The Atomic Powered Bedroom Dresser

this is my dream desk, originally uploaded by presidentadow.

Judging from the high voltage power cord, this thing runs on more than a couple of penlight batteries *smirk*

Vintage Outer Space Wallpaper

Way, way back when I first started with my home retro-vation, it began in a little corner of the house known as Junior's Room.

Junior's room had a cowboy theme originally, and it was somewhat vintage in design too, because naturally since I have to be the overly-involved father that I am, I was the one who'd put it together :) He had Indian blankets on the bed, a horse blanket for a rug, a log shelf, cowboy lamp, horse shoes, retro cowboy curtains, a horse mural painted on one wall, and his endless toy horse collection. Oh, and don't forget his Woody figure (he's not a doll - boys don't have dolls!).

Shockingly, Junior grew since then and continues to grow. And it was time to let his room grow up a notch or two in an attempt to keep up with him. Junior decided he would like a space-theme for his new decor (with a little gentle coaxing from the overly-involved father) and I knew exactly what I had in mind, errr, I mean... so that he'd approve of it.

The first thing I did was to paint the walls in a deep rich shade, named "Planetarium Blue." This is a kid's room after all, so bold colors are appropriate. My idea was to then recreate a vintage space-theme wallpaper design on the blue walls through home-made stencils printed off the computer. That's getting ambitous, but sometimes it pays off to do crazy things no sensible person would attempt to do. And I'm all about doing the crazy thing...

Soooo, I searched for the right space-themed pattern to use on Junior's walls. That was a couple of years ago. And I'm still collecting samples and looking.

It began with these examples above in my little library. They provided me with the spark to start with. But these were not very clear, definitely not enough for a decent reproduction. I knew better than to design my own pattern, because I'm hopelessly critical of my own work, especially if it means looking at it day in and day out. Being a picky artist type has its disadvantages :/


Early on I ran across this example which is way-out awesome!! The pattern reminds me of a pair of PJ's I had as a kid. It's a custom retro wallpaper made for the movie MIB back in 1997 (has it been that long already?).

Yes, the site Design Your Wall is offering this as an actual wallpaper to the general public. But at $98.99 per 30' roll, the price is way-out too :/

Aside from that, Design Your Wall is THE site to browse for a wide range of vintage wallpaper designs... especially for kids! Cowboys, Circus, Nursery... they've got it and more.


And then I have to share one of the stunningly stellar examples which I found recently at 1950's Atomic Ranch House! I don't know much about the lady who runs this site, but I hear she has a hip-happening blog. You might want to check it out ...heh! ;)~ Thanks Atomic Ranch Lady!

Birds of Ohio has a few examples too, some 70's space wallpapers and a Flash Gordon Print from the 40's. Nice, but not exactly what I had in mind though.

If you know of any more fantastic vintage space themes (or any vintage kids room themes), and would like to share them here, Please do! I'd be forever grateful.

= = =

Some other links with retro outer space themes for kids rooms:
My Retro Baby Space Theme Gallery
L.A. Rugs Solar System Kids Rug - Stylehive

The Torture Continues

PAIR Danish modern nightstand tables Eames Mid century
Ohhhh, I really, really like this set. They fit the ticket. Enough that I seriously had considered going for this one myself. The walnut would match up perfectly in the bedroom. They're Danish so they would fit with the dresser. And I love the long cigar legs on these (I'm using a little table and a storage box for nightstands right now - ha!)

BUT the tops of both nightstands are badly stained with rings, rough spots and what looks like cigarette burns, i.m.h.o. (and I'm not swallowing the line that these only need a little TLC to bring them back to perfection).

Otherwise.... they do look good though...

Taking deep breathes as I watch another one slip away... It's alright, I think It'll be okay...

Meet the New Dresser

Its been a beautiful day, the sun was shining finally, the birds were singing AND staying away from my car, and after several days of scanning old family photos I was itchy to get out so I hit the roads.

Today's thrift shopping paid off! Now here's a nice find from the local Salvation Army. Its a Danish Modern dresser by Johnson Carper Furniture Company of Roanoke, Virginia, a manufacturer in the 50's and 60's. It's all walnut veneer with a formica top. The slim dresser mirror can be adjusted to fit on the left, right or centered. And look at those sweet thin legs raising the whole thing so that it floats off the floor. Yes, I was smitten! And to tempt me still further there's only two little corner dings, no scuffs, scratches or anything else - it's almost like new! It now resides in the future Master Bedroom (currently my Craigslist storage room).

The wood Danish Modern ducks arrive in the mail too... only together they cover so much wall space that I may have to rethink where I was planning to hang them. No problemo! As long as my grand scheme of home retrovation continues to make progress, I'm a happy camper.