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What "Goodnight Moon" gets wrong about New York bedrooms

By Lucy Cohen Blatter  | January 21, 2015 - 12:59PM
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As a New  Yorker raising two kids in a Yorkville two-bedroom, I have, on occasion, found myself envying children's book characters. I've actually wondered how on earth the Man With the Yellow Hat can afford a Classic Six on the Upper West Side and a country  house, all on a museum employee's salary. And apparently I'm not the only one who longs for a bit more realism. The blogger behind The Ugly Volvo, a comedian, mother of one and former New Yorker now living in Jersey City, delves into exactly what's improbable about the interior design in everyone's favorite bedtime story, "Goodnight Moon."

Among the irksome issues are the size of the bedroom, the waste of space (see the sparsely used drying rack above), the complete lack of childproofing and the absence of any heating mechanisms other than a grate-less fireplace. But our favorite has got to be  the weird color scheme: 

This Just-Discovered Transcript of a Conversation Had by the Interior Decorators:

“So what color have we decided on for the upstairs child’s bedroom?”

“Which child’s bedroom?”

“The enormous one.  The one with the expansive tomato-colored floor.”

“I was thinking for that room maybe a dark green?”

“Really?  Dark green?  You don’t think maybe dark green walls with a tomato-colored floor is a bit much?”

“No, it’ll look amazing.  We can break up the monotony of the color with some dark green and yellow striped curtains.”

“That’s an amazing idea.  On non-matching red and yellow spearhead curtain rods?  Do you think a tiger skin rug would be overkill?”

“For a young child’s room?  No.  Not at all.  ”  

The whole post is worth a read. Meanwhile, check out our tips on how to decorate a real New York kid's room.

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