Bhavna
Once my twin boys turned 3 years old, my husband and I decided to finally transition them from their cribs to beds. They were climbing out quite a bit and were just outgrowing their cribs.
It was time.
We thought while we are making this transition we might as well go ahead and give their room a little makeover. Now that they are a little older and actually have an opinion about things and preferences, it was fun to get them involved and let them choose certain things (or at least give us approval on our choices haha).
I really wanted their room to have a cabin/modern farmhouse feel without that theme being thrown all across their room, if that makes sense? The boys also love cars and so I wanted their room to reflect that. Check out my YouTube video to see the whole process of the transformation and subscribe to my channel for tons of homemaking content.
Okay, so first we started with paint. We started off with blue walls and went with a very subtle grey color. I wanted to have a blue buffalo check accent wall in their room as well. First, we looked at wallpaper but that was looking to turn into a $600 plus project which I just didn’t want to spend. Then we tried a stencil from Amazon but that didn’t work out too well for us. Finally, my husband decided to just tape the whole wall and create a buffalo check pattern himself. It did take quite some time and patience but the final product was beautiful and it really ties the room together so well.
In terms of furniture, we decided to keep what we already had minus the cribs, of course. I think one day if I really have some extra time on my hands, I would love to give their chest and dresser a fresh coat of paint but for now they do their jobs!
We ended up buying 2 twin beds from Ashley Furniture. I love these beds because the headboards really give that modern farmhouse/cabin feel and they have a built-in lamp as well that the boys leave on when they have “quiet time” midday. I ended up finding the night table from Wayfair and love how it does with the beds!
We decided to not get a box spring at this point and instead just bought some Bunkie boards from Amazon and new mattresses. We also got them some new pillows and bedding. They were so excited for this! Finally we added some new curtains and this room was good to go!
Ok, so you’re probably wondering, “Ok Ashna. You re-decorated your kids ‘room. But do the boys ACTUALLY sleep in their beds and how was the transition?”
My answer to that is YES and EASY. They did so well from day 1 of having their beds. They not only stay in their room, but they stay in their bed and are able to put themselves to sleep after talking to each other about their days 😊
So what tips do I have for you? Here are 5 that made this transition so easy for us.
MAKE A BIG DEAL
Months before we even started making over their room, I would ask my boys if they were excited for their new room and their big boy beds. I would say it with extra spunk and excitement so that they saw it was a very exciting and positive change. I brought it up pretty much every single day and then by the time we were ready to start making changes, they knew what was happening and they were SO ready!
LET THEM CHOOSE
The first question I asked them was “What color do you want your room to be?” One kid said orange and the other said purple.
Ok, so to be honest, I wanted their room to be a light grey so that decision was already made BUT we did a few different grey swatches on their wall and they chose from those 3 different tones which made them feel like they got to choose their room color. I also got onto Amazon and pulled up bedding and sheets and let them choose that as well. This made them feel like it was their room and they had control which again, gave them more excitement about the upcoming change.
KEEP THE BEDS LOW
This was not only for my own peace of mind but the boys also like being able to get on and off their beds easily. They do quiet time in their room like I mentioned and so it’s nice for them to be able to play freely without getting hurt or needing help to get on and off the bed.
LESS STUFF
I have always liked for my kids room to be somewhat decluttered. If you know me you know I like all the spaces in my home to be decluttered. A kids room can be a little tricky to keep decluttered just because of all the things they accumulate but it can definitely be done. I like to keep décor in their room at a minimum as well. The idea of it sounds nice but really they don’t need much and I feel like the more stuff is in their room, the more distracting it can be and more tempting to “play” and not sleep.
GO ALL IN
We didn’t take the railing off their crib first to get them used to the idea of getting in and out of their bed. We thought about it but then I really felt like they would adjust really well with just going all in with beds and they did! Kids will surprise you with how well they can adjust!
If you have any questions on their room or the transition or anything kid related for that matter, head over to my YouTube channel and feel free to ask me in the comments of my latest video 🙂
