My son will be eight years old soon. His bedroom is a non-descript place that has had only a few minor changes since he came home from the hospital to set-up camp. The crib has been replaced with a full size bed and there was an addition of a homemade train table, but other than that, there has not been a lot of decorating going on. He has pretty much outgrown the train table and some of the toys. He needs a desk for doing his homework and keeping track of his stuff. The current bedding pieces are left-over pieces from the guest room. He has been asking (more like begging) to change his room, and I have to agree….it’s time to make some changes and give the room a make-over fit for an eight year old boy.
I was recently challenged to complete a “mini” bedroom makeover using some of the Walmart’s American Kids Collection products and at the same time try out the site-to-store shipping process. The goal was to spend two hundred dollars or less. I started the process by visiting the Walmart website. I used the search engine to check out the American Kids Collection. I found tons of bedding options, especially for the girls, cute drapes and some furniture too. I wish there were more accessories available, especially throw pillows and rugs. I spent about an hour cruising around the website and finally settled on the All Star Pattern bedding set and matching drapes (my son gave a thumb’s up before I hit the order button). Before completing my online order I added a few other items to the cart; including a desk lamp and desk accessories and a wall/desk shelf.
I used the free site-to-store shipping option and was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly it worked. It was really easy and I loved the fact that it was free! I received a text message each time an item(s) had been delivered to the Walmart I had selected. I waited for most of the items to come in before I headed over to pick them up. Most of the items came in within a few days. Two of the items did not make it before press time (a couple of zig zag wall shelves). For more on my experience with site-to-store check out my google+ album.
Here are a few before pictures. Is this a bedroom for a boy or a girl?? I didn’t realize how boring it was until I looked at the pictures.
I gave the room a good cleaning and de-cluttering before I added any of these new items that I purchased:
All Star Comforter (American Kids Collection) $32.88
All Star Sheet Set (American Kids Collection) $29.88
All Star Drapes – 2 (American Kids Collection) $39.76
Green Desk Lamp-Your Zone $18.97
Pistons Wall Art 22 x 28 $19.98
Rolodex Mesh Desk Organizer $10.97
Mesh Letter Desk Tray $ 4.97
Zig Zag Shelves – 2 – Your Zone $27.04
Total (with tax) $195.51
The bedding was really soft and colorful. The comforter had some basketballs appliquéd to the top which game it a nice dimensional look. In addition, the comforter was reversible
I was a little worried about the matching drapes because they were so much darker than the current drapes. However, they turned out to be one of my favorite items! They really pulled the room together. The detail at the bottom of the curtains and the khaki tabs at the top were a nice touch.
We changed the layout only slightly by moving a floor shelf down the wall a bit and adding a desk in the corner. We had purchased the desk at a thrift store last summer and finally got around to sanding and painting it. The desk really makes it look like an older boy’s room – finally! My son loved the green desk lamp. I wonder if he will like doing his homework now??
We were thrilled with how it turned out. I think one of our summer projects will be to paint the walls a nice shade of blue to go with his new bedding. I think I will even take a look at some art prints and posters to add some more life to his room. Anyway, my son’s exact words were “you did this all for me?” and then he added that he loved EVERYTHING! It was a pretty quick process and very affordable for such a nice and welcome change.
