Did you know nostalgia is actually great for your mental health? Psychologists have found that nostalgia can not only make you happy and reduce stress — it can also counter negative emotions like loneliness.
Retro and vintage home decor helps keep us connected to our past. Fire and Pine’s wood wall art decor of vintage toys and games can help you remember “the good old days” while adding a unique style to your home or office. Here are a few of our favorite pieces — and how/where to display them.
The Millennium Falcon
As Disney continues the Star Wars franchise with streaming spin offs like The Mandalorian and The Bad Batch, the ‘80s and ‘90s kids who grew up on Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca and Yoda are now sharing their favorite science fiction story with their kids.
The Millennium Falcon is an icon in itself. Han Solo’s ship is one of the most recognized props of the Star Wars universe — also known as “the fastest in the galaxy.” But did you know that the iconic ship was completely redesigned in less than a week? At the last minute, the crew decided the original design looked too similar to the ship from Space: 1999.
Where did the inspiration for the new Falcon design come from? A half-eaten hamburger. Yep, you read that right: George Lucas was inspired after looking at a hamburger right after he’d taken a single bite out of it.
The intricate details of the Millenium Falcon U.S. patent evokes a feeling of fun in a home office or entertainment area of your house, including:
- In your living room
- In your home office
- In an actual office
- In a kid’s room
- In a home theater room
- In a “man cave”
Really, is there anywhere you couldn’t display this piece of art?
(See all of our Star Wars wall art here.)
The LEGO Brick
Much like the Star Wars universe, LEGOS never go out of style. (Side Note: The Millennium Falcon is currently the #1 LEGO set).
There are TV shows, movies, theme parks … LEGOS are everywhere these days. But have you ever wondered how the company got started?
If you’ve never heard the origin story, you really should check out the video below. In a nutshell: The creator’s carpentry business failed in Denmark in the 1930s — and around the same time, he lost his wife. Knowing he had to take care of his children, he decided to start making toys using the leftover wood. There were fires and other setbacks. No matter! He was determined to sell high quality products, take care of his family and never have to lay off another worker. He was intrigued when he saw a plastic molding machine and the single “brick” the company used in their demonstration. So he bought the machine, and they started making plastic toys. Eventually his son thought of using the bricks to create a “system of toys,” and LEGOs were born.
The LEGO toy building brick patent you see in our wood wall art is what the son — Godtfred Christiansen — came up with. He’d discovered adding the hollow tubes helped keep the bricks connected, allowing kids’ imaginations to be the limit on what they could build with the LEGO bricks. With the inspiring origin story and the creativity of the LEGO world, this vintage toy patent is a wonderful addition to any child’s room, playroom or even classroom.
Monopoly
Is there a more universally known board game than Monopoly?
The game has been sold in 114 countries and translated into more than 40 different languages!
Most American children have fond memories of playing Monopoly (there’s always that one player who buys up all the hotels). Though, of course, these days there’s a Monopoly board for every major city and pop culture theme: Pokemon, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Nintendo.
The Monopoly board game patent makes fun wall art perfect for a playroom, family room, game room or any kind of lounge area or space where you’re likely to pull out a board game. It could even be fun decor for a family-friendly restaurant or hotel.
If you’re looking for fun, unique wall art, you really can’t go wrong with any of these classics. You can check out more toys and games here, and some classic tech and pop culture decor here.