Boy's spy themed bedroom?

[Liberty Belle]

My son just told me that he'd like a spy bedroom instead of the train one he has. He had all kinds of wild ideas about what he'd like (none of which are feasible - he's six).

The only thing I can think of is putting a peephole thing in his door. I thought of maybe doing some "around the world" pictures and things (toy box trunk with stickers from different countries, etc).

His favorite colors are blue, red, and orange - not too spy-ish.

Does anyone here have any ideas?

 

[Hoodie]

A large map of the world (so he can find where his next assignment is) or maybe some google earth images as "spy" survelience

I tried the spy museum store (http://www.spymuseumstore.org/) They didn't have anything directly related to room decorations but have some cool accessories - like motion detectors/alarms, concealment items, etc. Great items for a spy birthday party too if he's still into it at his next birthday.

Good luck - that's a tough one!

 

[Tink888]

My son just told me that he'd like a spy bedroom instead of the train one he has. He had all kinds of wild ideas about what he'd like (none of which are feasible - he's six).

The only thing I can think of is putting a peephole thing in his door. I thought of maybe doing some "around the world" pictures and things (toy box trunk with stickers from different countries, etc).
His favorite colors are blue, red, and orange - not too spy-ish.

Does anyone here have any ideas?

Good idea. Also good idea from PP about the maps. You could do a shadow box with pretend passports, itineraries, etc. Maybe print out pics of family members to make "most wanted" posters. Check out a thrift store for an old trench coat and hat. Wrap old boxes in plain brown paper with "Top Secret" written on them.

Toys R Us used to carry a line of spy toys. The motion detectors were always a favorite of my boys (especially fun for me when they set them up before bed and I'd get up in the middle of the night for a bathroom trip).

 

[WDSearcher]

I was going to send you to the Spy Museum website, but someone beat me to it!

• A big map of the world would be good. Get some of those big, brightly colored Post-Its and cut them into shapes like arrows, big "X" shapes, and other stuff to stick onto it.
• You might want to get him some of those books that are really places to hide things. You can find them pretty easily on line or in novelty stores. They also have things like fake cans of soda where the top unscrews and you can put stuff inside. Then he could hide stuff in his room, which he'd probably think was cool.
• Can you find (or build) a trunk or suitcase with a hidden compartment? You could still do the "around the world" trunk, but have a hidden compartment in it that could hold his "secret surveillance."
• There are probably lots of toy "spy kits" out there -- just google "spy toys" or something similar and you can find lots of fun stuff. He'd have periscopes and disappearing ink and magnifying glasses and all that fun stuff.
• Maybe paint one wall grey and have lots of buttons or lights or switches on it so that he has a "command center". You could add an old computer keyboard and other stuff to fill it out. The switches don't have to be connected to anything, but if you can figure out a way to wire a couple of things to actually turn on when he flips a switch, that would be cool.
• You could get an old phone (the old dial phones that you find at Goodwill or flea markets) and spray paint it red. It can be his "hot line" for getting calls about new spy assignments.
• Hang a kid-sized trench coat and fedora (from a party store or costume shop) on a hook on the back of the door or front of the closet.

Hope that helps!

 

[Liberty Belle]

Brilliant ideas everyone!

Thank you so much!

 

[merekc]

Brainstorm here.
I'm thinking fingerprints, magnifying glass, telescope, the words Top-Secret, sunglasses. I saw this balloon with a quick google and think you could paint something along these lines fairly easy. Look for some clip art to trace on.

http://www.birthdayinabox.com/party...odsku-8049-dept_id-234-prodtype_id-3-cat_id-8

What about rope lighting around the ceiling, or (not sure how you could do this) but if there was anyway to shine a red light across the room (maybe at ceiling level) like a lazer beam. Also, maybe look for a fake book, can, etc. that is for hiding stuff in it. Would be cool to a kid. You could also get one of those revolving dome lights (like the kind undercover cops put on top of their car) or a stobe light.

I was also wondering about posters with satellites or satellite images on them.
Hope this helps.

ETA: Ooops. I see I duplicated because I started my post and had to come back. I love the fake phone idea.

 

[mtemm]

wow, what great ideas! my 6 year old is also very into spy stuff (and was very into trains when he was younger). a spy bedroom would be amazing!

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

Check the book stores, there might also be some (junior) books on codes and cyphers (word games) that might be interesting.

you could also get him a small one or two drawer file cabinet, and stencil "Secret" and "TOP Secret" on the drawers. (could be used for toy storage and/or folders with "spy stuff" (school work?)

Check a magic shop for "Invisable ink" to write notes. and you could get him a small blacklight that makes stuff glow.

 

[brasswillow]

They did a spy room on Extreme Makeover Homme Edition. The scope might be too grand, but maybe it will give you some ideas.

http://www.wildplanet.com/press/wp_release_single.php?prid=95

There's also a link to a brief video of the room (it is from the company who makes the spy gadgest, but some good ideas are included).

There are clocks that show what time it is in locations around the world. There was a floor safe in a little "secret" cave.

 

[Avalon_toon]

Cool idea for a room! I did a space themed room for my son when he was 6, as part of that we got a gadget similar to this one that we attached to the bi-fold doors on his closet, that sets off an alarm if you open the door without sliding a key-card into the slot - we used it to pretend that his closet was an airlock, but it would work equally well as a top-secret stash for all of your son's spy gear...

 

[amyhughes]

Every spy bedroom has to come complete with a model Astin Martin on the shelf... just sayin'. I guess you could rig a dummy security cam outside the room as well. In lieu of a toybox you could get a trunk and paint it that metallic silver color (the color you see on all those briefcases in the spy movies) and paint the inside black.

If you are okay with painting the back of the doors in his room you could paint them with that chalkboard paint so that you could list his flight times, missions etc. Maybe get a few pictures off the internet of some of the 007 baddies and put them up on the wall ala FBI's most wanted list, so he knows who he is hunting next.

 

[golfgal]

I was thinking more along the lines of the bat cave--dark walls, stainless steel dressers/bed, etc. Some high tech looking stuff on the shelves, etc. If you have an old computer monitor you could put that in there.

 

[cajunmommy]

Someone mentioned fingerprints... I remember seeing on one of the home improvement shows that they framed giant enlargements of the family's own individual fingerprints & hung them in a grouping as artwork.

These were really large enlargements, but you could keep it to something like 11 x 13 to avoid the expense of custom framing. A copy shop could help you with the enlargements.