Images in this post are from Ethan Allen circa 1974 — ahhh, The Brady Bunch Years. Continuing with our bedroom series for a few more days, I chose them to illustrate another point, which is that there are numerous “traditional” styles that are just fine for mid-century homes. Lots of this stuff is solid wood, and you can buy it really inexpensively.

I have seen a number of the Ethan Allen sets with the modular bookcases, desks and drawer cabinets and my goodness, they are so functional and so well made.

"Growing up room" - phase one

A couple of other thoughts on kids’ bedrooms:

1. Personally, I would buy a new crib out of safety concerns – the image above is shown only for decorative inspiration.  Bunk beds, similarly, scare the heck out of me. Do your homework re child safety when you’re thinking of buying and using anything vintage.
2. When your kid is big enough for a bed, and if you’re going to buy something you plan to have them grow into — I recommend going straight-away for the full-sized bed. By the time they are 13 or 14, they want a bed this big. When they’re littler and have sleepovers, they can double up. When they are older, the friends just sleep on the floor. When the kid is little, and they are sick, you can lay down next to them.  I had a girlfriend who is really smart, studied and networked on such things tell me this early on. I didn’t listen. She was right.
3. Once your kids get old enough to care — let them decorate their own room, of course. It makes for awesome memories and is, I think, super important to establishing a sense of self. We need to do a whole post (hold please!) on our first personally-decorated bedrooms. I remember mine well… a very formative decorating experience.
4. Capel braided rugs — great for kids’ rooms, get a design that includes a variety of colors they can grow into and you are all set.
5. Bedspreads — go look at the corded cottons and other childhood classics (like the one in the first photo today) on Vermont Country Store’s website.
6. Wallpaper? Here’s one room I’d say “no.” That’s because wallpaper is so personal … Your kid will want to change their wall color two-to-three times growing up. Wallpaper is a ton of work and your work will likely not have much of its day in the sun. But if you want to do it for “you” and your baby’s nest, knowing that he/she will likely want it gone within 8-10 years, well, go for it.
7. Changing tables make great laundry centers in the laundry room after they’ve gone out of diaper-changing use.

"Growing up room" - phase two

With that said, decorating a child’s room “in mid-century style” is just as wide open as in an adult bedroom. If you are buying vintage furnishings, there are great deals out there, especially if you have an open mind regarding style. In fact, I like to say that vintage bedroom sets and dining room sets are the best bargains around. That’s because you only have x-number of bedrooms and only one dining room. After that, you are done. So folks don’t generally “collect” them, like Stangl birds or whatever. This means there is less demand, which means lower prices.

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Take your love of metal cabinets to the next level…or at least to the next room.

Reminds me, many readers have send me notes over the past two years asking me to do stories on Lustron homes…I actually know about these, have been in a few…I’ll get around to the topic some day! Meanwhile: A metal bedroom set — so cool.

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IN 1949, home interiors generally seemed to have a traditional look, and featured a soft and pretty palette, some jewel tones carried over from glamorous Hollywood, and of course, red-white-and-blue in the kitchens. Several of these images also suggest farmhouses and updating of older homes was a marketing focus — the Armstrong “Monowalls,” for example, are meant to cover failing plaster walls, I believe. Also, you don’t see much emphasis on technology — there a very few gizmos in the kitchen. In the bathroom — well, I think that many families were still getting their first bathroom.  And in the image above, the happy couple are multitasking that Simmons hide-a-bed, suggesting that this is a one-room apartment — something I think was pretty common due to a severe post-war housing shortage. In 1949 it didn’t take much to make us happy. We were still ramping up to our 1950s frenzy and the true launch of Consumer America. Click through for a slide show of  kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms and more – 18 images in all.

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