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).