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Christopher Robin inspired bedroom for little boy

9 replies

mavornia · 05/09/2012 07:00

I've been thinking of ideas for my boys' bedrooms in our new house. They are aged 5, 3 and 9 months.

I was looking at Cath Kidston prints of vintage planes, boats etc but really my faourite bedroom is the Christopher Robin one you see at the start of the 1960s Winnie the Pooh film.

Here re soem pictures of it:

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=farm4.static.flickr.com/3091/5841756660_0ab2e351b1.jpg&imgrefurl=www.5minutesformom.com/41160/new-winnie-the-pooh-movie-inside-disney-animation/&h=500&w=299&sz=103&tbnid=4hAYLl3G4nREjM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=56&zoom=1&usg=__iq5JFJtJpuwwH6oOpgaMHL5mz3E=&sa=X&ei=RelGUKWSEaLM0AX-1oDQAw&ved=0CDUQ9QEwBQ&dur=486" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=farm4.static.flickr.com/3091/5841756660_0ab2e351b1.jpg&imgrefurl=www.5minutesformom.com/41160/new-winnie-the-pooh-movie-inside-disney-animation/&h=500&w=299&sz=103&tbnid=4hAYLl3G4nREjM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=56&zoom=1&usg=__iq5JFJtJpuwwH6oOpgaMHL5mz3E=&sa=X&ei=RelGUKWSEaLM0AX-1oDQAw&ved=0CDUQ9QEwBQ&dur=486

pooh.wikia.com/wiki/Christopher_Robin%27s_Room

Would any of you have any practical tips of how I might recreate this? Where to find fabrics, accessories etc?

I like that it's not covered in motifs etc - just a simple room but appropriate for a child

Thanks

OP posts:
mavornia · 08/09/2012 11:41

i refuse to believe there isn't at least one of you enchanted by the above bedrooms

could anyone recommend a nice creamy or yellow wall colour

or good quality neutral or yellow gingham curtains?

OP posts:
soverylucky · 08/09/2012 17:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mathanxiety · 08/09/2012 18:03

I would suggest getting an old illustrated hardcopy (not Disney products) and looking at the colours for inspiration for the walls and woodwork. You can match colours and find something that suits -- look online but for a better match go and see samples for yourself. There are some lovely hazy blues and deep creams and even tans in the 'decorations' of E.H. Shepard.

Yellow is a very hard colour to match as it responds to different light in different ways. Bring samples back to the bedroom you are using and look at how it all looks in the light you have, preferably with the curtains in situ. If you choose yellow gingham curtains I would be inclined to choose a different wall colour. The yellow curtains would need to have a muted tone imo -- at any rate not an in-your-face bright yellow. Some gingham fabrics here, on eBay. To give you more choice and more chance of getting the shade right, I would look for fabric and not ready-made curtains, and either make the curtains yourself or have them made.

After that, you are looking for Edwardian-style plain, sturdy furniture, which can be found online or at sales. You can comb through the illustrations to see the sort of furniture that would suit. Maybe a close look at Mary Poppins sets would also inspire you?

Pooh has a kitchen dresser. Iirc, his hunny is kept in a wall-mounted corner cupboard. Both of those items might be found in pine kitchen stockists and you could finish them any way you wanted. There are plain, sturdy wooden chairs and a stool or two, and Wol (maybe someone else) has a chintz covered armchair. There are rag rugs/woven rugs (not tufted), little wooden boats on the mantelpiece, and an old clock or two in the illustrations. I noticed some framed butterfly collections (? - need my glasses) in the link you posted. This sort of stuff can sometimes be found at boot sales or on eBay. Or you can buy kits for things like the wooden boat and paint them yourself.

The trick would be not to clutter but to use decorative items sparingly to convey the feel of the era and the theme of Winnie the Pooh -- Edwardian nurseries were plain places where children consumed bread and milk before bed, and led orderly lives. I think the bedroom in the link is very nice and certainly the right accessories were used, but it is too cluttered.

I like the lack of motifs too and I think such a room would grow with your boys.

mathanxiety · 08/09/2012 18:32

The second link bedroom is actually quite 1940/50s stylee American boy's bedroom with a few Edwardian elements added (mainly in the shape of the wooden rocking horse) now that I look closely at it. The pillow with the 'Underground' logo is very American touristy. There is also a cuckoo clock on the wall.

In the first link, there is too much stuff on the window sill. A real English window sill in a nursery would have been open to let in the gale fresh air and all the knickknacks would have been blown out or to the floor.. Too many cushions on the window seat too. By contrast, the Winnie the Pooh illustrations show interiors that are cosy and spare.

Quite small and hard to see the details

Again, small

Table and chairs.

Easier to see clock and chintz -- I think what I thought was a boat may have been a candlestick. (Blush where did I leave my glasses..)

educatingarti · 08/09/2012 19:09

Ikea do some flatweave ( rather than pile) rugs and their Agen children's chair is cute and very traditional in style. Have a look at their Leksvik and Hemnes furniture styles too which may fit very well.

this is cute and inexpensive - of a later period than Edwardian but I think it would fit the theme! If you search under vintage child's table desk on Ebay you may find other similar ones including double desks.

These chairs look good too here

I'd have plainish sturdy chests of drawers and cupboards and bookshelves. These need not necessarily be designed for children. IIRC a lot of Edwardian furniture was quite heavy and dark - you might get a better overall effect by going for a mid oak tone or antique pine rather than heavy mahogany! You might also get away with painting furniture an Edwardian colour (Dulux have a range of "Edwardian" colours in their heritage range).

A Noah's Ark and/or Rocking horse would add the right sort of feel too!

What about a muted stripe fabric for curtains? shop.tinsmiths.co.uk/Natural-Fabric/Ticking-Fabric/Lg-Cotton-Ticking-Sage/prod_14.html

I also like the lack of motifs and would second the idea of using old book illustrations as pictures.

educatingarti · 08/09/2012 19:42

Iron bedsteads would give the right feel. This is cute here here and reminds me of the changing guards at Buckingham Palace poem, but ones without motifs would last longer.

This style here would also be appropriate and is inexpensive.
A more expensive version is here

White bedlinen would be the most authentically Edwardian I think but think about old fashined style eiderdowns or patchwork quilts on top. If you ( or someone you know) can knit there is a pattern here or something like this

Think about wooden blanket boxes or vintage trunks for toy storage- as long as you don't think trapped fingers would be a problem!

educatingarti · 08/09/2012 19:48

So now I must stop enjoying myself doing this and go and do the food shop!! Blush

mavornia · 08/09/2012 23:50

thank you so much - off to look at all your wonderful links

appreciate all the time spent helping me out, some great ideas

OP posts:
Partridge · 09/09/2012 19:52

I love this thread. Lovely ideas. I have some lovely vintage eiderdowns with a Sanderson panda print on them - they came from eBay. I also have vintage school posters framed - a large linen backed vintage school map with dowling might have the same effect.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-School-Map-of-Europe-by-Bacons-Excelsior-/110943183027?pt=UK_Collectables_Vintage_RL&hash=item19d4baa0b3%23ht_500wt_922

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-1930s-1940s-SCHOOL-POSTER-72-BARN-SWALLOWS-AND-HOUSE-MARTINS-/140826247234?pt=UK_Collectables_Paper_RL&hash=item20c9e60042

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