**This is a collaborative post

OK, so I’ve been meaning to write this post for a long time – we decorated the boys’ bedroom in a night and day theme as soon as we got the keys and before we even moved into our house…and that was two years ago! Up until recently Toby has been in a single bed and Gabe still in his cot, but a few weeks ago we got them bunk beds and the room has had a bit of an update so I decided it was about time I got round to writing about it.

In our old house Toby’s room was kind of a mint green colour, with a striped carpet. He had an IKEA wardrobe and chest of drawers, his bed and a chair, and that was about it. On the wall we had a solar system decal and a rocket rug on the floor. Even though we didn’t move until Gabe was one, he was still sleeping (or not sleeping as was often the case) in our room.

When we moved we knew it was going to be a massive change for Toby so we wanted to try and keep a few things more familiar, so when we were deciding what to do with the boys’ room we decided to stick with a space theme for Toby.

It didn’t seem fair though that Gabe should have to have the same as Toby by default (although he was only one so he probably didn’t care really) so we came up with the idea of having a ‘night and day’ room. Two walls would be dark blue with the solar system, stars, and rocket decals, and the other side would be pale blue with hot air balloons, planes and clouds.

The only thing we didn’t change in Toby and Gabe’s Night and Day themed bedroom when we decorated it was the carpet. We decorated the room in the week when we had the keys to our new house but before we moved in so we didn’t really have time. The pink carpet doesn’t really go but it will have to do for the moment. When we do replace it I think we might go for laminate flooring – it’s so much easier to clean up spills and mess than with a carpet!

Toby moved from a cot straight into a full size single bed and we were lucky that it just fit in this gap. I can’t actually remember where the little storage box came from, possibly Argos – it’s very handy as a bedside table and for keeping spare blankets and things in.

Gabe’s cot was in the opposite corner to Toby’s bed. The light you can see in this picture was from IKEA but unfortunately it developed a fault and it was discontinued so they couldn’t replace it, so now there’s just a standard light fitting with a shade. The cot is the East Coast Anna – we got it before Toby was born but you can still buy it here – it was pretty cheap but it’s lasted through five years and two kids without any trouble.

The solar system wall stickers are these ones, and I also bought some extra rockets too (although I can’t remember where from). The shelves above Toby’s bed and the one above Gabe’s cot are IKEA Mosslanda picture ledges.

The prints were all from Etsy – I got digital downloads and then used a photo printing service to get them printed. The frames are just cheap ones from Dunelm. And the hot air balloon and plane stickers are these ones.

The metal T and G letters were from an Etsy seller called Knobs & Knockers (where I also got our pendant lights for the kitchen). And the little star and cloud night lights were from This Modern Life. I don’t think they stock them anymore but they are from a brand called A Lovely Little Company and you can get them elsewhere. Just a warning though – they look cute but they go through batteries like nobody’s business so we don’t actually use them!

So that was before… about a month ago we finally got the boys the bunk beds that they had been asking for for ages.

After looking at loads of different bunk beds we eventually decided to go for practicality over style. The bunks we finally bought were these Ranch 3ft solid pine low bunk beds from Strictly Beds & Bunks. These bunks are really sturdy and they can be split into two single beds when Toby and Gabe eventually decide they don’t want the bunks any more.

Toby is on the top bunk, and despite my initial concerns there have been no problems at all. He is very happy up there and he manages to get up and down fine (even in the middle of the night, although thankfully that doesn’t happen too often).

Toby’s dinosaur bedding (from Dunelm) doesn’t really fit with the theme of the room but he is dino mad so we just had to go with it! The purple and green toy you can see hear is a ‘Worry Monster‘ that I got Toby for his birthday. He is quite an anxious child and the theory with the worry monster is that he can write or draw his worries and then the worry monster will eat them and take them away. It’s been semi-successful – Toby is also very literal and just says ‘but it’s not real though’ and so the magic aspect doesn’t really work on him!

Gabe is using Toby’s old space bedding, also from Dunelm, and also the Lindam Easy Fit bed guard that Toby used too. I did try leaving it down one night last week but he ended up half out of the bed by 11 pm so we’re sticking with it up for now.

Now we’ve moved the bunk beds over to where Gabe’s cot used to be we’ve made a little reading area when Toby’s bed was. I’ve actually used Gabe’s old cot mattress with a fleece blanket over it for the seat cushion. I want to get some more cushions to make it really cosy. The two sling book cases are from Aldi – we bought one last year, and then another one this year when they brought them back. The rocket rug you can just see is this one from Amazon.

The last new addition to Toby and Gabe’s room is this fab star map print that we were kindly gifted by Modern Map Art. I love the idea of this print – it shows the night sky above Dunfermline where we used to live, on the night that Toby was born. You can choose a print of the night sky from anywhere in the world on any date so it makes a perfect gift for a birthday or wedding anniversary. Toby’s has his name and the date  and place he was born on it but you can have any text you want.  Modern Map Art ship from the US but our print arrived quickly and with no issues.

Oh, and if you were wondering – all the boys clothes are in a large IKEA wardrobe in our bedroom which is next to theirs. It seemed easier than trying to fit more storage in their room.

I hope you like the boys room, they definitely do which is the most important part. Eventually we’re planning on extending into the roof space upstairs (we live in a strange three storey upside down house that you can see in this house tour if you’re interested) and we will all move and sleep upstairs. This room will probably become a play room/ snug with our home office in the room next door. We need to do a lot of saving before that’s going to happen though!

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