Virginia Beach Housewife: Another Big Boy...Another Big Boy Room

Levi will be 21 months old this week! While the number may seem relatively insignificant, it sticks out around here as a benchmark. Colton had just turned 21 months old when Levi was born, which is why...I assume anyways..I remember so much about Colton was at 21 months old...what he would wear, how he acted, what he said/didn't say, etc. And sticking out very glaringly right now considering the fact that Levi is still tucked snugly in his crib is the fact that Colton was sleeping in his big boy bed and room.
Now obviously a huge part of our drive to move Colton to his big boy bed was that we needed his crib for his little brother and the pediatricians told us it was best to do it well in advance of his arrival. With no other siblings on the way, Levi can theoretically stay in his crib forever! But transitioning Colton to his big boy bed was such an easy, painless process that I would rather do it sooner than later.
So we're hatching a big boy room plan. Implementation slow and steady. But hopefully Levi will be in by the end of the year (which also happens to be just a few days shy of his second birthday).
To refresh your memory, here is Levi's current nursery:

Levi's nursery is probably one of my favorite rooms I've ever done. So moving forward into big boy status, I'm hoping to keep as much of it in tact as possible. Mainly, I really don't want to paint over my beloved stripe wall. Luckily, though, I have found the most perfect bedding for Levi:

My boy loves doggies, so this couldn't be a better pick for him. And for my sake, I now don't have to change out the gray. Win, win.

So with that critical element decided, I'm thinking we'll only need to make a few more simple changes. I'd like to get rid of the white rug in favor of something more boyish. I'm thinking a black and white pattern rug would work to give the room a bit more edge. Maybe this?

I also plan to switch out the white curtains for a black option. I'm not really a plain curtain kind of girl, so I'm still brainstorming ways I could embellish them. We'll see what I come up with!

As for accessories, I plan on keeping the pops of yellow in the room. So the mirror, "Levi," blanket, and lamp bases can stay. We need some lamp shades (I may just paint the white ones underneath), and a little bit of art in the room. I've always wanted to do a kid-friendly gallery wall in one of the boy's rooms, and I'm kind of digging something like this simple option:

And the final element I hope to put in is some sort of reading/privacy nook for Levi. Colton has his tee pee and while he loves it, I'd rather do something different for Levi. Something more like this?