Monday's Question of the Day - March 28, 2016

[MoochNNoodles]

What was your bedroom like as a child?  Did you share a room?  What color was your room?  Was it very decorated or free from clutter?

This evening I sat on a couch in my step-dad's office chatting with my mother.  Up until a few months ago it was still the same color it was when I lived at home...purple and white.  We moved there when I was a teenager though.  It was a really nice, spacious room.  I had a double bed all to myself.

I was an only child till Mom remarried; so I always had my own room.  We moved several times but I almost always had a blue blanket or comforter on the bed.  I selected none of those.  The first room I remember Mom painted light pink and I had a twin size bed that had been hers as a child.  The next place we lived was an attic apartment and I started with the same twin bed; but was eventually given a double bed.  The room was just plain white with parquet flooring;but all the weird angles of the roof made the room have several neat niches.  One fit my bed pretty perfectly.  After that I had a few different rooms; most were plain except for my bedding, a curtain at the window and maybe a few pictures on the walls.  Never plastered with posters or anything like that!.  I had other furniture and toys though; including the wooden dollhouse my Grandpa built for me.  The purple and white bedroom was by far my favorite.  Purple is my favorite color and Mom and I worked to find coordinating curtains and eventually bedding.  One year for my birthday I was given a wrought iron canopy bed frame I had been drooling over.  I took that set with me when I got married and moved out.  My step-brother lived at home during college and eventually moved into my old room.  i guess he didn't mind the purple. 

  DH won't let me paint our room purple.  

 

 

[lonelocust]

My room had a wallpaper with twining blue roses and a shiny moiré effect. I had a canopy bed with white canopy and curtains, but I was disappointed that I couldn't really close the curtains. Oh well. I had quite a lot of decorative knickknacks and various shelves for those.

At some point I got tired of the wallpaper (I had picked it out when I was about 5), but taking it down seemed like a lot of work. Also I think it was maybe on only one wall? I continued to like everything else. As an older tween I spent 12 hours or so painstakingly recreating the constellations in glow in the dark star stickers, bigger stickers for brighter stars, on all walks, furniture, and ceiling. It was basically invisible with the lights on and looked magical with the lights off. I had big east-facing windows but heavy wooden shutters so could get it pretty dark in the room.

It was quite a large room, larger than most of my bedrooms as an adult.

 

[louann jude]

I shared a room with my little sister. We lived in a trailer so it was walls with that old paneling. We decorated it with posters and pictures of friends. We always had the big radio, cd player tape deck combo on our dresser. I was the messy one so my sister really had fun. I always had a room and a bed but for some reason chose to sleep in the living room on the floor. I was always a night owl too and suffered from insomnia so I would watch tv until I could fall asleep.

Now that I am grown with kids of my own I still can't sleep in a room. I sleep on a couch and prefer it. If I wasn't so heavy I would probably sleep on the floor. I thankfully have become more tidy and sadly have trouble sleeping like then. I just sleep in shifts now. I will sleep a few hours and up a few and then sleep more. 

 

[AbbysMom]

I only had brothers, so I didn't have to share. My room had wallpaper with pink flowers on it.

 

[jcat]

My siblings and I had our own rooms, but traded them over the years for various reasons. For a couple of years I had one with aqua walls, aqua floral print curtains, a gray rug and gray furniture. The bedspread matched the curtains. Then I moved into a bigger bedroom with cream walls, cream curtains, a green rug and dark oak furniture. Except for my desk(s), the bedrooms were pretty much free of clutter.

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

My bedroom was shared with two sisters. The bed was an antique iron bed frame. When the house was wired with electricity the light fixture was a singe bare bulb in the ceiling with a string attached. The walls were unpainted and made from bead board, heart pine. The mattress was made from feathers and we sunk down into it when we went to bed. In winter we slept under handmade bed quilts, so many you couldn't turn over once you laid down in the bed. Two of us slept at the head of the bed and one at the foot. Sounds primitive, doesn't it?

 

[sivyaleah]

I had several bedrooms growing up; we moved when I was 10 from Brooklyn to NJ.

My first one (well actually I don't remember the real first one since I was an infant) was plain white walls, French Provincial style furniture. Trundle bed for my sister and I. We lived in an apartment building and back then nobody would dream of painting any other color than the white it came with.  I shared it with my younger sister by 2 years, and eventually my toddler brother when the last of the 4 of us was born and she went into my parents room in a crib.

This, was what prompted us to move LOL.  Once in NJ, my sister and I shared a large room in what had been an attic at one time.  It was painted "slime lime" as we called it then - a bright, happy green which is still one of my fav colors. We had twin beds. The curtains and bedspreads were a lime/orange/white/yellow pop art flower mix.  There wasn't a closet in that room, it was in the hallway and was gigantic - with a pass through to unfinished attic space.  

There was another room down the hall, even larger and I up and decided to move into it when I was getting into my teens.  Sharing just didn't cut it anymore.  That room was painted a soft, Dutch blue, with white trim.  It had a large window seat which ran across the entire room, under the window. Plain white pull down shade on the window. The bed itself was a hand me down from a relative who didn't need it anymore - double sized, nice wood frame, kind of a colonial feel to it.  There was also a matching tall dresser. I don't recall the bedspread at all - it probably was something subtle - perhaps just a bunch of blankets.  This room, luckily, had a small closet.  There was also a door to a crawl space which was sort of like a secret hideaway for stuff.  I got creative with this room; painting a mural on the window seat box, and my dad made a record album holder out of a cut down rain gutter - it held the albums up for display perfectly.  I hung up photos/posters/my own drawings of various things - one I remember the most was a Miro print near my bed.

It's funny how many details one can remember from so long ago.  

 

[gilmargl]

Being the eldest of 6 children (2 boys and 4 girls) in a 3-bedroomed council house in London meant that I had to share. I spent perhaps most of my 18 years at home sleeping in a double-bed with my sister (18 months younger than me). We had a bumpy mattress, utility grey blankets and various articles of clothing (including a fox fur!) for extra warmth on the bed in winter. We had an imaginary line down the middle of the bed, and down the centre of a shared set of drawers and woe betide the sister who dared cross the line! We had too few possessions for clutter - apart from school uniform clothing was a matter one change of clothing for wash and one for wear. I imagine we had cream floral wallpaper provided by the local council, cream paintwork and a wooden picture rail. No pictures in those days - they turned up after I'd left home for university and money became available.

Yes, I hated my "home" and the presence of so many siblings. I didn't hate anyone personally and would never admit to my poor parents that after the age of ten, I much preferred school to home life. In those days we were glad to leave home though my youngest brothers and sisters were happy to stay far longer in that little house, which did become extremely cluttered.  

 

[cassiopea]

Moved around a bit as a kid, so my bedroom was varied:

Ages 0-7 my room was small, light yellow walls, bright and sunny, simply decorated. Had Mickey mouse cartoons on the wall. German Shepherds slept in there with me.


7-11 Large bedroom, white walls and beige/brown carpeting. Bed was a futon. Horse and ballet pictures all over the place, as well as some paintings. Lot's of books. Jack Russell Slept with me. Had my own en suite bathroom! 


12-18 White/Wood, two rooms molded into one (Hard to describe). Lot's of books. Pictures of horses, ballet, anime, World War II themed posters etc on the walls. Costumes all over the place, as well as horse tack.  Jack Russell and later kitties slept with me.






No siblings 

 

[MoochNNoodles]

My bedroom was shared with two sisters. The bed was an antique iron bed frame. When the house was wired with electricity the light fixture was a singe bare bulb in the ceiling with a string attached. The walls were unpainted and made from bead board, heart pine. The mattress was made from feathers and we sunk down into it when we went to bed. In winter we slept under handmade bed quilts, so many you couldn't turn over once you laid down in the bed. Two of us slept at the head of the bed and one at the foot. Sounds primitive, doesn't it?

That was how my Grandmother always slept growing up.  Fortunately everyone in her family was on the petite side.  Even the men.  I remember her talking about having trouble sleeping if there were less than 3 people in the bed.  She and my Grandfather shared a double bed all their married life.  DH and I share their bed when we go to visit and bump into each other all night long. 

 

 

[muffy]

My parents brought a house in l950 and it only had 2 bedrooms and one bath. My brother was born first then me and we shared a room. When my sister was born my father refinished the attic and made a room for my brother and my sister and me shared the room downstairs. It was not until I was 15 till I got a room to myself because my brother was drafted and went to Viet Nam.  My sister had Beatle posters up but I don't remember what color the room was.

 

[foxxycat]

I grew up in an old house in the 1800s so it had its own spaces in each room. I started out in a small bedroom then moved to my sisters room when I turned 7 as she moved out.

The old room had that black and white checker floor. yuck. I used to break out of my crib and break the bars to get out. I was in a crib until I think 2 or 3? I was a monkey and I could climb anythng anywhere.

When I moved into the new room, it  was bigger and had 3 windows vs 2 windows. This room was facing the backyard so it was quieter-the other bedroom faced the front corner and we had alot of traffic out front.

I absolutely loved the house we grew up even if it only had one bathroom.

I lived there my entire life. Mom got pregnant with me and they moved here when she found out she was pregnant.

I had my room painted with a light peach color and I had posters on my walls and ceilings. I didnt have any dressers or mirrors. I had built in bookcases because thats what I loved. I had a kick butt stereo that was really powerful. I have no clue how i did homework because I didnt have a desk or chair-maybe I did it at the kitchen table.. I had my bed against the far wall and slept in the window in the summer. I had my sisters old dresser shoved into the closet and hung up myclothes. I was messy back then. I had everything folded but piles everywhere. But I always kept food and wrappers out of my room. I also kept the floor clean. I never made my bed...still don't but getting better at that..I don't remember what I had for bedclothes or what I wore...I have fading memories and photos but most of my life at home was forgotten by the time I left at 19. The day after I graduated from high school.

I remember the green grass of the yard outside my windows and the smell of the oak trees we had on the side of our yard.

I remember had a dog who slept on the floor in my room. My various cats that slept in the room too. I don't remember where we kept the litter box if we had one? They were indoor outdoor. so many blurs..

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I was an only, so no sharing, and my parents pretty much let me decorate any way I wanted to.  If something was "too expensive," they would help me find a way to duplicate it at a reasonable cost.  I didn't know for years that very little would actually have been too expensive.  We lived way below their means.  But, I had the fun of doing it myself, and the pleasure of knowing that I could.  Invaluable.

 

[LTS3]

I had my own room being the only girl. I guess by legal definitions it wasn't a bedroom since it had no closet. It was more like an office / study and oddly had two doors, one from the hallway and one from the entry way. It was a pretty small room, maybe 6 ft wide by 10 ft long and a single window. The wall was covered in a hideous flower-y 1920s wallpaper that was peeling in many places (original to the 1920s house). My room was cluttered with a huge dresser filled with years of my parents' various stuff, a desk for me, two small dressers for me, a metal locker thing that served as a closet, a small bookcase, and a small wooden chest for toys and miscellaneous other stuff. I was never allowed to put anything on the walls (posters, art work, etc) or get new curtains.

 

[Willowy]

When we were very little, we shared a bed with my parents. I know I had a room to put my toys in when I was small (under 6, which is when we moved), but I never slept there. I don't remember much about it. When we moved to Japan, we lived in a Japanese house for about 18 months. Japanese houses don't really have separate bedrooms. We had one really big room upstairs and everybody slept on futons on the floor.

Then we moved to Navy housing, and we got a 3-bedroom. One of the rooms was "mine" but I was too scared to sleep there. It was a long room, so half of it was partitioned off with bookshelves, and the litterboxes were in that space too. I had a bunkbed and I put Cat Fancy posters all over the walls :lol3:. My dad decided we couldn't sleep in their bed when he was home, but we still piled in with my mom when he was at sea. When he was home, all us kids slept in my brothers' room. There was a bunkbed in there too, but we were weird kids and NOBODY wanted the top bunk! So usually there were 2 of us in the bottom bunk and one on a futon on the floor. Or the other way around. We were kind of casual about sleeping arrangements.

When I was 12 we moved again to a different base and we got a 4-bedroom. My dad took one as his den so my brothers still had to share. By then I was at an age where I wanted my own room, plus the rooms were closer together so I wasn't as scared. I still had my bunkbed, and took turns sleeping on the top or bottom, whatever I felt like. Still had Cat Fancy posters! But that room had large windows and less wall space. I had a bookshelf and a dresser, and 1 litterbox that I was responsible for cleaning. It had a really big closet.

You aren't allowed to modify Navy housing so the walls and floors were just whatever they had. White walls, plain tile floors, etc.

When I was 15 my dad retired from the Navy and we moved to the US and bought a house. But it was only a 2-bedroom. I took the sunroom as my bedroom until my dad made bedrooms in the basement and I took one of those. I still wasn't much for decoration---the same Cat Fancy posters!

And the kids' rooms were always a mess when I was a kid. We had lots of fun! My mom isn't much for housekeeping even now.

 

[donutte]

I grew up in a two-flat in the city. My parents (who the whole time I've been in existence), my oldest sister, my two brother and I all lived there. My oldest sister is 21 years older than me, my oldest brother is 16 years older than me, and my youngest brother 14 years older than me. Just for reference.

There were originally two bedrooms. I think the people that lived there before my parents bought the place put a wall in one of the rooms, turning it into two smaller rooms. So my dad was in one of those rooms, oldest brother was in the other room, mom was in another room altogether. My youngest brother slept on the back porch, my sister slept on the sofa in the living room, and I slept in my mom's bed ever since I learned how to flip out of the crib. That lasted till I was maybe... 7 years old?

My oldest brother had moved out, so my parents got bunk beds, and I shared that room with my oldest sister. She got the bottom bunk, I got the top. It had some rather boring wallpaper if I remember correctly. I was in that room until sometime when I was in the middle of high school.

Was it cluttered... hahahahaha. Um, yeah, pretty much.

 

[Winchester]

My parents had a 3-bedroom ranch and my younger sister and I shared a room (and a bed for several years until my parents broke down and got us bunk beds). The color was called Cotton Candy and it was a horrid pink color. My sister and I did not get along when we were kids, so you can imagine how things went. She was constantly "borrowing" my clothes and when they didn't fit her, she would re-hem my skirts, re-sew my blouses, etc, so they'd fit her. She was shorter than me and heavier than me, so things didn't go well when it came time to get dressed for school. And mom let her do it, so I had no choice in the matter.

We couldn't put anything on the bedroom walls, but we were allowed to put stuff on the mirrors of our bureaus. It was pretty much my sister's room. She had stuff everywhere and there was little room for me to have anything. I used to keep stuff under my bed.

I loved to read and it seemed that I never had enough time to read as much as I wanted. I'd take a flashlight to bed with me and after the lights were out, I'd get under the covers with my flashlight and a book. Soon, I'd hear my sister saying, "I'm telling Mooooom!" And then "Mom, Mom, she's reading again!" And I'd get my butt trounced by my dad, much to my sister's amusement.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

i think the best single word that describes my bedroom as a child is cluttered. i really didn't enjoy cleaning or tidying my bedroom as a child, though as an adult i prefer to keep my house very tidy...organized.

i don't think i ever shared a room, not with my sister or brother. my sister was born with a defect to her ankle/foot, so she wore a corrective brace starting when she was very young...and slept in a crib in with my parents. before my sister started kindergarten, the birth defect had been fully corrected and she didn't need a brace. my brother and i had connecting bedrooms at one point, though our beds were placed in front of the connecting door on either side. we talked to each other through the door as we were falling asleep at night.

i don't even remember what wallpaper or color paint the walls in my bedrooms had. my family moved 3 times as i was growing up; we lived in 4 houses total, including the first one.

 

[stewball]

My parents had a 3-bedroom ranch and my younger sister and I shared a room (and a bed for several years until my parents broke down and got us bunk beds). The color was called Cotton Candy and it was a horrid pink color. My sister and I did not get along when we were kids, so you can imagine how things went. She was constantly "borrowing" my clothes and when they didn't fit her, she would re-hem my skirts, re-sew my blouses, etc, so they'd fit her. She was shorter than me and heavier than me, so things didn't go well when it came time to get dressed for school. And mom let her do it, so I had no choice in the matter.

We couldn't put anything on the bedroom walls, but we were allowed to put stuff on the mirrors of our bureaus. It was pretty much my sister's room. She had stuff everywhere and there was little room for me to have anything. I used to keep stuff under my bed.

I loved to read and it seemed that I never had enough time to read as much as I wanted. I'd take a flashlight to bed with me and after the lights were out, I'd get under the covers with my flashlight and a book. Soon, I'd hear my sister saying, "I'm telling Mooooom!" And then "Mom, Mom, she's reading again!" And I'd get my butt trounced by my dad, much to my sister's amusement.

Arent big Sisters awful when you're young.

 

[stewball]

During then 2nd world War before I was a twinkle, mum was taking my sister in the pram for a walk to the park and one day she saw a house up for sale that she liked. 3 bedroom. We lived in London. She went to talk to the bank manager who said you don't buy a house during a war. So she bought it and we lived there all my sister and my lives. My dad was an ophthalmic optician and he turned the small bedroom into an eye testing room. My sister and I shared. I don't remember much. We had net curtains and heavy ones to pull at night. My sister had something called a tall boy where she kept clothes. There was a cupboard where our clothes hung I think. I don't remember where my folded stuff was kept. The walls were wallpapered probably with little flowers. As we hit out teens problems started. Fights, arguments especially about 5 the radio, she wanted classical I wanted rock and roll. So dad's optician room became mine and he still used it though. It was small and I loved it. Net curtains and heavy ones single iron bed, a dressing table with a mirror and drawers and place for my makeup and my parents bought me a radio. I had posters and pictures of Elvis, James Dean, all the good looking singers and actors around the early 60's. I loved me room. My sister got married in 1967 and still is but I was moved back to the big bedroom. Not happily and dad couldn't wait to test my posters etc off the walls. A year later I left England and my bedroom.