HONK FOR GAS

4/1/2020

Inspired by my own love for old gas stations and classic automobilia, and fueled (literally) by my son’s early obsession with cars, this space became a passion project. From a very young age he was naming every car in the parking lot and hunting down “pull backs” with the precision of a seasoned collector. I can’t tell you how many hours we spent in stores, watching him line up cars on the floor to see which one zipped the fastest. So when it came time to redesign his room, there was no question, it had to be a full-blown vintage garage meets roadside pit stop, with every detail steeped in old school charm.

One of the biggest highlights was the custom mural, a black and white scene straight from our visit to Oswald’s at Disney California Adventure. Not only does it bring depth and drama to the space, but it anchors the room with a nostalgic energy that makes everything else pop. I drew a lot of inspiration from Cars Land too, with its stacked oil cans and neon signage, which led to our own personalized spin, a custom “Four Eyes Oil” can as a nod to my son’s iconic glasses, a hand lettered style sign inspired by retro gas station windows, and a chandelier made from vintage style oil bottles. Even the wainscoting got a upgrade with corrugated metal for an industrial touch.

But it’s the little things that really made this room one of my favorites to design. I turned a decorative can into a motor oil drum stool for his desk, created custom crates from Crate55 using a couple of his nicknames for his shelf, and added a repurposed ‘33 Ford grille as a shelf for displaying his favorite diecast car collection.