Vintage Decorating Ideas for a Boy's Bedroom

Sports Memorabilia

• Fill the room with vintage sports memorabilia. Frame old newspaper headlines and magazine covers that highlight the accomplishments of the child’s favorite team. You can also frame a retro jersey from the same team. Hang on the wall vintage tin signs featuring sports figures. Place old-fashioned sports-related items on rustic wooden shelves bordering the room, including football helmets, baseball gloves and balls, and bobble heads. Top the bed with a cream-colored bedspread alongside red or blue accent pillows, common colors for sports teams. Use similar colors for an area rug and curtains.

Toys

• Place a variety of classic toys throughout your child’s room. Top a white-washed dresser with a host of tin toys, such as wind-up motorcycles and robots. Also include such vintage toys as tin spinning tops and jack-in-the-boxes. Designate a portion of the room as a game corner, placing a small wooden table alongside plush chairs. Top the table with a collection of classic board games. Hang a small wooden clipper airplane from the pull string of a ceiling fan. Place a toy train around the room’s border shelves.

Cruise Ships

• Use an old-fashioned cruise ship theme for your child’s bedroom. Hang framed posters of such famed ships as the Queen Mary and RMS Queen Elizabeth II. Mount a variety of knickknacks on the wall as well, such as red and white life preservers, port holes and wooden ship wheels. Line the shelves with miniature lighthouses, anchors and model ships. Because brass is a common material found on old-fashioned cruise lines, add brass highlights to the room, such as lamps, coat hooks and door knobs. To represent the ocean and sky, use a blue-and-white color scheme for the curtains, rug and bedspread.

Cars

• Arrange a boy’s bedroom with a classic cars theme, including automobiles dating back to the 1920s, like roadsters and hand-cranked speedsters. Line the bedroom’s shelves with a set of old-fashioned model cars. Dress the bed with a vintage quilt featuring classic cars. Include lampshades, pillows, clocks and outlet plates dressed with old automobiles. For an added bit of flare, include old-fashioned street signs on the walls.