What do you remember about your childhood bedroom?
Looking back on it, mine was fit for a princess! It was decorated in mauve and white, with accents of gold, with all the tender loving care you’d expect of parents preparing for their first baby.
Mind you this was the late 60’s so I’m not sure how tasteful it would appear now 😉 . For example, the floor was covered in a mottled green vinyl with glittery gold sparkles – it creaked whenever I walked on it, so I could never sneak out of bed without my parents hearing me!
The bed was covered in a fringed white chenille bedspread, flecked with lavender. My young fingers used to love getting entwined in the tufts, and pulling them out. I used to love hiding under the bed, but and every time some of my hair would get caught in the wire springs underneath – ouch!
In pride of place on the bed was my beloved Brandy, a ginger and white toy puppy (old habits die hard – I still take a stuffed toy puppy to bed even now!). Brandy was a pyjama puppy, with a zipper underneath, so I could stash my PJs there during the day after the bed was made – and she was ever so soft and cuddly, day or night.
Being on the western side of the house, my childhood bedroom got hot as hades in summer. No fly screens or air con in those days; instead, there was a mosquito net over my bed (and my cot originally, I’m sure, though I don’t remember that). During the day, the net was stowed in a shallow white cupboard above the bed; it had fancy gold scrolls decorating each corner. These gold scrolls were also a feature on the doors of the built in wardrobe.
The walls were painted mauve, and the windows were dressed with sheer mauve curtains; the white venetian blinds had a pattern of gold stars. One year I got a pretty little kewpie doll on a stick from the Ekka, which was hung proudly over my curtain rod. She was dressed in a sparkly lavender fairy costume, complete with wings until I decided it was much more fun to play with her, than just look at her, and pulled the wings off!
The dressing table and mirror was also built in, beside the wardrobe, and featured a similar white and gold star pattern on the laminate counter top as was on the venetians; all the drawer handles were gold.
I had a white bedside table, and in later years, a white bookshelf sat under one of the windows although it was frequently put to use as a dolls house, rather than to store books 😉 .
Next to the door hung two small round pictures of swans, framed in white bakelite; while on another wall, hung a wooden shadow box. I can’t really remember what was on it, beyond the fact that there were some small ornaments or trinkets – way out of my reach!
This was the room I was brought home to from the hospital 50 years ago. Over the years I moved in and out of it, sometimes sharing another room with my sister. However if I ever hear the phrase “my childhood bedroom” this is the room that I remember.
What was your childhood bedroom like?
Enjoyed this post? You can find out more about my childhood home, here.
Deborah says
Mine was painted two tones of green. One almost a lime green and the other paler. My carpet matched and was two tones of green.
I had a chenille quilt when young then black and white bedspreads til late high school and then a doona of sorts (floral) to match my room towards the end of my time at home.
I used to have a few posters on my walls and – for a while – a fake hanging plant on a macrame hanger I made!
Oh and my bed was covered in toys I won on on basketball shot games at the local show. (They banned me as I won too much!)
Janet Camilleri says
Did you make the macrame hanger in home economics for high school? I remember doing one in Grade 8!