Decorating a Boy's Room with an Auto and Airplane Theme
by Rachel Paxton

Description: Tips for decorating a boy's bedroom with an old-fashioned auto and airplane theme.

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Choosing a decorating theme for your boy's bedroom isn't always easy. Your child can make it easy on you, however, if he has developed definite interests at a young age.

My twin toddler boys love cars, trucks, boats, trains, motorcycles, anything with an engine in it. For months I debated how to update their nursery decor to a more "big boy" theme. We were willing to spend a little money to do it, so I wanted to make sure we changed to a theme they could grow up with, at least for several more years.

The first thing we chose for their new bedroom was a paint-by-number wall mural from Wallnutz.com. You can choose from a large selection of murals for boys or girls. We chose their "transportation" mural. We painted this mural on two walls of our boys' room. There is a road that runs along the wall that has two cars and a semi driving on the road. There is a large biplane in the sky. There are also big white clouds in a blue sky. Our boys love it. My husband traced and painted it in a weekend. You trace the mural on with carbon paper that is supplied with the outline, then paint the mural like you would a paint-by-number kit (paint is not included in the kit, you can buy it at any craft store). It's really easy and looks great.

Next we purchased our boys a play mat that has a play town on it, complete with roads for their cars. We found this play mat at Lowe's. The colors matched the colors in the mural really well.

For toy storage, we purchased a shelf and bin system from Target. They have one in primary colors for boys and pastel colors for girls. These bins work great for small toys and the colors were also perfect. Watch your sales flyers, they often put these on sale for almost half price.

Also at Target I found some great pictures to hang on the walls. They are made of wood, approximately 12-inch square. The pictures are painted on the wood. They are pictures of an (a)irplane, (b)oat, (c)ar, and (d)umptruck. One of my boys flipped when he saw the dumptruck. It's his favorite! The pictures have a light blue background that fit into the room perfectly. They are slightly worn and old-fashioned looking, which is what theme we were leaning towards.

To complete the old-fashioned theme, we found some replicas of antique biplanes to hang from their ceiling. They match both the wall mural and the wooden pictures perfectly. One boy picked a red one, the other one is yellow. They're great! I have seen these planes at several stores that sell collectible items.

Finally, I found some long, tabbed navy blue curtains and a black metal curtain rod (Target) that tied the whole room together. The boys' room now looks perfect, a boy's auto and airplane paradise!

Here is a breakdown of the room's costs:

Transportation mural and paint - $75
Play mat - $20
Curtains and rod - $50
Pictures - $60
Airplanes - $85
Toy organizer - $60

Total: $350

You might notice I didn't mention bedding...our boys are still in cribs so I am waiting until they move to toddler beds to buy new bedding. I did notice at Target, however, that they had some really cute toddler bedding with old-fashioned looking cars and trucks on it.

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What's for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For more recipes, gardening, organizing tips, home decorating, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com.

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