Otto's blue and yellow classic bedroom update

Otto's blue and yellow classic bedroom update

• 8.14.2025

I did not find decorating for a seven-year-old boy to be particularly easy or fun, but I’m excited that I finally have finished Otto's bedroom after more than a year of picking some upgraded, non-toddler, still not big boy, things! And this room features a lot of special touches, including a watercolor of us at the coast and some pieces he chose himself!

Boys room bunkbed upgrade with timeless decor

Otto's nursery and toddler room were a lot more minimal and modern than a lot of this house. Something about having a baby in 2018 when you have very little money I guess. So I was excited to start replacing some things in his room with more timeless pieces. The first thing I changed was the rug, to a jute one. Obviously replaced the crib with a bed, but then decided we needed a bunkbed for the hot days is when Lucy also sleeps in here, so found this adorable colonial inspired bunkbed in this pretty blue color.

I replaced his curtains, and got him a cute jungle print custom ottoman, both fabrics he chose! (Ottoman and striped linen blackout curtains both customizable and from The Inside and my code SUZANNAH50 gets you $50 Off orders $199.)

The curtains are great to blackout, but this room gets the hottest summer afternoon sun, so I also have blackout blinds. I replaced some cheap Amazon ones I had had before in here with these blackout bamboo (Ramie) Roman shades, very affordable and super duper blackout. I have shades from this company Neutral Curtains in several rooms; you can see them all here. (My coupon code is SUZANNAH26 and gets you 26% off.)

I got this cute curtain rod with glass ball finials (amazing price), same one as I did in my room. And here are the rings I used.

This room gives us very few layout options and even with a twin size bed, it’s tight for much else because of the windows, closet door, and vent on the other walls. So I had to get him a smaller dresser and the big IKEA one we had had for ages. I found this little pine dresser on Facebook and sanded it down and waxed it.

A follower reached out to me to share her Etsy shop and said she had a great idea for some art in here. She did this beautiful watercolor of the kids at the coast last summer and framed it in the same way with the paper edges showing. It is so special and pretty here. I don’t know about you but I have not found my kids to connect to too much art, but this they remember and love.

Finally, the bedding! Oh, this took me the longest time! And I love shopping for bedding. But I could not find cute bedding for here that was not a toddler or baby print, or something I consider ugly like (Sonic the Hedgehog on microfiber). And Otto doesn’t actually care at all what basically any of his stuff looks like, so at least he doesn’t make it any harder and I just had to find something tasteful! Finally, I found these adorable scalloped hand quilted quilts, this textured organic cotton blanket, and these cute scallop trim shams from The Company Store. We have a lot of blue and yellow in here and it’s just right for his bright personality. I also got him two new down and feather pillows. Love natural materials like this and they are so durable, fluffy, and comfy.

I spend a lot of time in this room, at probably the most stressful time of day for me, so really wanted this room to be peaceful for all of us. We snuggle up on the bottom of the bunkbed with the reading light and read Ramona books together most nights, and sometimes he plays with his Minecraft magnet blocks or gear robot set by himself in here (which is a testament to this room because otherwise, he always wants to be near me).

So happy we are done with this room, and I honestly would not mind if we talked a few coloring pages of Mario on the walls. Now that we have this classic, stable canvas!

Thanks to The Company Store for partnering with me on this room!