well.
(I tried loading the videos here but I think the files are too large.)
I hope my boys enjoy their new rooms and know how much they are loved. I hope when they lay down to sleep at night they feel safe and secure and most of all that they feel at home.
My Favourite parts of the room:
Message board (seen close to the door of each room): A small touch that fits the theme and lets them express themselves.
Lamps: The light saber lamps come with a remote control, make sound effects with each push of the button and automatically shut off after 15 minutes of idle time. They have 8 colour choice options.
Build-a-bear: The boys each got a build-a-bear last year for their birthdays in a star wars theme. They make a nice addition to their beds
The quote sticker (not pictured/hasn't arrived in the mail): I love the motivational wall sticker Yoda quotes that are yet to come. I think word art it a wonderful touch to any room.
