I’m not really keen on a theme. I think rooms need to display more character than just a fancy dress style flaunting of matchy-matchy. But then, if you’re a child, maybe you wouldn’t see any problem with ceiling to floor Lightning McQueen or Hello Kitty, maybe even feel that your grown-ups were truly caring to decorate your room in this way. I don’t know. I wonder whether a little imagination might go further than overkill on branding. When I was planning the boys’ bedrooms I got really inspired by pictures of kids’ bedrooms which had exciting things to play on:
Or doorways to magical places….
Friends of ours installed a fireman’s pole in their son’s bedroom so that he could slide out of his bunkbed. He wanted to make a hole in the floor too so that he could get down to breakfast before his sisters in the morning, but I think that request was successfully deflected.
All this to say I was determined to create fun and interesting spaces, whilst still listening to what makes my boys tick. The football team devotions were hard to ignore, though a few accessories don’t look so bad. The Man Utd and Chelsea duvet covers aren’t my favourite features, but oh so well loved.
With this in mind, I was searching for curtain materials which had a timeless appeal, a quirkiness that reflected each boy’s character. I chanced upon the website for Fancy Moon, a true paradise of bright and joyful Japanese import fabrics, characterful designs, retro-inspired patterns and design hubs such as Kokka and Robert Kaufman. It was there I met these guys:
I love the colour combinations, and for machines they seem to have perfected some nifty moves. I was sold. So was Malachy. The window in his room is low and snug under the eaves. A perfect frame for this collection of mechanical friends. Here’s what they look like:
Having made my case so clearly for keeping things eclectic, fresh and free from the constraints of theme, of course I wouldn’t ever consider buying this robot light, would I?
Not unless he had a heart….