Elephant Bedroom – Themed Bedroom for Tweens
When we moved, Bug went from a comfortable-sized bedroom room to a much smaller one. LadyBug got the bigger room with her own bathroom. Not entirely fair. To help with the transition, and to try to retain some floor space, we told Bug that he could have a loft bed and that we’d decorate in the theme of his choice. He wanted elephants and his favorite color is red. I nixed doing the walls all in red, but compromised with a red elephant wall mural. The Red Elephant Bedroom was born! This is a fun theme for a tween boy or girl. You can play up the decorative elements, cuteness, or adventure, depending on their personality.
I think these paper mâché elephants from World Market are so sweet. I could have bought a bunch more, but I think I’m going to make a strand of origami elephants to hang between them.
I also got a mobile of the same elephants. The strands have dainty little jingle bells, while the mobile has a more traditional bell.
Here’s a better shot of the elephant. You can’t tell because of the grass, but he is actually walking. I drew this guy by hand. It’s a miracle that it looks like an elephant at all! The grass is actually roof thatch. It’s not really designed for this purpose. We had to cut it down a bit and it didn’t want to stand up without a lot of coaxing…
I also made some red valances out of foam insulation board and burlap. They help pull the room together and the burlap ties into the rustic vibe. I left the bottom of the fabric loose and dangling to help with that effect. The loft bed is from Wayfair. It’s fairly inexpensive and I think the quality is good for the price, but it’s not the most amazing piece of furniture out there. In the end, Bug is actually too tall for it with our ceiling height (we bought a thicker mattress than I accounted for). Best laid plans…
We created a little reading corning with a leaf from IKEA and a bean bag chair. At some point, we’ll add a light and maybe a little shelf. Those IKEA leaves are cool, but they are really big. We bought two, but couldn’t fit them both in the room.
The room originally had a ceiling fan, but with the loft bed it wasn’t practical. I found this cool corrugated tin drum ceiling light at A Shade of Light. I love the look, but it doesn’t light the room very well. Definitely form over function on this one. The sun is repurposed from Bug’s old room, which had a beach/sailing theme.
And the room wouldn’t be complete without an elephant hook. He uses it to hang his towel. Sometimes.
The wall of elephants! I styled the bookcase, but it will never look this way again. All of the bins will move to the closet and books and games will more than fill the shelves. The gray and white elephant bin was from Marshall’s.
While I’m very happy with the elephant on the wall, this is my pride and joy. I painted the sunset background on a canvas, traced on the design from a photograph, and painted it in. The frame was $6 at Walmart. This is one of Bug’s favorite things, too.
Another find from World Market. These are technically Asian elephants and the room is meant to be African, but whatever. They match.
I took the kids to Pier One a few weeks ago and Bug laughed out loud when he saw this meditating elephant. I couldn’t help but sneak back and buy it for the room. They don’t seem to carry him anymore, but they do have a bunch of other great elephant statues. They also have a Yoga Dog, if that’s more your style.
Here’s a view of the side wall. I made the “E” out of a thin canvas and a metal stencil from Michaels Craft Store.
Elephants on display!
So how cute is this little guy? I haven’t given him eyes yet, but I felted him from wool roving. The red elephant is an origami fold.
These are the elephants Bug picked out when we were at Pier One.
And the reveal… It’s a bit blurry, but you can still see how excited he was.
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This is amazing, and then then next thing was amazing, and the next. I thought the wall stencil and thatch were the thing — but you made a valance, and painted, and folded, and framed, and found objects….It’s a fantastic room!! And I love the painting you did. How did you trace from a photo? I now feel entirely lame about my kids’ room, which has NO decor or theme to speak of!! Congratulations on a most excellent room!
Thanks, Julia. The elephant on the wall wasn’t a stencil. I drew that sucker by hand. Don’t ask how. I couldn’t tell you. As for the the tracing. I took an image, turned it to black and white and ran it through some filters to simplify the lines. Then I used good old fashioned carbon paper to trace the image onto the painted background. Labor of love.
The details are lovely.
Thanks! It was fun to do.