A Boy's Montessori Inspired Bedroom

We've finally wrapped up Drew's room for now.  You'll remember I showed you what we started with a few months ago:

I had big plans: Move the crib out, get a great new (to us) dresser, highlight the awesome headboard.  It would be a lovely, subdued boy's room.

And then my son decided that jumping on his new bed was the best thing since sliced bread.  I was fine with that until he broke our engineered headboard to bed frame connection...and then enjoyed rolling the bed around the room, knocking paint off the walls...and then greeted me one day atop his dresser, saying he'd not only climbed it but also had slept on it all nap time.  This, along with him emptying his drawers *daily*, led me to completely re-think the plan.

Rather than fight his inclination to play and be a doofus, I'd embrace it.

The headboard went back into storage, the dresser moved to the living room, and the bed frame was banished to the basement.  Then the train table re-debuted along with a new storage thingamajiggie as well as some neato wall hangings.

Turns out that I'm not the only one who thinks sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do for a kid.  Disciples of the Montessori Method think so too.  While my kids are subjected to my own crazy hodgepodge parenting and educational philosophies that include just about everything but embrace nothing in general, I really liked the easily accessible, kid-friendly designs of some Montessori followers (just Google "Montessori Bedroom" for images--I'd rather not deal with copyright infringement by putting them on the blog).  Mattress on the floor, art closer to the ground, toys stored within reach, giving children the chance to interact with their surroundings rather than be inhibited by them.

Since I'm not really a Montessori expert or enthusiast, I didn't worry about being fully true to the method: there's no self-care area, for instance.  But I still think the room turned out great.

So without further ado:

Much more child friendly, right?

We kept the windows naked for the photos to show off the wood, which I think looks nice against the white trim.  Usually, cheap blinds cover up the light.

The play piano is a hilarious addition to the room.  All the kids enjoy that little instrument, but Drew really loves banging on it.  We get naptime serenades as well as morning wake-up calls.

My resident artist, Ryan, painted the V-8 symbol on the wall (aren't I lucky to have such a talented husband?  BTW, he just got into a competitive graduate program here in KS, too. Smart, good looking, and can draw!).  To add to the car corner, I installed a hubcap clock.  There's more to come there as we collect more car memorabilia.

I'm very pleased with how the room turned out.  Drew loves the freedom he enjoys in here, and I don't have to worry about him climbing tall furniture or falling out of the bed.