Spider-Man Bedroom

My younger son loves Spider-Man.  As a sort of gift/treat for him, about 2 years ago we re-decorated his room with a Spider-Man theme.  The real value of that theme for me is that Spider-Man has some basic colors (red, blue, black) and easy-to-draw motifs.

I hate buying plastic junk, so we definitely didn't go out and buy a suite of special TM-branded merchandise. It helps, though, that we had purchased a few yard-sale Spider-Man toys:  a few dolls, a lunch box, and a handy talking "computer".  A Spider-Man poster that I use in teaching my mathematics classes (no kidding!) came home to reside in his room as well.  (In an earlier post, I describe how this poster is part of our passive solar cooling strategy).

But aside from that official Spider-Stuff, the rest of the decoration was paint, rope, and brain-storming.  For example, with the use of leftover red spray-paint and masking-tape to mark off "windows", we turned his shelves into "apartment buildings".

Next I turned to the bed and its old, worn comforter.  I re-covered that old quilt with a black sheet (purchased cheap) and some red rope found at the hardware store, and I sewed the rope right onto the quilt in a spider-web shape.  This "new" quilt cost about $5.  The black is even more striking than I thought it would be, and I think it will keep the room from seeming too little-kid-ish for a longer time.

A black office-trash can salvaged from elsewhere in the house, together with some fabric paint, had the same motif.  Halloween spiders graced his lamp until they were lost in the usual melee.  Fabric paint is also great for decorating lampshades, by the way.

The remainder of the red rope, together with about $3 worth of hardware, became the envy of all his friends:  the giant spiderweb!  It does double-duty as a stuffed animal holder.

Not every super-hero my kids like would work so well.  Spider-Man has easy colors, and he also has a bunch of signature accessories (city buildings, webs) that are easy to draw.  My older son loves Bionicles, far beyond my current artistic abilities. I keep asking, "Are you sure you don't like sharks?  Or race cars?"  No luck.  So his room is still un-themed, and likely to remain so for a long time.

Hmm . . . maybe I can convince him that cardboard boxes are a theme?  Dust bunnies?  I'll keep thinking . . .