Souped Up Bookcase

  
My son will be four in August, and we've begun the delicate process of transitioning his toddler room to a "big boy" room. Delicate, because my son sees it simply as an effort to move him from the family bed we'd never intended to have (palms in the air, "but Mom, who will hug me if I sleep alone?!!"). So, a slow and subtle transition it will be.

I don't want to buy all new furniture, but I admit there's a lot of white, so I thought I'd see what I could revamp. A couple of weeks ago, a friend sent me a box of Chartpak charting and graphic art tape that had been rescued from a university bookstore dumpster. I have red, white, blue, yellow, and a little green, in multiple widths. Since my son has declared red as his favorite color, it seemed like a good tape to work with. I used two packs of 1/8-inch tape to outline his bookcase. According to the price tags, I would have spent approximately $8 for this little transformation.  

What do you think? Did I succeed in making this bookcase less babyish? (I think I'll also cover the knobs with a patterned paper or paint them.) The jury's still out with my son. He kind of shrugged at me, not willing to give an inch...yet. All he can think about is the BIG BOY BED.  Poor kid.

BEFORE:

 

 AFTER:

 
  

Comments

[Suzonne]

Hi Gina,

The slate hanging on my son's wall is by a local shoeshine man/artist, Big Al Taplet. We purchased several pieces from him a number of years ago, pre-Katrina. Since then, I have learned that he evacuated to Houston after the storm. I don't know if he's even alive anymore, but I sure do miss seeing him every time I pass by Jackson Square.

Here are a couple of links for you:

http://www.chron.com/entertainment/article/NOLA-folk-artist-Big-Al-starts-over-here-1517746.php

http://jasonhurst.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/big-al-taplet/

[Gina]

Just wondering about the plaque above the bookcase- is there a story behind this?

[Elizabeth]

Oh my gosh, I love this idea... thanks for sharing!

[Whitney @ Whisker Graphics]

Tres hip and delightful! And I love that it can be easily transformed in the future if needed. Well done!