Welcome to Flawed yet Functional! Every once in a while, I like to share some home decor or DIY projects here. I believe being creative and doing hobbies you love is a part of a healthy lifestyle. Just as food, rest, and healthy habits are important, so is having a creative outlet. My creative outlet is my home. I love my home. I say that all the time, but it’s true. My home is beautiful, and I like working to make it more and more functional and lovely for us each day. Today I have a little collage in my son’s room to share with you. It’s a lesson in use-what-you-have and what is meaningful to you. Let’s take a look at an adventure wall!
My first attempt at form and function in my oldest son’s room was an old, fabric-covered cork board, a DIY project from years ago. On it, I hung a calendar and helpful morning routine cards along with some of his artwork. Do you know what he thought of my creativity? He didn’t like it one bit. Ha! He took it apart, one piece at a time, until I eventually found the whole cork board beside my bed one day.
So here’s the before, an empty cork board because he kept taking everything down. Truthfully, I rehung the cork board to take this picture. Like I said, he really didn’t like it!
And here’s the after! I call it an adventure wall!
Let’s look through the pieces so you can see my thought process and how I used objects I already had as much as possible.
Ship’s Wheel Mirror
This was a delightful snag off the wall of my grandma’s house when I was helping clean out her home. On my last walk through the house, I happened to notice the mirror and immediately thought of Jackson’s room.
My original plan was to paint the wood frame, but Dan liked the wood, and really, it plays nicely with the dresser on the adjacent wall. So wood it is for now!
Ceramic Animal Hooks
These are the only pieces I actually purchased. Truthfully, I wanted a place for him to hang his backpack so it isn’t forever getting squished in the bottom of this closet. But I think another great use will be hanging dress-up clothes (Yes, boys play dress up too, just firefighters and policemen instead of princesses!) while they parade in front of the mirror.
“Adventure Awaits” Wood Sign
This phrase kept running through my mind as I put this collage together (Really, it’s the foundation for all my plans for this room!). I want my boys to have adventures daily, to let their imaginations run wild as much as possible. They are only young once, and I want them to play, pretend, and imagine all day every day.
Dan made the sign for me out of scrap wood and a router. I used Photoshop to make the template then he followed the outline with his router to carve the mountains and words. The letters are filled in with craft paint then the whole thing is covered in clear wax to seal it. Isn’t it awesome?! (We roughly followed this method.)
Arrows
The arrows I hung on the wall were handmade by my grandpa a long, long time ago. Aren’t they incredible (even the box is handmade by him!)?? I found them in the depths of the garage attic at my grandparent’s house, and no one wanted them. SOLD! I dipped the arrowheads in wax to coat the sharp edges, and I hung them way out of reach using a couple of cup hooks. (I may cut the heads off down the road if I think they are a danger. For now, I’m leaving them as is.)
As you can see, I have quite a few of these arrows left, and I’m pondering how to use them. I just can’t get over that my grandpa made them. They are so intricate!
And now for a little side-by-side…so blah and boring before. Now this little space is filled with function and fun things!
No, the walls didn’t get painted. I’m still learning how to take the yellow tint from the overhead light out in post processing. The picture on the right is closest to the true grey color on the walls, although still a little yellowish at the top of the picture.
A boy’s room adventure wall, just what a growing boy needs in his room! Ha! I exaggerate, but I love incorporating things that are fun to play with and serve a purpose into the design of a room. These items encourage pretend play which is exactly what I want my boys doing. It is so good for their brains, development, problem solving, learning to work together, etc. There’s so much good that comes from play!
What do you think? Have you incorporated any decor into your kid’s rooms to encourage pretend play or using their imagination?
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