When all else fails, a kid can count on one thing to always be there for them: their room. Through painstaking research and innumerable screen grabs, a list of the ultimate kid rooms has been compiled — all taken from various television sitcoms, cartoons and movies (mostly from the ’90s). Some rooms are extravagant in appearance and capability, while others are more simplistic, yet timeless. Let us know if your favorite rooms of yesteryear made the list… or didn’t.
Arnold’s Room (Hey Arnold!)
The “Short Man” may act quiet and shy in person, but boy, does this kid have one pimped-out room! With the remote-controlled everything (including a sofa that comes out of nowhere), a killer sound system, and that crazy skylight, this awesome room just might make up for the fact that Arnold’s parents went missing when he was a baby. Okay, maybe not.
Clarissa’s Room (Clarissa Explains It All)
It’s hard trying to listen to what Clarissa is actually explaining because her room is filled with more trinkets and accessories that rival Pee Wee’s playhouse in terms of organized chaos! The girl had it all: the clothes, Elvis the alligator (with his own pool of sand), the girly flower wallpaper graffitied with black checkers, hub caps and Sam (hello, platonic guy friend!) with complete access to her room via the window. And her room only got better as the seasons went on with the addition of colorful dressers, a wall of hats and just more junk overall.
Muppet Babies’ Room (Muppet Babies)
“When your room looks kind of weird, and you wish that you weren’t there…” What is Baby Kermit even talking about? Although Nanny kept the Muppet Babies locked up in their room like third world political prisoners so she could catch up on her “Nanny things,” that room was a far cry from weird. Where else can they imagine themselves as characters from copyrighted movies — in a one-bedroom apartment? Nowhere, that’s where! All in all , their room was huge (through their point-of-view) and full of comfy cribs and plenty of room to run around.
Bart Simpson’s Room (The Simpsons)
Ah, Die, Bart. I mean “The Bart.” No other perennial 10-year-old could have so much happen in one room. The boy with probably the largest collection of Krusty the Clown merchandise has the best room in the house, with complete access to his treehouse from the window. Here, in this room, we also got to really know Bart — including that fateful summer where he worked on his play when he broke his leg, heard his evil twin brother Hugo running through the air vents (“Treehouse of Horror VII”), and freaking out from his Focusyn intake while wrapping himself in tin foil to keep the MLB satellites from spying on him.
Andy’s Room – Then & Now (Toy Story)
Andy taught us to always be nice to our toys, but his room will probably go down in history as the brightest, cleanest and most cheerful room in Pixar animation history (well, Boo’s was pretty good too). And, like most kids’ rooms, the theme changes quite frequently (from Woody inspired bedding to a Buzz Lightyear comforter), but the star wallpaper (that replaced Woody’s more memorable clouds) has remained a constant in Andy’s room, even though there are more angst-ridden posters trying to cover up the innocence.
Brad and Randy’s Room (Home Improvement)
You may forget that although Tim Allen’s character on Home Improvement was a class action lawsuit waiting to happen, he was a gifted craftsman. When he wasn’t putting Al’s life in danger or causing Jill to take a second look at those divorce papers, Tim was busy building his sons one heck of a room (all three boys sharing it at one time or another). Let’s get right to the point: they had stairs leading to their bed! Actual stairs, which is one up on a bunk bed. And lest we forget when middle child Randy wanted his own room in the basement — Tim and Al turned it into a real man’s cave, with a personalized laundry system that allowed Randy’s dirty clothes to be sucked up into the laundry room.
Oh for the days when Jonathan Taylor Thomas was a heartthrob making the cover of Disney Adventures Magazine.
Doug Funnie’s Room (Doug)
“Dear Journal, It’s me, Doug.” Yeah, we know. Although Doug’s room isn’t the flashiest or most innovative, his simplistic take on the average preteen boy’s room remains memorable. His most iconic piece of furniture in the room being his desk where he invited us in — by aerial shot (as if we were creeping on his privacy) — while he poured his soul into that red leather journal. And yes, it’s okay to admit that he inspired most of us to start a journal, even if we only kept a log of maybe two days tops. But his basketball hoop over his trash can made keeping your room tidy fun.
Muffy Crosswire’s Room (Arthur)
Forget Arthur, Muffy’s room is epic! She’s the richest kid in Elwood City and although she’s known to be quite the little fibber and credit-hog, any normal kid would bypass her prissy and dramatic antics just to be able to have a sleepover in Muffy’s room. Case in point: the episode when Jenna (that’s the anthropomorphic/humanimal girl-cat) swallowed her pride — and the likelihood that she would piss her pants in front of all of her friends — just to get a chance to play Titanic in Muffy’s room with authentic costumes and a life-sized ship to boot!
DJ & Steph’s Room (Full House)
In a house as full as this one, with a clean-freak dad and crazy uncles, it’s important for two growing girls to have the most ’90s-influenced room ever. It’s the red accents that really make the room pop, not to mention the geometric-shaped colorful wallpaper that ran across the whole space, numerous stuffed animals spread across the floor, and the most popular ’90s musical artists in poster form adorning every inch of the place. But, could Michelle knock once in a while? How rude!
Serena’s Room (Sailor Moon)
Even though Serena had one of the sweetest and girliest rooms, she never had time to actually sleep in it — due to all of that fighting evil by moonlight and stuff. But, it was in her room that Luna told Serena of her greater destiny and received her super kawaii locket that turned her into Sailor Moon. Sigh, if only it was that simple.
Ash Ketchum’s Room (Pokémon)
Many might not remember that Ash actually had a room; he was a nomad after all, trying to catch them all and become the greatest Pokémon master. But, that fateful day where Ash met Pikachu was a result of sleeping in late. His room was simple and plain (single mom and all), but Ash was rocking the bed-desk-almost-bunk-bed with Pokéball blanket and a Snorlax plush, which means he totally got Pokémon toys before you did.
Tia and Tamara’s Room (Sister, Sister)
As cool as Tia and Tamara were, their room might not stand out as remarkable, but, the one thing they had that I am pretty sure very few of us girls had were Broadway-style lights outlining their vanity! And although they were identical twins, their taste in room decor were at polar opposites; Tia’s side of the room was nice and tidy, while Tamara’s was messy and wild. Oh, those two!
Buzz’s Room (Home Alone)
All the McCallister kids had great rooms, and I’m pretty sure most of them had their own bathrooms. Even though this movie is about Kevin, his older brother Buzz’s room is the quintessential boys room. Who can forget the Michael Jordan posters, the trunk full of fireworks, snacks and a picture of Buzz’s girlfriend (WOOF!). And last, but not least, the shelves of junk adorning the wall. Buzz had a lot of stuff in his room, including the ubiquitous tarantula that took a nasty — but non-fatal — fall after Kevin tried to steal his brother’s life savings on the top shelf and then showed up to momentarily save the day at the end of the film.
Rocky, Colt and Tum Tum’s Room (3 Ninjas)
Not only do they know Ninjutsu, but these three ninjas — Rocky, Colt and Tum Tum — have the ultimate, gnarly room. Even when the surfer dude kidnappers first walk in, Fester exclaims, “Whoa, cool room.” Although it is a moderately sized room, there are plenty of totally cool attributes including the can phones, bunk beds, bright bed sheets and their own television.
Richie Rich’s Mansion (Richie Rich)
I know what you’re thinking, Richie Rich’s own personal McDonald’s doesn’t count as his room. But since he had free rein of the entire mansion, the house was essentially like his room; we’ll let this last one slide. From his own roller coaster his father got him for Christmas, a basketball court in his bedroom to the the “Kidapult,” Richie Rich is king. We are not worthy.
Theresa Romano blogs, or Tumbls, here.
