The room we chose for the kids was the previous owner’s home office. Here’s the before:
and here’s the after:
The color scheme was mostly decided on by Oliver. He wanted a blue room, so I picked out a couple swatches and he chose the shade he wanted. He also picked out the bed sheets.
I got the wall stickers in the US from Land of Nod and brought them back with me. The clock is the Koziol PI:P Wanduhr, which is available in a variety of colors.
I got the idea for a chalkboard wall from a magazine. I wanted it to be magnetic as well, so I ordered magnet paint (1xMagnetFarbe Magpaint 2500 ml Dose
The poof is by RICE (a Danish design company that has lots of fun stuff for kids) and I got it at Takatomo.de. RICE also makes great, colorful, unbreakable, melamine dishware that we have for the kids, that is still nice enough that I would give it to adults too.
This wooden toy is a Kugelbahn
When using color, I find it helps to repeat colors throughout the room, like the green in the lamp, bedsheet and leaves. I also repeated the black from the chalkboard wall with the black clock.
This ride on toy is a Wheely Bug, made by an Australian company and available in Bee, Cow, Mouse, Ladybug and more
I’m quite happy with how the kids’ room turned out. Are you working on any renovation projects?
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
That is a most impressive transformation! I have to say that I really like the magnetic chalkboard idea and should I ever have kids, I would do that in a split second!
LOVE it! The kiddos and I have been planning their rooms (for when we head back to the States) – I’ll have to show my middle one the chalk/magnet board – she will go crazy for it; me – I’m a fan of the L.o.N. stickers – aren’t they the best? Great job!!
(btw – where did you get the little fabric stool? So cute and funky!)
@Adam: Why wait for kids? I find that adults have just as much fun drawing on it as the kids do!
@Ann: Thanks! The poof is by RICE (a Danish design company that has lots of fun stuff for kids) and I got it at Takatomo.de.
What a fun room! Clearly it’s a big hit; nice work!
So I have to ask about your walls. Is there tapete under that blue paint? I’m curious as to how other American expats here in Germany deal with the walls, especially in non-rental situations. We’re in a rental, so we decided to just roll with the ugly raufaser tapete that we inherited as opposed to ripping it all down, but it’s a tick off factor for me.
WOW clearly you missed your TRUE calling …..interior design that room is FAB!!! love the stickers on the walls….
I was about to ask the same question! I loathe this textured wallpaper, but I loathe equally the idea of taking it all off. But we did that in the bathroom (ewww…wallpaper+bathroom steam=yuk) and just painted directly on the plaster. From what I understand, as long as the plaster is in good shape, you can paint over it without wallpaper. It’s been a year or so, and the paint is fine. That is also our intention for the rest of the house as we slowly work on renovating. But it is a huge PIA to remove.
The kid’s room looks great! And I just love the magnetic chalkboard wall. For once, a great use of the wall-liner…very practical! Our daughter’s room is so small, her chalkboard-easel takes up valuable floor space. This would be an awesome alternative!
@Juliette and Kelly: Thanks. Luckily there was no wallpaper up in our house when we bought it. It’s all plaster walls, there’s no problem painting it, you just need to put primer on if it hasn’t been painted before. In our previous rentals we just lived with the Raufaser. It is a serious PIA to remove
@lexdiamonz: Thanks! I was really a bit scared starting out, but once I got going, I found I love decorating.
I love the room, especially the trees, quite fancy it for myself!
It is funny you mention the wallpaper as yesterday we painted our study and I made the comment about whoever invented woodchip wallpaper should be punched, Uwe disagreed and said it was good as you could just paint over it and was in disbelief when I suggested that you can also just paint over walls, even after reminding him of my house in England. It was hard enough to convince him to paint the walls in a colour, so I dropped the subject lol.
Absolutely fantastic! You & hubby are really talented. I am still struggling to figure out how to make my apartment more homey – it always seems so daunting. Any tips for how to tackle it?
Love it! Where did you get the ottoman? Love that too! Thanks for sharing!
@Morgenmuffel: I have the same problem with Rainer. He actually likes Raufasertapete and wanted to put it up!
@Michelle: I found the book Thom Filicia Style: Inspired Ideas for Creating Rooms You’ll Love, incredibly helpful for learning how to put a room together. I like using color (I think white only works if your house is minimalist and I think very few people live that way). I also try to use materials that will improve with age and not be ruined if slightly abused (I do have two little boys).
@tamara: I’m getting inundated with comments and emails asking where I got stuff, so I added the sources up in the post.
What a wonderful job! I would play in that room in a heartbeat! Karlheinz and I have been working on renovating an old pigeon house into a studio for me. Major ‘labor of love’ on his part!! Oh, and I also can recommend painting over wallpaper. Even the textured kinds turn out great. I will never get a facelift but I sure love giving them to rooms!
great room! do the boys ever want to leave it?
i also enjoy the bed…not only excellent storage, but no need to sweep underneath! sweet tip about the liner paper.
Wow! That is amazing! I would of never of thought of the chalkboard idea! Great Job!
LOVE the chalkboard idea. Thanks for posting on how to do it. I am really considering it…my kids would really like that.
I also love that you ordered from all over the world. =) It is so fun being an expat. Changed my whole worldview.
What a cute room! I love the clock. Your son did a great job picking the colors, and the blackboard is genius!
I saw the room and I said..”oh my gosh”! how cool! My grandkids would love a room like that!! Great job!
I love your trees! They really make the room come together. When we eventually settle (either here in Berlin, or in the UK) I want to be more adventurous with the decor and do something like that with the walls.
P.S. I adore the pouffe and the blackboard. Makes me want to revive my kids rooms right now!
WOW. Cool transformation. You appear to be as good a designer as you are a baker and cook! I had a professional cake today and thought — you’ve made better!
I was on the hunt for chalkboard paint in Germany and happened to click on your link and, oh boy, am I so glad I did. What an amazing resource you are for Americans adjusting to the life and culture of Germany. Thank you for this post which helped me find chalkboard paint, and for all the many others that I have spent the last hour reading through. The layout is great and so easy to read and the information you provide is beyond helpful. Thank you!
WOW, that’s brilliant! Really puts my son’s room to shame! His is so rubbish really! Very impressed. Must add, do Milo’s room up to my ‘to do list’ for 2012!
Thanks, it took a lot of work, I still have no idea how I managed it, but it was worth it.
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