A Trip To Vermont & A Teen Room Plan

Last week was school vacation for my kiddos and so we packed up and headed to the northernmost part of Vermont, right on the Canadian border, to ski at Jay Peak along with some friends.
I brought my laptop with full intentions of cozying up next to a roaring fire and writing a few blog posts, and also putting some time into my little Shine Design business. It turns out we were blessed with spotty wi-fi all week. So instead of blogging….I skied. And laughed at my crazy kids and their antics. And snuggled by the fire with my husband. And drank wine. And ate lots of yummy desserts with Vermont maple syrup. And didn’t cook a single dinner or do a load of laundry!! Ahhhhhhh. It was heavenly to be away for a while!

I did, however, start scheming about my 16 year old son’s room. When we moved here 4.5 years ago I gave his room a quick paint job with good intentions of coming back someday to pull it all together.
Where the time went, I’m not entirely sure, but seeing as he is more than halfway through his sophomore year of high school, I think it’s time I make his space a little more functional and polished.

I’ll give you a really terrible before so the end result will seems so much more dramatic!

This is back in his super messy days which he has magically grown out of. These kinds of photos are frequently snapped by me and texted to my kiddos with sweet notes like “you have a super fun weekend ahead of you” 🙂

What is staying:  the chalkboard wall. I know the whole design world is so OVER chalkboard walls but my kids aren’t, and guess what, I’m not either. I like dark bedrooms, I love the smoky soft feel the chalk gives the black wall, and it’s FUN.

What I’m thinking of adding:  board & batten to the other three walls, with a ledge for framed sports photos.

Also:  a DIY upholstered headboard. He has one currently, but it’s short and curved and it’s time for a new one.

I already have two of these babies for over the headboard.

I’m thinking this would be a fun idea for some of Peter’s team shirts from days of yore…..

A wood bureau and desk are also going to stay in their current state (unpainted) to balance out all that stark black & white.

Still up for discussion:  the inclusion of a bit of red, the window treatments, the 479 “participation” trophies, and the state of Peter’s door-less closet.

Peter is going on another ski trip with his school this weekend and I have a wild hair to surprise him with a room makeover when he gets back. That means I have from Friday morning to Sunday night to get this teen room banged out. Knowing how long I like to drag my own room makeovers out (um….the living curtains are not yet hemmed) what do you think of this plan my friends?

I’ll let you know how it goes. In the meantime don’t forget that this coming Friday is the Best of the Nest party! What’s your best from February?? Can’t wait to see!