Welcome to The Igloo

Today is April 29th, 2015. And my 2nd Room Renovation of the year is now complete. For this project, I transformed what was a Kid's Playroom and created a new space that I like to call a Kid's Lounge. It's basically an age appropriate space where my kids and their friends can hang out, play video games, play board games, read comics and just chill... Come take a look inside.


But before we move ahead, we have to remember where we came from...





I remember creating this playroom for my kids when the twins were barely 2 years old. The twins are now 9 and Nash is nearly 12. It was certainly time to move on from the princess castle and plastic kitchen, and create a new space for the next chapter of their lives. This picture fondly takes one last look at the old space and a bygone era...

With that, let's move on to the New Space shall we?

As I was creating this Kids Lounge, I thought the space was deserving of a name. I was thinking along the lines of "The Loft," but my kids had other ideas. They now call it "The Igloo" because it's so COOL in here. FYI, my daughter McKenna made this sign. Chill Peeps...

As you come up the stairs, this will be the first thing you see... a 4ft x 4ft wall decal of an AT-AT Imperial Walker. This thing is MASSIVE! Once you see it, you instantly know that you are not in Kansas anymore...

Welcome to Star Wars Corner... When I first visualized this room, I knew I wanted to incorporate some of my kids' favorite things (and let's be honest, mine too).

The original concept for this room was based on incorporating 3 things into the room design: Star Wars, Comic Books, and Video Games. However, I wanted to showcase all of those things in a "Vintage Style," more specifically a Mid Century Modern Style...

This is how you represent Classic Star Wars in a vintage fashion. I love these prints. They keep to the overall theme while still staying well within the design scheme.

This Paul McCobb vintage desk located in the center of the room is basically the transition between the 2 distinct areas. Vintage Radio and a Bluetooth speaker all on a vintage desk... Angry Birds, Mameshiba, R2D2., TMNT. All coexisting in harmony...

In keeping with the 50's period. This class photo is from 1953. It is my father's Junior High School Graduating Class Photo. It was important to me that we include my father, who has since passed away, into the space. You can find him on the top row, second in from the right side. Handsome fellow... Love you Dad.

Here's the other side of the transition space. On the wall is an actual Disneyland Map from the late 50's that my brother Kenny bought me years ago. I heart Vintage Disneyland. You will see Vintage Disneyland represented all over my house. Inside the bench below the map, you will find board games and various fun things that are available to play anytime. We've never had a Scrabble Night as a family until recently. Now we all love Scrabble Night!

Here's the first shot of the Lounge, Video Game, and Comic Book area. Whenever I don't know where my kids are, and the house is much too quiet, I can usually find them here...reading comic books.

Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Hulk, The Green Lantern, and Captain America. I grew up with these stories, these characters... Now my kids can too.

Now transitioning over to the media side of the area.

This little media area was the first area of the room to be completed. It holds PS2 games, the coveted NEO GEO games, comics, dvds, and assorted Pokemon, Avatar, and random figures.

I tried several iterations of posters on this wall, but nothing seemed to work until I found these...  I knew that I wanted art that was video game related for this wall, but whatever I put up also needed to stay with the vintage theme. These prints fit the bill perfectly. These are the actual US Patent design sketches for the Atari 2600 and the original Nintendo Gameboy. To be honest, they probably mean more to me than my kids, but they still appreciate them.

Now here are some wider shots of the bigger space. Here you can see the transition desk and lounge area working together to make a cohesive space. No one will notice this but me, but do you see that little yellow pillow on the bottom left hand corner? I use that to bring some of the yellow from the left side of the room to the other side. Conversely, I use the white of the pillows to balance the white chairs on the other side of the room. When you are dealing with a space this long, balance and marrying the 2 sides is key...

Here's a shot of the full room from the back. Overall, I'm very happy with the space. And more importantly, my kids love the room and generally hang out here everyday...

 One last shot. May the Force Be With You...