Toddler Room Makeover - Therapeutic Miles

Back in February we decided to transition Chase from the nursery to his own big boy toddler room…which is a better way of saying his little brother evicted him from his crib. It took me awhile to formulate a plan to make his new room enticing enough that he wouldn’t miss his nursery. Like most toddler boys, Chase is a huge fan of anything that has wheels: cars, trains, trucks and planes. Transportation became the theme of the decor. I’ve included some of the before/after shots.

First thing we did was change the color of the walls and the built-in desk to give it a brighter and fresher look. We debated on getting a toddler bed for him, but ultimately chose to keep the full size bed that was originally in there. He was a month shy of 2 years old, but I was confident that he’d learn to get on and off the bed safely. Our neighbors from Italy had given us a long European toddler mattress before they moved out. Because it was a longer shape than US toddler beds, we instead used it as a step for the foot of the bed. We already had a white duvet on the guest bed, so I found the Brody duvet cover from Pottery Barn Kids that matched with the theme and color scheme as well. To keep him from tumbling out, we installed a safety rail for one side, and his toddler room set up was complete!

Instead of wallpaper, I decided on removable wall decals. The monogram “C” with his name was made by LightHouse Decals. The construction site and other transportation decals came from Amazon. I thought a transportation-themed mural would be fun for him not only look at but also a learning and discussion piece. When we’re doing diaper changes he’ll talk about the post office, and sitting in his bed he’ll talk about the front loader and excavators. I also think it’s cute that it includes British-based vehicles. Shop them here:

The built-in desk that came with the house was a real bonus in converting the room to a big boy room. It might be awhile before Chase realizes that these shelves house a lot of memorabilia. At the baby shower, a week before he was born, our friends and family gifted us with books to start his little library. My parents also saved boxes of my childhood books, which now sit on his shelves. There are gifts custom made with his name from close friends who visited when he was born and when he was christened. We also relocated his newborn pics from the nursery to his new toddler room, even though Chase thinks the baby in the photos is his brother, Carter.

The desk is perfect for when Chase grows up and has actual homework to do. However, since he’s only two, I repurposed the space on top to be a changing table and underneath the desk to be a “little man cave”. I found battery-operated string lights at Target to hang from the “cave”-ceiling. He gets a kick out of pushing the little button and lighting up his cave. Since Chase always loved my large maternity pillow when I was pregnant with his little brother, it made him that much happier to have it in his room. And of course I had to throw my Red Sox blanket from Fenway in there, just to influence his sports team preferences a little bit 😉 There are many nights that he has made my husband and me crawl into the small space to read a few stories. I may or may not have fallen asleep there one time…

One of his favorite things about the new toddler room is the airplane above his bed. He’ll often stand and reach up to spin the propeller. What makes me sad and happy at the same time is that I can tell how much he’s grown just by how easy that reach has become. With all of these finishing touches, Chase’s new toddler room is complete!