These are childhood photos of Jennifer Robertson in her bedroom. She is a co-founder, designer and maker of the products on Scamp Baby Gifts. Jennifer runs the shop together with her sister Stacey, whilst trying to manage 5 children between them.
I asked Jennifer to share some memories of her childhood bedroom…
♥ Can you tell us something about these photos? The picture of the baby on the change mat is me in my very first bedroom in Vancouver (where I was born). My mum loved the change mat pattern and the fact that it was terry towelling – she’s a big fan of that fabric. The picture of the two girls in the cot is me (in the black & white dress) age about 3, and my sister Stacey who was probably around 18 months. It was taken in Dumfries, Scotland. The picture in the background is a Mabel Lucie Attwell one – my mum was a big fan and I remember a few of them around the house.
♥ What did you love most about your bedroom? I loved it being my own space – with two younger sisters it was nice to have somewhere to retreat to.
♥ What do you remember most vividly about the décor? We moved about quite a lot when I was younger, so I don’t really have huge memories until I was maybe 7 or 8. I remember a very orange bedroom made up of hand me down fitted furniture (quite unusual in the 70s) that came from family in Germany and had lots of pull-out drawers and a fold-out desk. The bed also had a drawer underneath for the duvet, making it like a sofa bed in the daytime, with lots of orange cushions!
♥ What were you into? I absolutely loved reading and spent a lot of time doing that or playing with my two sisters. I remember putting on performances with them involving elaborate fancy dress, dancing and singing for an audience of normally about 4 people.
♥ What did you want to be when you grew up? This is awful but I can’t remember! I don’t think I had a strong urge to be one specific thing when I was younger.
Thank you Jennifer!
I’m looking for more childhood bedrooms! If you have photos of your old room and would like to share your memories here, please get in touch!
x Ursula
(images: jennifer robertson)
This amazing boys bedroom belongs to Jip who is two and a half years old. He is Merel’s little brother, whose room was featured in My Room a while ago. They live with their family in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Jip’s room was decorated by his mum Iris, who is an interior stylist and blogger over at Visje bij de thee.
Let’s find out a bit more about Jip …
♥ What is your favourite food? Spaghetti with red sauce.
♥ What do you love doing? Playing with my cars and duplo blocks.
♥ What is your favourite colour? Red.
♥ What is your favourite animal? Dog.
♥ Your favourite book? My Zoo book.
♥ What is your favourite thing in your room? My bed.
♥ What is your favourite duvet cover? The light blue one with planes.
♥ What are your favourite pyjamas? The ones with the policemen and firemen (Richard Scarry print).
Thank you Jip, it was really nice to meet you!
(images: jeltje janmaat for vt wonen, styling by iris rietbergen)
This whimsical girls bedroom belongs to Irene who is 12 years old. She shares the room with her sister Olivia (16). Irene lives with her big family in a modernist flat in the centre of Barcelona, Spain. The girls’ bedroom was decorated by their mum Carina, a stylist and graphic designer who has recently co-founded xo-in my room, a blog and webshop focused on kids furniture (see previous post).
Carina’s best advice for decorating children’s rooms: “Let your children participate. Ask them what they like, as their tastes show their personality.”
Let’s find out more about Irene now…
♥ What is your favourite food? Pasta with tuna fish.
♥ What do you like doing? Drawing and reading.
♥ Your favourite book? Matilda by Roald Dahl.
♥ Dresses & skirts or trousers? Dresses & skirts.
♥ Where would you like to go one day? To a white beach in the Caribbean.
♥ What would you take to a desert island? My pillow!
♥ What do you want to be when you grow up? A journalist.
♥ What is your favourite thing in your room? The little lights at my bed head.
♥ What do you love doing in your room? Reading in bed before going to sleep.
♥ Anything else you’d like to share about your room? On the top of my wardrobe I have a metal box that comes from a real circus!
Thank you Irene, it was really nice to meet you!
(images: xo-in my room)
This stunning kids room belongs to Olivia who is eleven years old. She lives with her mum, dad and older sister in Amsterdam in The Netherlands. Olivia’s room was decorated by her mama Jessica, who is an interior designer & stylist, cuff link designer, AND a purser!
Jessica’s top design tip for decorating children’s rooms is to use humor and provide lots of storage, preferably concealed. Hidden storage is great for parents (who don’t have to look at the mess) and kids (who don’t have to tidy up all the time).
Let’s find out a bit more about Olivia now…
♥ What is your favourite food? Mama’s noodles.
♥ What do you like doing? I love drawing and I’m really into my kendama.
♥ What is your favourite colour? Bright yellow.
♥ What is your favourite animal? Hippopotamus.
♥ Your favourite book? The Twits by Roald Dahl.
♥ Dresses & skirts or trousers? Trousers!
♥ Where would you like to go one day? I’d love to go and see the gorillas in Africa, but I’ll have to be a bit older.
♥ What would you take to a desert island? My rabbit Henkelien.
♥ What do you want to be when you grow up? I’d like to do something with animals, maybe a ranger in an African nature reserve.
♥ What is your favourite thing in your room? The colour of my cabin bed and the secret cupboards.
♥ What is your favourite duvet cover? The one with the sleeping dog (it’s just like there’s a real dog sleeping on your bed, from Snurk).
Thank you Olivia, it was really nice to meet you!
(photography by dana van leeuwen, design & styling by jessica bouvy)
This gorgeous bedroom belongs to Ivy who is 3 years old. Ivy lives with her mum, dad and two older brothers in North London in the UK. Her room was decorated by her mum, Courtney, who is one of the founders of Babyccino Kids, a well-known online shopping portal of children’s boutiques and lifestyle blog for parents (one of my favourite websites for all things stylish and kids in fact!).
Let’s find out a bit more about Ivy…
♥ What is your favourite food? I love eating snacks all day, but my favorite food is pancakes.
♥ What do you love doing? Playing dress up and playing mama to my babies.
♥ What is your favourite colour? Pink
♥ What is your favourite animal? Bunny rabbits
♥ Your favourite book? I love my Olivia books!
♥ What is your favourite thing in your room? My tutu dress for playing ballerina, the red wooden buggy for my babies, my dress-up clothes in the suitcase at the end of my bed.
♥ What is your favourite duvet cover? I have a really nice old quilt that mama bought for me when I was a baby.
♥ What are your favourite pyjamas? Any of my pink ones!
Thank you Ivy, it was really nice to meet you!
(images: courtney adamo)
This pretty girls bedroom belongs to Merel who is four and a half years old. She lives with her family in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Merel’s room was decorated by her mum Iris, who is an interior stylist and blogger over at Visje bij de thee (‘tea & a little fish’). Let’s find out a bit more about Merel …
♥ What is your favourite food? Spaghetti with red sauce.
♥ What do you love doing? Crafting and making, singing and dancing. I like cutting out my drawings and glueing them onto other things.
♥ What is your favourite colour? Pink
♥ What is your favourite animal? Rabbit
♥ Your favourite book? My fairytale book and Mannetje jas (about a man who lives inside his coat to keep warm until one day he finds love which keeps him warm instead).
♥ What do you want to be when you grow up? A teacher, dancer, mummy, work in a hospital or shop – it changes every day!
♥ What is your favourite thing in your room? My flower wallpaper and my favourite cuddly toy.
♥ What do you love most about your room? That it is a flower room.
♥ What do you love doing in your room? Playing with my barbies and soft toys without interruption from my little brother.
♥ What is your favourite duvet cover? My pink cover with white roses.
♥ What are your favourite pyjamas? My short sleeved nightie with pink flowers.
Thank you Merel, it was really nice to meet you!
If you’d like to find out more about Merel’s mum Iris, pop over to her blog for visje-bij-de-thee-style interiors inspiration. Iris is in the process of setting up an online shop to start selling the interior accessories and lifestyle products that she loves, so stay tuned.
(images: jeltje janmaat for vt wonen, styling by iris rietbergen)
This gorgeous bedroom belongs to Anya who is three and a half years old. She lives with her family in Surrey in the UK. Anya’s room was decorated by her mum Veronika who is an artist and designer at Sarah & Bendrix (she designed the stars picture). Let’s find out a bit more about Anya, shall we?
♥ What is your favourite food? Chocolate
♥ What do you love doing? Painting, reading and ballet
♥ What is your favourite colour? Purple
♥ What is your favourite animal? Cat
♥ Your favourite book? Anything to do with ballerinas
♥ What do you want to be when you grow up? Fairy
♥ What is your favourite thing in your room? My toy Rabitty
♥ What do you love doing most in your room? Reading
Thank you Anya, it was lovely to meet you!
(images: 91magazine, veronika pollard)
Earlier this week I mentioned I have a bit of a soft spot for floral wallpaper – putting it down to family trips to France when I was little. Well, I just came across a treasured photograph of me as a baby in my room. Looks like my mum liked flowers too! So maybe my love affair with flowers started a lot earlier than I thought.
As I’m hopelessly nostalgic about my childhood, I love looking back through old family albums. I was reminded of the emotional connection to family photos, and the memories that they represent, when I went to have a look at my friend Anna Nowinska-Boardman’s new website recently.
Anna is a bumps & babies photographer and she’s pioneering birth reportage photography in the UK. One of her first blog posts was about her favourite childhood photograph. Take a minute to visit Anna’s blog to read her story, and tell me if that doesn’t bring tears to your eyes.
On a completely different note, tell me also if you’ve spotted and recognised the crazy cute fox Anna is holding in her favourite childhood photo – did anyone else have this fox when they were little? Do you think it was Anna’s or a photographer’s prop?
So I’ve been wondering – do you have any photographs of your old room as a child? I’d really love to see them and hear the stories that are connected to them, and perhaps share some here on the blog. Wouldn’t it be great to reminisce together? Drop me a line if you would like to share yours here and I’ll get right on it.
(image: room to bloom)
