Nautical boat bedroom on a budget recycling and upcyling

It is possible to create a gorgeous nautical boys boat bedroom without breaking the bank with some savvy shopping recycling and upcycling.

I have always loved the timeless charm of the nautical theme especially for a Little boys bedroom as it can easily be added to and updated and be made more grown up over time.

So when the time finally came to say bye bye to the nursery in favour of a toddler friendly boys room i set to work to create a nautical boat bedroom on a tight budget.

The key things to consider for a child's bedroom are storage and lots of it !! A wipe able floor that leaves enough space for play. A blackout blind for those summer nights where it still looks like day time at 9 o'clock at night.  I know summer nights seem along time ago at the moment but you will thank me when your enjoying a glass of wine instead of arguing with a child that it really is night time.

The first thing we did was remove a very useless built in cupboard that was large but did not really provide accessible storage. We also removed the green carpet that we inherited from the previous owners. Carpets are not a great choice for a child's bedroom as any spills or toddler explosions!! cant be wiped up and don't get me started on the smell that forever stays in a carpet long after a tot has mastered the potty. Last but not least carpets  don't really provide a great surface for toy cars etc.

                                                  

The new alcove that was created by losing the built in cupboard increased the rooms floor space and gave us a handy alcove space for a wardrobe and drawers.

I mentioned we were working to a tight budget so the flooring we decided on was a vinyl that had the appearance of driftwood. Vinyl for a child's bedroom is perfect as its wipe able and has the advantage over laminate that it is cheaper and also quieter underfoot which is good when kids are running around and also if you need to creep in when they are sleeping.

The next challenge was to find some inexpensive furniture and accessories etc i generally have expensive taste i therefore find i get better brands and more for my money if i search second hand or upcycle or recycle items i already have.

Children grow out of thing so quick that you can pick up little used pieces of furniture on eBay and as usually the item is restricted to pick up only therefore your only bidding against a few people in your local area. Other useful resources for buying are net mums nearly new and gumtree where you can look in your area for bargains.

So with a few selective searches on eBay, net mums and gumtree i managed to pick up a John Lewis gorgeous blue and white wardrobe bed and drawers set, white company bedding and a Laura Ashley blind and rug. I then re purposed a white unit from another room into a toy box/ reading seat by making  a seat pad out of a pillow and making some cushions out of fabric remnants. I used the blind as reference for colour when choosing paint for the wall and used a diy stores own brand paint which i found cheaper and just as good as the expensive big brands.

Finally the finishing touches, i really wanted to turn the bed into a boat with a sail so i scoured the charity shops and picked up two shower curtains which were the perfect fabric for a sail. I used the eyelets on the shower curtains as nautical detail down the middle and the natural slope of the ceiling to get the sail shape. I then used curtain tape to add more detail and sewed it in place to cover the raw edges of the shower curtain. I finished off by adding a boat style number plate with my little boys initials and date of birth using gingham fabric remnants. Using more fabric remnants and curtain tape from my sewing box i made bunting to hang across the bedroom beam. I then just finished off with further finds from charity shops such as metal buckets, little boats etc to add the finishing touches. Boat pictures using fabric remnants to tie the room together and finish off.

Im really pleased the room was created on a budget as the result is a balance of the old and new and items that you cant buy in the shops.

Thought of the day........................  Upcycling is very uplifting