Nautical Boys Room

So sometimes, you have a friend that really gets you....One that is just as much of a decor-ahloic as yourself, and loves to change it up (all the time). My good friend Laura is just that kindred spirit. I have painted...and repainted lots of things in her house. When the wind blows, we plot new projects to do in her house. 

This beautiful nautical bedroom she created for her youngest (of 4 kids) boy. She knew she wanted a beachy, nautical theme. 

We worked with the color already on the wall, and just added the mural to the top. Since her son isn't quite 3, she didn't want to do something to babyish, but we didn't want to do something that would have to change in a few years (though with our track record we may anyways).
The map was just painted as an outline. I split it into two parts, and made it big enough to fill the wall space. 

The room is tall at about 12', so I didn't want to loose the proportion, by dropping the scale. 

The smaller a mural is, the more wall space you need to fill with other things like art, decor, etc. 

The compass was added for several reasons. The family likes to go boating, so it really pulls the map into a nautical feel rather than a study/office feel. It also allows you to bring in more color from throughout the rest of the room. Filling the map pieces with color, would have been to heavy painted at this scale. But enlarging the compass, and adding colors from the bedding, makes it feel like it's own piece of art.

Years ago when the room was turned into a nursery, the ceiling was enhanced with this bead board treatment. I love the mix of the modern style in the room, with the washed out, look of the ceiling. A raw pine bead board was put up, and I just gave it a wash with a glaze. This gives the area color, without completely masking the surface, like paint would. 

The color I used was a sort of, sea foam green-blue color. I did custom mix the color, but if you were opting for straight paint, you could use Topiary Tint or Reclining Green, by Sherwin Williams.

You can see how the knots show through the glaze here. This gives it that aged feeling, while straight paint will be a fresh and modern look.

This fun piece of art was a custom painting I made for the room. She had found the quote, and we knew we had to use it some where in the room. Since the mural was sort of an all over treatment, I put this on a canvas, instead of directly on the wall. I used two of the colors from the room, which helped carry them all the way around. The octopus was added just because it looks cool!!

A bench in a child's room, can be a useful piece of furniture. It isn't heavy so it wont weigh down the room, and can be staged simply with baskets or lanterns like here in this room. It would be a great spot to lay out a child's clothes for the morning...or you can even use it as a time out seat. 

I went with a sketchy version of the octopus to give it some playfulness, you don't want to be to realistic in a room like this.

The pillows and bedding were kept very simple, and added just the right amount of color. 

A fun nautical flag pillow brings it all together.

The pillow and curtains were custom made.

 Check out this similar pillow, by Home By The Seashore, made with the same fabric.

Down Filled Nautical Code Flag Pillow

For the curtains, she chose a boyish, soft Ikat fabric. It brings in a deeper blue than in the rest of the room, and adds a much needed dose of pattern. A white curtian would have been to light for the scale of the windows, and against the tan of the walls it wouldn't have looked heavy enough.  

Find this beautiful fabric by the yard on Etsy, from Texas Susannie.

Premier Prints Navy Sofie Slub Fabirc

Since the door opens on this wall, I didn't carry the mural all the way to the edge of the wall, since you would lose about 3 feet of it.

The nightstands were a simple find by the home owner, she painted the two unfinished pieces in a navy chalk paint. See.... she is a girl after my own DIY heart!!!
The large rope lamps help set the stage for the feel of this whole room. It brings in a playful touch, and marks it as a nautical theme. 

Find a similar version of the lamp, at Wayfair.

Rope Pier Table Lamp

I absolutely love how this room came out..she did such a great job putting it all together, I just gave it a few finishing touches!! Keeping it simple on a room like this is so important, with the height of the ceiling, and the pattern of the curtains, it needs to be balanced out in each part of the room.  Amazing ceiling details, door trims, and a gorgeous ceiling fan of course help as well. 

Want more Nautical inspiration????

Check out these nautical boat, and buoy pillows...it makes you want to decorate a whole room around them, so adorable!!

Swedish Yacht Pillow, and Life Buoy Pillow. By Private Dock.

Not an artist? Try adding a series of prints to fill up wall space. 

1920's Sail Boat Print, by Scarlet Blvd.

This coat rack would be perfect, mounted low enough for a child to hang up their own jackets. You can even customize your colors. By Riri Creations, on Etsy.

Boat Cleat Coat Rack

This hoop art by Buligaia on Etsy, would be a cute addition to any beach or nautical themed room. 

Anchor Hoop Art

If your not ready to draw the world on your wall just yet, try using wallpaper paste, and covering a wall in antique maps. These are from Hippie By The Sea on Etsy.

Large Vintage Nautical Map