(Small Spaces) Two rooms in two countries

Hello and welcome back for another week of "Small Spaces"! I hope  last week's posts have given you some inspiration on how to organize and decorate your child's spaces.

Today, I thought it would be fun to share photos of Junior J's room back in SG, as well as his room in Germany. After all, his room will look very different when we move back, since Junior J would have to share his room with his little brother... so I thought it would be nice to look back and see how his room has changed over the years. Looking at the photos made me miss home a little. You can also pop by here to see how his room was like before we decorated it!

So here's looking at two rooms, lived in by the same little boy, in two countries, in two different continents!

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Here's a peek at how Junior J's room was like back in Singapore (I'll let the photos do most of the talking):

:: Little souvenirs from around the world. Many from his doting grandparents and our friends, and some that we picked up previously when travelling. (You can read about and view more of the little details here!)

:: His bed, which was a normal single mattress placed on the floor. I love the idea of a floor bed, since we don't have to worry about him getting a bump on his head from rolling out (which he has done), plus the mattress will see him all the way through until his teenage years (hopefully!). (Btw, if you want more inspiration on rooms with floor beds, check out Bedstart, which showcases rooms with beds placed on the floor!) Oh, and we hung his artwork on the line that was hung between the two trees, which we had painted ourselves.

:: His paper crane mobile, which we DIY-ed. This hangs above his bed, and he enjoyed looking at the birds fluttering before he fell asleep.

:: His little reading corner, where we placed our old Papasan chair. He loved snuggling there to read his books.

:: And these clouds and the hot air balloon float above his reading corner. 

:: And of course, some shelving to house his books and toys. We moved our old Billy bookshelves that we had into his room... but we'll have to rethink the shelving, since our children book collection has overflowed into our study, and it has grown since our move to Germany!

The paintings were purchased in the pasar malaam in Penang. I love how cheerful they make the room look!

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Now, when we shifted over to Germany, we found out that many people rented their apartments, and that most of these come unfurnished. We arrived to an empty house, save for some bookshelves and kitchen cabinets (there were no lights and we had to rely on small table lamps that we borrowed from a friend for the first week!). So we had to buy our furniture. After asking around, we concluded that our best bet would be to head down to the nearest Ikea (which was in the next town), as it was the most affordable furnishing alternative here.

We made that trip, and tried to buy the bare basics: mattresses, some storage (all our clothes managed to fit in two chests of drawers plus one clothes rack!), and a sofa bed for visiting family members. Since we were going to be here for only a year, it made sense to minimize the furniture we bought, and that applied to Junior J's room as well.

:: Very little decorations this time round, save for some books and the globe on his chest of drawers. He now keeps his animal figures up here so that they don't get chewed by his brother:

We're fortunate to live in the land that produces Schleich. So once in a while, Junior J gets to bring home an animal friend.

:: We still display his artwork.  However, now its haphazardly stuck in the walls with washi tape, by the boy himself: 

No more paintings, just two posters on dinos in his room!

:: The bed's still a mattress on the floor. But now we have to include a quilt, which is a must in our home, which isn't insulated very well:

I couldn't resist the quilt covers from Ikea!
It also doubles up as a play scene for him.

:: And another difference would be that his room has a small carpet. Back in SG, we opted to keep the floor clear, since the boy is very sensitive to dust, however, the floor can be really cold over here, so we bought him a carpet, which again, doubles up for play:

:: One thing that never changes... the mess that seems to come alive everyday!

His dino world, which houses his dinosaurs. And erm, a leek. 

The house has some bookshelves mounted on the walls in the hall, so all our books are housed there.
However, they somehow find their way into the room, and would lay scattered about until I retrieve them, or make him do it!

Mess aside, I'm glad that Junior J enjoys playing in his room and has that space to call his own for the year (ok, he has to share it with his brother sometimes!).

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Do you have a child's space to share with us? Drop us a note at john(dot)jus(at)gmail(dot)com! Do pop by tomorrow to take a peek at a little girl's cozy play corner, and have a blessed week ahead!