Trippin' Down Memory Lane: A Celestial Would-Be Astronomer's Childhood Bedroom

[Bottom LEFT you'll see my Batmobile pillow! I gave it to my nephew later on.]

I recently stumbled photos of my childhood bedroom in an ancient digital memory card. This was the room in my late teenage years. Looking back, the space is so tiny and compact. How did I fit four friends in for random sleepovers?! There's no Mid Century Modern in sight (which I liked at the time but didn't collect), but there's still...

Transformers! I used to stay up until the early morning hours working on websites so you'll notice lots of ambient light pieces I enjoyed keeping on, sometimes until the sun came up. I loved the Mexican star lamp on the ceiling, the paper lamps above the bed, and the star lamp on my small bookshelf. I collected my pieces over the years from thrift stores, hippie/new-age shops, Puerto Rico trips and from "ethnic" shops over the years. The beaded curtain was the first thing I ever ordered online. I recall the mixed feelings and regret I felt selling most of everything pictured.

The dressers are still "in the family," my roommate is using the standard one and the mirror above it, the high boy is in my niece's bedroom. The big, ugly TV was in my living room until a couple years back (seen here in 2nd apartment's living room along with me Mexican star and the bookshelf below).

Sorry for the hideous blur here. I used a 4 mega pixel point and shoot camera from ancient times for these shots. At night! This was the work space where I made many of my earlier websites. I still have that Nightmare Before Christmas Lamp (on my vanity) and one of the pen cups. I no longer have sharp teeth and eye balls attached to a stone-age PC, but that printer lasted forever. It just kicked the bucket a couple months back.

I'm writing from that same computer desk right now, it's scuffed and worn from years of heavy use. My childhood Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles poster hangs out in my bathroom. I painted the two memo boards you can barely see with gradient night skies to match the room theme. I still have the pokémon plushies but I recently sold the last of my manga comic books. It's hard to see but there's 3 batman collectibles in this shot and one in the first shot!

The Starry Night pillow was from a kitschy shop in the trendy 5 Points shopping strip, you'd press the moon in and tiny battery powered bulbs made the lights twinkle. The prints above the bed were pages from my calendar and the rabbit (named "Bunny") was a childhood toy. The stars above the bed glowed beautifully at night, I don't think my then-camera was up to the task of documenting that correctly! The theme was inspired by my then love of astronomy. I used to take my telescope out to our deck and peek at celestial wonders on summer nights, by then I knew I'd go to college to be a writer or graphic designer but around age 9 I was obsessed with becoming an astronomer and continued collecting astronomy goods since then.

This room reminds me of former maximalist days, I continue to strive for minimalism. I continue to sell as much as possible, keeping little nostalgic pieces for history. I'm still writing for websites and curating daily like I when I occupied that room. I never would have guessed all the time I spent in this room making websites for fun would turn into a full-time career.

Those walls are now a pale yellow and that old maroon rug's been swapped for a plush cream one. The space has become a "play room" for my nieces and nephews, with space for their toys and a large flat screen TV for their movies and video games.  My mom keeps begging me to a make-over on the kid's space so look for a before/after into the future! For now, it's fun to look at this bit of frozen time. We grow up, we mature, but some things never change.

What was your childhood bedroom like? What era was it? I'd really love to know! Any embarrassing messes, crush's photos or regrettable decor?

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