Thomas the Train Toddler's Room Makeover with Pictures

The memories no longer remain. Heston and his family moved to a new home, A new family moved in and the children are older and do not fancy this cute little train on the walls.

How happy I am that I took so many pictures to capture this time when my grandson was a little one. I was at his new home yesterday and the floor of his playroom was a maze of train tracks with many train cars on the tracks and of course I burst into a huge smile. (Heston Wayne was away at the hospital this day but would return soon to play with his trains.)

All that it takes to transform a child's room into a magical kingdom like Sodor of Thomas the Train fame is an overabundance of imagination and creativity. The supplies are really secondary to the project.

Before you tackle this project, you will want to consider the following:

1. The room will be topsy turvy for at least some part of the time that you are creating the murals on the wall
2. Decide how you will manage the chaos in the baby's room.
3. Will you move furniture out for some part of the painting?
4. Has your baby shown any allergy to airborne allergens?
5. Does your child have respiratory issues of any kind?
6. Make a list of concerns that you wish to address before you are elbow deep in paint.

• sketching pencils
• drop cloth
• paints in various colors
• brushes
• rollers
• pan for paint
• flat indoor house paint
• containers to use for rinsing brushes

• For this project my daughter used--
• apple barrel acrylic paints
• and to finish the whole scene, she sprayed it with a clear rustoleum
• If you are creatively challenged (like me), you may wish to consider purchasing 'stick on' décor for the room. There are available many very attractive, durable choices that appeal to children.

Once you have all of the items gathered, there is one more requirement. Bring an equal amount of patience to the project. Your young one may wish to 'help' and that is important. So, at least for some part of the project, allow that to happen.

Your toddler may help too much sometimes. Some of what you paint may require a bit of improving by your toddler perhaps with a pencil. Consider leaving some low spots available in case your child is feeling especially creative. You may like it so much you may decide to refrain from painting over it.

The pictures that are included with this article chronicle this little boy's room being transformed from whimsical animals to Sodor.

The first step she took was to remove some of the furniture. She rearranged other furniture so that the baby could still sleep in there.

Window treatments, decor on the walls, throw rugs, electronic equipment, and toy chest were also removed.

The walls were then painted with a flat white paint so she had a blank canvas.

The background sky and rolling hills were then painted.

She began to sketch parts of the scene she would begin work on next.She would step back and decide where she wanted a specific part of the scene and then she would sketch it.

Baby boy was welcome in his room as Mom transformed it. He did some creative designing of his own. There were times throughout the process that he sat on Mom's feet and played with brushes while she designed.

Baby found his place in the midst of the seeming confusion.

As the scene continued to evolve, she would sketch more distinctive features. Here we see that she has drawn and painted the tracks.

The tracks are a very important part of the whole scene of course. The Baby talks almost as much about the tracks as he does the train.

We now know that a train will soon appear.

More detail is being added as our Thomas-land becomes more real.

Daddy made the shelf you can see in the photo above. The creative brace was also some of his handiwork. This is really a family project.

More sketching, more additions that continue to bring Sodor to life are added.

We know we are really welcome in this little train town as this welcome sign appears.

As this part of the scene is added, the whole feel of the scene begins to change. It seems to help really draw everything together.

It seems as if we can now step right into the scene.

Balloons are a favorite of the Baby who calls this his room. The welcoming balloons, waving in the breeze let him know that this really is going to be a room he will enjoy.

The bridge now looks like a real, sturdy bridge. Traffic can now scoot around Solor. Highways welcome traffic.

The carnival scene in the background lets us know we can have fun here.

Sir Topham Hat is a really important addition to the scene. He is in most Thomas shows. He is welcoming all to the land of Thomas.

Each little detail makes this more and more inviting.

The bridge, the tracks, the welcome sign, Sir Topom Hat, and many other details invite us to come into this play land.

And now we have trains. Trains chug chugging down the tracks.

My daughter continued to add more interesting features to the scene. The little sailboat catches our eye as we drive along down the tracks.

This is what we have really been waiting for---a little train to appear. It is traveling down the track.It makes us wish we could hop on board.

Ta da. Our little Thomas is here. He is our happy little train moving along down the track.

Mr. Topham Hat is making sure we know we are welcome. Just a little more detail to create the feel that is just right for this little train village.

One of the little Baby's favorite characters in Solor is Harold. Mom knew that so she gave Harold a LOT of personality. It almost makes you want to go for a ride.

Of course, Bulgy, our bright red bus, is here to welcome everyone. What fun it is to see the characters come to life on the walls.

Stepping back, surveying the scene, the whole little village is now complete. Furniture will be moved back in, window treatments hung, and finishing touches added.

One wall was not painted in Thomas décor.

Daddy made a second shelf. This one is rustic like you might expect in a train village.

Mom added some extra touches to it to give it some character.

A Thomas bedding set had been purchased to complete the décor. Part of the top sheet was turned into this cute little valence.

Mom created this little split bed skirt to attach to the Baby's bed. This was made from the left over fabric from the top sheet.

Now the room is all finished Baby talks about the characters on his wall. It is a happy little room.

You can transform your child's room too. It does take a little planning and time but you will be thrilled with the results.