Scheming: Boys’ Bedroom in Florida

What do you think of unfinished/unpainted furniture? I’ve pretty much always hated it. But when we were faced with furnishing the condo in Florida on a tight budget, I found myself buying several pieces from Ikea’s Tarva line. Namely, a pair of twin Tarva bed frames and Tarva chests to put beside each.

In my defense, my plan was (and still is) to do the condo in glossy whites and light woods. (White + wood inspiration photos here and white + wood shopping guide here.)  So far so good. I’ve been able to stick to the white and wood scheme in terms of furnishings.

I had planned on having a contractor put in a plywood floor (plywood wall and floor inspiration here), but after several false starts, a neighbor referred me to Steve Gee at Tiffany’s Flooring, who (re)sold me on a cork floor instead. The new cork floor is amazing. Sneak peek coming Tuesday. Today, I’m trying to decide what to do in the boys’ room. So, back to the unfinished wood beds and chests. The bed frames are staying as is, that is, unfinished.

I am playing around with the idea of painting part of the little chests that are beside each bed as night stands. I don’t want to paint the drawer fronts—that seems really dated (or too DIY “see what you can do with a coat of paint”). But what about painting the top and sides? Or just the legs (or are we done with dipped)?

I realize this scheme looks a bit too plucked right from the Ikea catalog, but I’ll remedy that. I have promised them a rug, but that’s a whole other post.

B O Y S  B E D R O O M  i n F L O R I D A 

kids-room-florida-condo

Ikea furniture, cork flooring, and Etsy artwork in the boys’ room.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE CHESTS?
Leave both chests unfinished?
Paint one white, leave the other?
Paint the tops of the chests white? 
Paint the tops & sides white?
Dip the legs in white paint ? 

Inspiration rooms with unfinished elements.

house-boat-airbnb

Dutch houseboat on Airbnb

Girls Room With Unfinished Wood Furnishings

Children’s furniture by Bedzrus

Fine Print: Susanna Salk’s Room For Children

Connecticut-based interior designer and writer Susanna Salk has curated an entire book of spectacular children’s spaces, from nurseries to bedrooms to playrooms, in Room for Children: Stylish Spaces for Sleep and Play (Rizzoli, April 2010).

Sure beats the oversize floral wallpaper (on the ceiling!) with gingham border and green shag carpet of my childhood lair. Though actually, that’s sounding kinda groovy now.

Here are some of my favorite shots from the book.

Architecture: Platt Byard Dovel White Architects  |   Design: Tracy Boss
Photo: © Jonathan Wallen

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Design: Kim Zimmerman  | Photo: © Pieter Estersohn

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Design: Laurence Kriegel  | Photo: © Pieter Estersohn

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Design: Sally Markham  | Photo: © Pieter Estersohn

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Photo: © Tria Giovan

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Design: Alex Papachristidis  | Photo: © John Gruen


All photographs from ROOM FOR CHILDREN by Susanna
Salk, Rizzoli, 2010

For more images from the book, see Susanna Salk’s Room for Children You Tube video.