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Nothing like jumping into 2019 with a little DIY home decor project. It’s been a long time since we’ve done a decorating project in this house, but the timing was perfect: For Easton’s 6th birthday, we promised him a Star Wars room.

It was all part of my master mom plan to switch up the boys’ bedrooms and move Easton into the smaller bedroom (previously the baby nursery), so that Sawyer could move into Easton’s old room and keep the same decor. That way, we only had to redecorate one room, not two. Genius, right?

But getting Easton to agree not only to any kind of change (he hates it) but also to technically downgrading to a smaller bedroom meant that I had to sell him on it. One cool big-kid room coming up!

Even before I started my sales pitch on E, I had decided on an outer space theme with Star Wars accents. The theme lends itself to masculine, neutral colors and outer space is timeless. So is Star Wars, it seems, but I didn’t want to go 100% Star Wars themed because I’m not a fan of character rooms.

The bedroom is a small room, about 9 feet x 12 feet, and not well lit at all: A single floor lamp is all the lighting currently. So while I want to go for an immersive outer space feel, I was concerned about painting the walls a dark color and making the room feel smaller and darker than it already is.

After surfing Pinterest, I found the perfect compromise: A starry navy ceiling with pale gray walls. The gray walls would be rocket-inspired, and the ceiling obviously the night sky.

Then I stumbled on Little Bits of Home’s Star Wars Bedroom Reveal and its dropped ceiling. I instantly fell in love with the look, so much so that I didn’t even get paint samples or try swatches on the wall (usually I’d go insane picking the perfect colors). I went to Sherwin-Williams for the exact colors used in her room: Gray Screen (SW 7071) and Naval (SW 6244). Thanks, Little Bits of Home, for both the inspiration and on-point color choices — you saved me hours of indecision.

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When it was time to start painting, we measured down from the ceiling and taped off the top section of the walls to be painted navy along with the ceiling. We selected the distance to match the space from the ceiling to the trim of the closet door and the window for maximum convenience.

The ceiling ended up needing 2 coats of paint because covering a light color with a dark color can be a challenge. But two coats of Sherwin-Williams Naval was exactly the color I was hoping for. I was extremely pleased to find the dark ceiling didn’t make the small room feel closed in or cave-like.

The next day, we carefully pulled off the tape and tackled the walls. One coat of Gray Screen was all that was needed to cover the pale green color previously in the nursery.

One thing we weren’t thrilled about, as non-professional painters, was the uneven line between the two colors. It looked messy and unfinished.

But I had a plan: A metallic silver border to cover the messy line and add to the spaceship feel of the room. On Amazon, I found ROSEROSA Peel & Stick Metallic Color Border Sticker, a self-adhesive wallpaper border. This was exactly what I needed. I ordered 2 rolls of the DM212B color in the 3.93-inch height.

But first … stars! An outer space bedroom must have a ceiling covered in stars. Wall decals make stars easy to apply, so I selected a set that included three different sizes, from MozamyCreative on Amazon. The 189-count pack in Vintage Silver was exactly what I needed for the ceiling, including the dropped upper wall.

I started by applying all the largest size star sporadically around the room, attempting for random but even placement on both the ceiling and the dropped ceiling portion of the upper walls. Then I applied the medium-size stars in a similar fashion.

I accented with the smallest stars at the end, creating clusters and even a few constellations. A word about the number of star you need: In my opinion, the sky’s the limit (pun intended). The set of 189 initially seemed like it might not be quite enough, but I was pleasantly surprised when I was finished. While I wouldn’t have minded a few extra of the smallest size, the overall effect was starry without being excessive.

With the stars in place, it was time to add the metallic silver border. I saved this step for last because I knew, frankly, it would be tricky and I’d have to enlist #DoneWithFun Daddy to get it done right.

We started by using a level tool and blue painters’ tape to spec out exactly where the border needed to go. Then we would go back, remove the backing little by little, use the level to ensure straightness, and stick the border in place.

It was slow going but this task had #DoneWithFun Daddy written all over it. I stepped back and provided emotional support but let him do this thing. (If it were left to me, I think I probably wouldn’t have measured, tried to eyeball the whole thing, and ended up wasting rolls of the border before giving up.)

The border was the hardest part of the project and it was definitely slow going. We measured and leveled every 12 to 18 inches before peeling off more of the backing and smoothing the border down with a wallpaper scraper.

Because our house is older, built in the 1960s, the walls are not perfect 90 degree angles, which added to the complexity. We nailed the first two walls without issue, but the second two walls were a little more challenging and we ended up having to double back and adjust the placement. #DoneWithFun Daddy was a trooper on this project, and it showed me again how he and I make a great team.

Finally, the border was complete and the walls and ceiling were DONE! It was worth the effort because the border gives the room the polished finishing touch it needed, with some extra metallic shine.

We hung a few choice decorations so that we could do a mini-reveal for Easton (and move him into his new room so the boys didn’t have to share for a single day longer). Details of the Star Wars accents and decorations coming when the full reveal is published in a few weeks — more fun DIYs for this room yet to come!

When we finally finished for the day, I lay on Easton’s new full-size mattress and soaked it all in. I can’t stop looking at the stars. Growing up, my childhood bedroom had blue ceiling with stars that my mother created for me, so the nostalgia factor here is undeniable.

Now we wait for the furniture and some more fun Star Wars accents to arrive … meanwhile, both boys are asleep successfully in their NEW rooms and bedtime has thankfully returned to normal. Suffice to say, my two won’t be sharing a room any time in the near future.

Stay tuned for the next phases of this room project, with the full reveal coming soon!