Industrial Toddler Bedroom Design, Chicago

We live in a loft, and two of the three bedrooms – including my son’s toddler bedroom – don’t have exterior windows. My goal for this space was to make it as bright and happy as possible given the lack of natural light. I was on a very tight budget, so there are a few DIYs and a lot of big box furniture.

Toddler Bedroom Reveal

Toddler-Friendly Art & Accessories

Looking towards the bedroom door, I framed and hung a sheet of alphabet gift wrap at toddler eye-level. I painted the cardboard mat so it pops. It’s helped my two year old learn all his letters, so it’s become a key feature in the room.

To visually offset the fact that the print is hung unusually low, I painted subtle stripes on the wall above.

The growth chart is a perfect solution for renters, because you can roll it up and take it with you if/when you move. The button monogram was an easy DIY.

I like to add personal touches to any space I work on, like this name train we found on our last trip to England.

Colorful paper lanterns brighten up the concrete ceiling. They’re battery powered, so they work as soft night lights.

A cabinet frame opens up so you can switch out the artwork, and it stores up to 50 sheets of paper. Ours is from The Color Wheel Studio, but you can also find them here.

Reading Nook

A budget-friendly Ikea chair and floor lamp create a reading nook. Ultimately I would like to upgrade both the furniture and lighting but it’s comfy and functional in the meantime.

Toddler Bedroom Toy Storage

I used an Ikea Expedit as the main toy storage. It serves as a garage for trucks, and also houses clothes (in the drawers), a metal bin for books and plastic storage for smaller toys. The rest of the toys and clothes are in the closet.

I wanted transparent toy bins to encourage playing. Chalkboard contact paper labels, with pictures, encourage tidying up afterwards.

Toy Bins – Land of Nod

All the Trucks & Trains!

My son loves trucks and trains, so I added decals running along a ridge on one wall. He can see them from the bed, and he knows exactly what each vehicle is and loves to recite their names and count them.

Toddler Bedroom Mood Board

Here is the mood board I started from. I did tone down some of the fabric choices, but it’s not far off.

Before

This was the room just after we moved in. The dark greige paint wasn’t doing anything for the space.

After

We ended up with a bright, happy industrial toddler bedroom, much more suited to our little man.

Toddler Bedroom Budget Breakdown

Here’s the breakdown:

• Furniture – $658
• Art and accessories – $356
• Lighting – $122
• Soft furnishings – $265
• Storage – $171
• Paint – $70
• Total | $1642

Given the budget and light restrictions, I love how the room turned out, and so did S.

You can see how we translated the space to his new toddler bedroom here, with windows second time round!

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