Category Archives: Kiddo Rooms

Kiddo Time Machine :: Vintage 70s Kid’s Room Were Swank!

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Howdy gang. I was cleaning up the house this weekend and stumbled upon my stash of old vintage home interior books—I have a handful from the late 60s and 70s. I love them but I have to be honest, I rarely crack ’em open. Thank goodness I did, I had totally forgotten about all the amazing kid’s bedrooms in some of them! I thought you guys might like to take a little look-see with me, so after an afternoon with the scanner, here’s what I have for ya. I think you’ll like!

I love those little mod pedestal stools that look all magic mushroomy. I totally remember that old green froggy toy bin in the back/ Four beds though…hmmmm. Was that for sleep over fun or was this some Jon and Kate style family?? Let’s continue…

“Oh hey it’s Todd here. Just shootin’ some pool with my good buddy Lance.”

OK. Where to begin. The honkin’ star on the ceiling? The ‘stash on that chalk drawing? Wow. I hate to say it, but in 10 years Lance will be driving a Camaro and probably won’t have anything to do with ol’ Todd. But don’t worry…Todd will get his revenge. He’ll invent the Walkman in the 80s and become a digi-mogul. Lance will end up renovating Todd’s rec room.

Tiny Tuesdays look out! Here’s a vintage baby nursery. Intriguing…

Ahh, ye olde floating wall nursery, with the deadly medieval metal pole hanging over sweet bebe’s head. Fantastic! I confess, I do love that rug…almost as much as I love the full formal hair do mama is sportin’ in her nightie.

This next one is amazing. Lots of cool cubby space for hunkerin’ down and reading your best Encyclopedia Brown book.


Sigh. I love the wallpaper, the book nook, that aquarium and those vintage adidas. Nice kicks, kiddo….

This next one is fun. I’m crazy about polka dots (although these are a little eye-cross inducing, methinks).

Look how cute that little polka chair is too! And nope. You aren’t imagining things. The next photo is the same room, but it was in a different book! I love the little romper on the boy.

This next room is a pre-teen dream. The yellow Arne Jacobsen chair is so dreamy.  Ten points to whoever figures out what the hell is on that top shelf down there.

UPDATE!!!!!! I know what’s on that shelf. It’s a HAIR DRIER. Brilliant. Check it out:

image: sugarpie honeybunch

Ahoy matey, the S.S. Kiddo is set to sail! This theme room is amazing….down to the porthole and the bell on the wall. By the way, those white circles aren’t fancy lights. This particular book is a three-ring binder. I was able to crop the holes out of most of the photos but I didn’t want you to miss out on the grandeur of the director’s chair/desk combo. Or that starfish pillow on the bed. And while we’ve solved one mystery (the ladydrop gumdrop above), can someone tell me WHAT IS THAT GREEN THING PEEKING OUT OF THE BOTTOM LEFT CORNER DOWN THERE??

Moving on! Check out this four poster bed. Holy florals, batman! I love the matching trunk, chair and wee table on the left. Gotta say I’m highly intrigued by the colossal Fish on Wheels on the floor over there on the right.

The 70s ruled. In addition to bold colors and fun pop stylin’….there was that 1976 bicentennial action that nudged people to go all Colonial. Check out that old-timey phone! The play space is great in here (and I love those mod window treatments) but wait til you see the beddie.

How cool is that?? It’s like a double bunk/fort with a build in puppet theater. Looove.

Check out this creative little space. The slanted wall could have felt oppressive, but the big happy rainbow just livens up the whole joint.

Kory lives here—and apparently Kory is The Man. If you couldn’t tell by his rad tube socks and name emblazoned on the bedroom wall, then just feast your eyes on his bunk bed pods:

I’m speechless, people.

Next up is Sasha’s pad. And this kiddo is giving Kory a run for his money. I mean the Star Wars Tie Fighter, X-Wing and R2D2…but I’m mostly digging the color swoosh on the wall….which somehow runs across the window shade, thank you very much.

My parents were into Danish modern when I was litle—and this was no mean feat growing up in Flint, Michigan, lemme tell ya. My brother and I had these really cool mod red bunk beds that were a bit like these next ones. There is no ladder, you climb up the slats on the end. Super cool! Alas, ours didn’t come with the head-decapitating magazine rack hanging over the top bunk.

And finally….my top favorite. The Indoor Playground. HOW. COOL. IS. THIS.

As always, vintage makes me want to embrace color and just kick everything up a notch. I hope you were inspired by these rooms as much as I was. Just promise me you won’t, you know, hang any awkward magazine racks over yer child’s bed, ok? We’re here to inspire, not clock yer kiddo.

Images: From the collection of Miss Alix. Better Homes and Gardens Decorating book (1968), Better Homes and Gardens Decorating book (1975) and House and Garden’s Complete Guide to Interior Decoration (1970).

Kiddo Rooms: Ada's Cozy Cabin Nursery

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When our lovely reader Amanda initially wrote to me, it was about the beautiful letter press birth announcements she makes. And then she casually mentions, “Oh and I thought you might like to see my baby girl’s bedroom in our loft. We built her a mini cabin!” Um…..you built your daughter a mini cabin in your loft?? HECK YEAH I wanna see this! And I figured YOU would want to see it too. Look at this totally unique—and supremely charming—little space!

The little miss who lives here is wee Ada Grey, who is a grand 4 months old. She and her parents live in Providence, Rhode Island where her papa is a decorative concrete worker and her mama is an artist. We chatted with mama Amanda to find out more about this innovative bedroom! I’ve always thought lofts were funky and cool, but “cozy” is not really a word I often associate with them. Well this room is cozy and then some! The cabin concept is such a great way to add texture and also make the space feel like it’s own little hideaway. Amanda tells us that they used reclaimed wood for the outside of the cabin from a local mill. How cool is that? Let’s take a look inside!

Isn’t it the sweetest? I think it’s such a fun mix of funky, arty and retro.

I asked Amanda to tell us a bit about the cool things in this room: “The adorable red cat puppet on the top shelf (that looks like it was taken off the set of Mr. Rogers) was made specially for Ada by an old dear friend, Xander Marro. Along those lines, the two beautiful silkscreens were made by  Brian Chippendale (top) and Jungil Hong (on the bottom) and given as presents when Ada was born!”  Speaking of Ada….here is the little miss herself!

What a doll! The cutey red beastie protecting Ava was a Providence Art Sale find from etsy artist millie & hazel.

The colors in this room are really great too. The gray and pink walls are really distinctive and I love the stylish wall paper, which was an Anthropologie find:

Amanda tells us a lot of the vintage pieces in the room were thrift store or garage sale finds: “The changing table is actually an old bureau I bought from one of my mom’s bridge friends for $15 and we swapped out the drawer pulls with cute ceramic butterfly painted pulls. Oh, and the silkscreen to the right of the wallpaper is also Jungil Hong.”

I love that hot pink diaper pail too….hey, who says you look like #1 even when you #2. hyuck hyuck. (Sorry Huggies.) I think this artful space is so unique. As I mentioned earlier, Ada’s mom Amanda is an artist and her work is lovely. You can see more at her design studio website, Color Quarry. Amanda also makes really cool, customized letter press birth announcements—she’ll even create custom art work for them, which is so special. Find more details at her Etsy shop.



Thank you so much Amanda for sharing this amazing little space with us!

Kiddo Rooms: Dotty’s Polka Dotted Rainbow Room

Kiddo Rooms, Widdle Wednesdays, ,

Since ya’ll seemed to be so tickled with those Vintage Bedrooms yesterday, I thought it would be fun to show off a super cute modern day rendition of the Retro Bedroom! One of my online besties is the fabulous Jenny frecklewonder. Her little girl Dorothy Bird (aka Dotty) has an amazingly fun space. Bold, colorful, sweet and modern. I think you’re going to love it. Jenny and I had a little chitty chat and she gave me the low down!

ALIX: Jenny!!!! OK, so I’m soooo happy to feature Dorothy Bird’s room. Can you tell us a little bit about your “vision” (ooh lala!) for this sweet space?

JENNY: Well, since i’m always in the thrifts, and always on the lookout for fun, colorful vintage kiddo stuff. I actually decided to go with white walls and a white crib for the room. I wanted to keep things pretty simple and let the vintage treasures sort of ‘pop’ and stand out on their own.

ALIX: I love that about this room—it keeps it looking clean but still really playful and fun! I find some modern nurseries are so fussy and over done. Was there any “must have” that you knew you wanted?

JENNY: The only thing I was really set on from the get go were red + white, jumbo polka dotted curtains. I had this vision in my mind of Pee Wee Herman’s gunny sack (in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, a favorite movie in our house!) and i just couldn’t let it go. I combed the internet like a crazy woman and nothing! So finally, about 2 weeks before she was born, I just decided to make the curtains myself. And actually, believe it or not, when she came home from the hospital, those curtains were the only thing in her room as far as decoration. It was just white walls, her crib and those curtains!

JENNY: Of course slowly but surely I’ve added things and tweaked things, and I’m sure I’ll be adding and tweaking ’til the cows come home! That’s sort of how I roll…

ALIX: I spy some awesome vintage fisher price toys on the shelves….I loooove that Scandinavian rainbow wall hanging too. What’s the story behind that?

JENNY: The rainbow Marushka wall hanging was an amazing dollar score at the thrift! The other paintings in the room I scored at an antique mall for $5 a piece! (down from $20, it pays to wait + stalk just a bit!)

ALIX: Aw look at the wonderful framed artwork from Big Bro Henry! That’s one of my favorite things to do for decoration too. Nothing beats a sweet hand-drawn picture from your little cutie. What else can you tell us about this sweet room?

JENNY: The yellow dresser was an antique store find! It was actually green when i got it, and it spent some time in dotty’s big brother Henry’s room when he was younger before we switched it over into her room.

ALIX Oooh, how about that little floral chair I see peeking out on the left over there? The fabric looks amazing. Where the heck did you find that??

JENNY: Oh, the floral chair was also a thrift score— it was originally upholstered in a dark brown and i recovered it in that vintage floral print. You can see it a little better here in the living room:

ALIX: It’s amazing, you clever girl, but I’m totally distracted by the amazingness of baby Dotty!! Look how widdle she was!! OK, back to the room. I love the mix of modern toys and vintage. To me it’s all about balance. I’m dying over that blue vintage flower clothes hamper.

JENNY: I love it too and yep, it’s another thrift score. I do love to mix it up. Vintage is a fave but I also love supporting indie artists and found some really amazing stuffed cuddlers. Check these guys out:

The super cute kitty is from Jane Foster. The red and green floral creature is a Cotton Monster and the adorable elephant is from My Favourite Dress.

ALIX: Talk to me about those rustic looking wooden shelves. They’re great!

JENNY: Yep! They’re from IKEA. They were the perfect height for storing Dotty’s toys but gave her easy access to everything. We got several pieces from IKEA….Dotty’s crib (super cheap!) and the white display shelving.

ALIX: This next photo features one of my favorite things (besides Dotty, of course!). The little vintage dressies you have hanging from the wall. I think you know where I’m going with this…c’mon girl . Let’s give the Modern Kiddo’s a peek into that closet!!

JENNY: Oh my. Well, you asked for it. Here she is in all her glory! As soon as I found out that I was pregnant with a girl, I went nutso and just really had the best thrifting luck e-v-e-r.

ALIX: Ooooh there’s my favorite clothes hamper again. So I guess it’s safe to say that little Dotty has a pretty sweet collection of vintage?? [I’m totally leading the witness here…I know full well that Jenny has amazing taste and boatloads of vintage kiddo clothes. heh]

JENNY: Hah! Yes it’s true. Her closet is chock full of fabulous girl’s dresses from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Most of them are toddler sizes but a few of them won’t fit her till the year 2020 or so! But can you blame me? Who knows if she’ll be interested in wearing them past, say, the age of 5 or 6… she may think i’m crazy!

ALIX: OK people. Take a gander at this beautiful maddness! I’m in loooooove:




I die! How adorable are all of those dresses??? Jenny, thank you ever so much for sharing this amazing room with us. But truly, the most adorable item you’ll find in that room is the wee little lassie who lives there. I have to share with you some “hot off the presses” pictures of this gorgeous girlie.

YAY Miss Dotty! We love you! That’s it for Widdle Wednesday, but check back this afternoon as we have a special Guest Post that you’re going to lerve fo sho! In the mean time, be sure to swing by Frecklewonder Vintage for a peek at more vintage kiddo goodies!

PS  Do you have a fun kiddo room to share? Email me at Alix [at] modern kiddo.com!

Vintage Kiddo: Kid Bedrooms from the 60s and 70s were swank!

Best of Alix, Kiddo Rooms,

Howdy gang. I was cleaning up the house this weekend and stumbled upon my stash of old vintage home interior books—I have a handful from the late 60s and 70s. I love them but I have to be honest, I rarely crack ’em open. Thank goodness I did, I had totally forgotten about all the amazing kid’s bedrooms in some of them! I thought you guys might like to take a little look-see with me, so after an afternoon with the scanner, here’s what I have for ya. I think you’ll like!

I love those little mod pedestal stools that look all magic mushroomy. I totally remember that old green froggy toy bin in the back. Four beds though…hmmmm. Was that for sleep-over fun or was this a Jon and Kate Plus 8 situation? Let’s continue…

“Oh hey it’s Todd here. Just shootin’ some pool with my good buddy Lance.”

Where to begin. The gigantic star on the ceiling? The ‘stash on that chalk drawing? Wow. I hate to say it, but in 10 years Lance will be driving a Camaro and probably won’t have anything to do with ol’ Todd. But don’t worry…Todd will get his revenge. He’ll invent the Walkman in the 80s and become a digi-mogul. Lance will end up renovating Todd’s rec room.

Ahh, Widdle Wednesdays look out! Take a gander at this intriguing retro baby nursery.

Ahh, the floating wall nursery, with potentially deadly medieval metal pole hanging over bebe’s head. Sweeeet. That rug though….

This next one is amazing. Lots of cool cubby space for hunkerin’ down and reading your best Encyclopedia Brown book.

Sigh. I love the wallpaper, the book nook and that aquarium….

I’m crazy about polka dots (although these are a little eye-cross inducing, methinks). Look how cute that little polka chair is!

If this next one looks familiar….it’s because it is! Same polka dot room, but different book! I love the little romper on the boy.

This next room is a pre-teen dream. The yellow Arne Jacobsen chair is so dreamy.  Ten points to whoever figures out what the hell is that red thing on that top shelf down there:

Ahoy matey, the S.S. Kiddo is set to sail! This theme room is amazing….down to the porthole and the bell on the wall. By the way, those white circles aren’t fancy lights. This particular book is a three-ring binder. I was able to crop the holes out of most of the photos but I didn’t want you to miss out on the grandeur of the director’s chair/desk combo. Or that starfish pillow on the bed. Oooh oooh. WHAT IS THAT PEEKING OUT OF THE BOTTOM LEFT CORNER?? I swear it’s like the cousin of mystery red thing on the shelf! OK. Carry on….

Check out this four poster bed. The floral matches the chair AND the hope chest. Wowza!

Gotta say I’m highly intrigued by the colossal Fish on Wheels on the floor over there.

Overall I think it must be said that the 70s ruled. In addition to bold colors and fun pop stylin’….there was that 1976 bicentennial action that nudged people to go all Colonial. Check out the old-timey phone! The play space is great in here (and I love those mod window treatments) but wait til you see the bed.

How cool is that?? It’s like a double bunk/fort with a build in puppet theater. Looove.

This next one is such a creative little space. The slanted wall could have felt oppressive, but the big happy rainbow just livens up the whole joint.

Kory lives here—and apparently Kory is The Man. If you couldn’t tell by his rad tube socks and name emblazoned on the bedroom wall, then just feast your eyes on his bunk bed pods:

Speechless, people.

Next up is Sasha’s pad. And this kiddo is giving Kory a run for the money. I mean the Star Wars Tie Fighter, X-Wing and R2D2…but I’m really digging the color swoosh on the wall….which somehow runs across the window shade, thank you very much.

My parents were into Danish modern when I was little—and this was no mean feat growing up in Flint, Michigan, lemme tell ya. My brother and I had these really cool mod red bunk beds that were a bit like these next ones. There is no ladder, you climb up the slats on the end. Super cool! Alas, ours didn’t come with the head-decapitating magazine rack hanging above the top bunk.

And finally….my top favorite. The Indoor Playground. HOW. COOL. IS. THIS.

As always, vintage makes me want to embrace color and just kick everything up a notch. I hope you were inspired by these rooms as much as I was. Just promise me you won’t, you know, hang any awkward magazine racks over yer kiddo’s bed, ok? We’re here to inspire, not clock yer sweet pea.

Images: From the collection of Miss Alix. Better Homes and Gardens Decorating book (1968), Better Homes and Gardens Decorating book (1975) and House and Garden’s Complete Guide to Interior Decoration (1970).