Showing posts with label theme. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theme. Show all posts

June 17, 2010

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

May 11, 2010

Atomic Dining Music for Space Age Lovers

A brand spankin' new Playlist has been added to the blog (you'll find it located waaaay down at the bottom).

Brought to together here for your listening pleasure is an eclectic assortment of melodies to entice you. Here you will find the enchanting strains of yesterday and the exciting new rhythms of tomorrow with the most outstanding musical talents in the field.

There's a little bit of everything, new and old, and hopefully some music you haven't heard for a very long time, if ever! So put it on, play it, live it. Its sure to help get you into the vintage mood...

Click here for the pop out player.
  1. Oriental Blues (Ernie's Tune) by The Tony DeSimone Trip
  2. Sleepwalk by Santo and Johnny
  3. Hotrod by Stray Cats
  4. Rockabilly Boogie by Johnny Burnette Trio
  5. Got My Own Thing Now by Squirrel Nut Zippers
  6. Java by Al Hirt
  7. Ain't Got No Home by Clarence Frogman Henry
  8. Stupid Cupid by Connie Francis
  9. Telstar by The Tornadoes
  10. Maleguena by The Tornadoes
  11. Bumble Bee Stomp by The Tornadoes
  12. Rubber Biscuit by The Chips
  13. Lolita Ya Ya by Nelson Riddle
  14. Mambo No. 5 by Perez Prado & His Orchestra
  15. The Astronaut by Bill Dana as Jose Jimenez
  16. Mr. Ghost Goes To Town by The John Buzon Trio
  17. Hot Cakes and Sausage by Ernie Kovacs
  18. Mean Mean Man by Wanda Jackson
  19. Rats in my Room by Leona Anderson
  20. Angel Baby by lowrider oldies
  21. We Belong Together by Ritchie Valens
  22. Blue Moon by The Marcels
  23. King Kong by Tarantula Ghoul and The Cryptkickers
  24. The Third Man Theme by Percy Faith
  25. Squatty Roo by John Buzon Trio
  26. Indian Love Call by Edie Adams & Ernie Kovacs with The Henry Mancini Orchestra
  27. A Taste Of Honey by Jackie Gleason
  28. Somebody Loves Me by Jackie Gleason Orchestra (For Lovers Only)
  29. For Hi-Fi Bugs by Pete Rugolo
  30. Black Panther by Don Ralke
  31. Out of This World by Frank Comstock
  32. Keem-O-Sabe by The Dave Pell Singers
  33. Istanbul by The Four Lads
  34. Music To Watch Girls By by Ventures
  35. Mr. Peepers Theme by Bernie Green
  36. Alley Cat by Bent Fabric
  37. Thunderball by Tom Jones
  38. Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey
  39. Syncopated Clock by Leroy Anderson
  40. The Typewriter by Leroy Anderson
  41. Hernandos Hideaway by the Johnston Brothers
  42. The Comets by Walter Schumann


(For the ultimate in listening pleasure, this Long Play Microgroove Record should be played on the new HI-FONIC PLAYER.)



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