Tween Boy's Vintage Video Game Room

Ben's room is finally decorated!!!

When he was younger, I did vintage-inspired sports as a theme.  Now he's outgrown that so his 3-year-old brother inherited it.  We decided on a video game room, but I definitely wanted it to have a vintage feel, so here's the tour:

When you first walk in the door, you see the bookshelf and an awesome mushroom I found at an antique mall.  It's very Mario-esque isn't it?

We have tons of Atari games, so I used some of them to line the backs of the shelves.  We also had some Mario candy dispensers that we put here with some framed photos.  Then I realized we really need to update the photos, so that will be a project for another day.

On top of the bookshelf is a framed picture of a healing potion from "The Legend of Zelda."  I used to be a photographer so I have tons of older portraits printed on matboard.  I couldn't possibly display all the photos, so I flipped one over and drew a grid.  Then I colored the potion in with sharpies.  Simple, free artwork!  I also made the stuffed yoshi egg out of felt.  I just found a fabric egg pattern online and made it the right size.  Then I glued on green felt circles.  Another easy project which was free because I already had the felt.

Ben has performed in a couple of plays at the local children's theater, so I framed both of the posters in this extra long premade frame.  I really like when things work out like that.

Then we move around to the bed and window area.

I made the Pac-Man curtains out of a twin-sized sheet.  I knew exactly what sheets I wanted, because my sister used to have a set, so I watched ebay for a while until these came up for bid.  I used the fitted sheet on his bed, and used the flat sheet for the curtains.  If you've never used sheets for curtains, it really couldn't be simpler.  They already have a pocket at the top for the rod, so all you have to do is cut them in half longways, and sew a hem on the cut side.  I left the top part near the rod pocket unsewn because you can't see it under the valance anyway.  If you have two twin sheets, you can just hang them as-is without cutting.  I just had one, so I didn't have a choice.

I made a basic valance, and then appliqued the Pac-Man guys on.  I found the images online somewhere (I honestly don't remember where) and printed them off so I could make my own appliques.  There are plenty of tutorials on the internet to show you how to make your own iron-on appliques.  Here is a good one.

Now the bed!!!  My biggest project was this way-cool "The Legend of Zelda" quilt.  Oh my stinkin' heck it took forever!  But I really love how it turned out.  I bought the pattern at carolinapatchworks.com.  She has more great patterns for classic video games such as "Super Mario Brothers", "Duck Hunt", and "Pole Position", among others.

I found these two pillow cases on ebay.  They have a zipper so I can remove the pillow for washing.

Above the bed we have a shadow box filled with Atari games.  We had a friend build this especially for the games, but we could have used shelves or something similar.

Also, since these are just sitting in the shadow box (as opposed to being glued on to something), we can still take them out to play if we want.

We also have some shelves to hold Ben's origami creations...

 

...and a handmade Zelda clock.  I'm actually pretty proud of this one.  I had a cheap-o plastic clock that I took apart.  Then I downloaded a screenshot from the opening scene of the game, and used Photoshop to make it the right size and add the numbers.  I cut it to fit the inside of the clock, used double-sided tape to attach it to the back, and put the clock pieces back together.  If you give this a try, you may not be able to get all the clock pieces to come apart.  Just make a slit up one side to slip it around the hands, and you shouldn't be able to tell once you stick it all down.  

 

Now, around the top of the room, we have shelves near the ceiling.  On the corner above the bookshelf, I put our Atari, controllers, and tower with more games.

My kids love to build things out of legos, so I confiscated these Mario characters for the middle of the shelf.

Over the window, Ben has his mighty muggs lined up.

And in the other corner I put more Atari controllers and a few games.

Continuing around the room, Ben has his dresser with trophies,...

...his closet door, his desk and lamp,...

...and the Mario pixel art that I did the tutorial for here.

Whew!  I keep thinking of projects for the room, so I'm sure we'll be working on it for a while, but for now Ben is thrilled, and I get to reminisce about my own childhood of gaming every time I walk in. 

I'm linking up to I Heart Naptime for her Sundae Scoop linky party.