Cool Kids Furniture

Design Ideas for Owl & The Pussycat Theme
Mock up of a themed kids room - Owl & The Pussycat Artist's rendering of a room with the Owl & The Pussycat theme.

The beauty of nonsense rhymes is that they provide such rich inspirational imagery, encouraging imagination and creativity. Light hearted spirited fun should be the foundation of every early childhood. The very idea that a cat and an owl should be married at all, let alone by a turkey, may be silly but a little silliness goes a long way to making life sweeter and more fun.

Levels of Stimulation:

For more active kids, emphasize the aspects of the story that relate to travel and movement such as the journey in the pea green boat to the Land Where the Bong Tree Grows.

One might place more importance on the words of the rhyme itself, its detail and its eloquence - bringing the characters themselves into the child's room in the form of murals, pictures, posters, stencils, furniture, soft furnishings, lamps, rugs, light switch plates and toys. These details can stimulate a child to take learn to observe and with a little encouragement from parents and agemates, can cultivate greater inquisitiveness, imagination - eventually translating into scholastic achievment.

Color Schemes:

Infant: Black Cat, White Owl, Pink Pig, Purple Turkey

Toddler: Pea Green, Azure Blue, Pink, Yellow

Child: Pea Green, Turquoise, Pink, Purple

Interest and Preferences:

Boats and beaches have a particular appeal to young and old. Images of a pea green boat sailing towards a forested island are truly inspired and inspirational. Animals and birds are a common interest of young children and this rhyme provides a perfect ooportuntiy to cultivate and explore such preferences.

Opportunities for Exploration and Learning:

Discussion about distances and geography, real and imagined worlds, probable and possible realities. Inspiring role play, storytelling about travel into other imagined worlds, perhaps composing more verses to the Owl nd the Pussycat. Children's drawings inspired by the theme can become wall decoration. Expressing appreciation for the really good ones by framing them may even inspire kids creativity and artistic talents.

Reassuring and Comforting:

The gentle familiarity of the story is itself a form of lullaby. A room themed on this tale would not be complete without a cuddly toy cat and owl (and perhaps even a pig and a turkey). Child psychologists recommend that young children should be tucked up at night with their favorite soft toy to reduce night time fears and loneliness.

Feng Shui:

With the story's emphasis on water, earth and wood, one might be advised to balance such energies with some metal (perhaps a metal bed) and imagery of a large bright sun in the sky (fire.).

Budget vs. Time Available and Creativity:

Stencils of a tacking boat, islands with palm trees, pigs and turkeys. Paint waves along the base board and a life sized sailing boat on the wall, or perhaps use real pieces of canvas fixed to the wall to create a three dimensional sail. A boat shaped board or piece of canvas stuck to the side of the bed and painted to look like a pea green boat, is a fun and creative way to make a custom themed bed.