Suddenly you find him humming Justin Bieber or she donning outfits like Lady Gaga. It seems that you have started living with aliens when he demands his bedroom ceiling be painted black. You are in shock when your tomboy daughter wants a new bed in chic design. You must realize that your tweens are turning into teenagers and it is time to give preference to their ideas. It is better to go for a makeover of their rooms and make them more teen-friendly. So, here are a few teen room décor ideas to save you a lot of pain.
Decorating the teen room – things to remember
Children love to celebrate milestones in their lives and going to middle school or becoming a teenager is one of these. We may not understand but it is so crucial for them to have their own privacy. They crave for independence to express themselves and demanding their room be decorated as per their choice is just one way of asserting themselves. So, don’t fret but sit with your children to know what they want.
Boys usually prefer more privacy and space where they can chill out in their own way. On the other hand, girls love bright colors, they still want to cherish their teddies and old books. Boys may want a complete makeover and a funkier look for their bedroom.
So, sit with your kids, get their ideas and chalk out a plan. Discuss your budget with them. Often, you don’t need to go for a full makeover but a few clever tweaks can do the job. You can make decorating the teen room a fun project by seeking your children’s help in deciding the paint and choosing drapery and rugs and even the accessories. Let us see how you can enjoy this project.
Room décor for teenagers – basic guidelines to follow
Choose a theme. This would help you to maintain a focus and also decide the color and accessories easily. Sports, hobbies, celebrities or rock stars, choose a theme that your kid is more excited about. Sometimes a color like blue or pink can be the right theme for a girl’s bedroom.
Keep things bright. Yes, teenage is all about energy and positivity. They would be using the room for studying, resting, mingling with friends, planning and a lot of creative activities and so you should allow positive energy to flow with the right choice of the color palette. To add more drama to the room, go for murals on the wall. Stripes and checks would also make the room bright and trendy. Red, black, and white are classic colors that can be used creatively to suit a teenager’s room.
Furniture – choose the pieces wisely
Next comes furniture. This can lead to a raging debate as most teenagers want freedom in this regard. The single beds are giving way to double beds as most teenagers use the bed for multiple purposes. Similarly, the desks are becoming redundant for them. Nowadays, the youngsters don’t prefer to sit at a particular place to study. They prefer the bed to study, chat or even watch TV.
Actually, today, a teen’s room is used not only for sleeping purpose. It is a multi-purpose room for them where they sleep, study, lounge, and unwind. So, try to decorate the room to segregate a sleeping area, a study area, and a lounging area.
Of course, a small space can be an issue in which case you have to creatively use the space available. For a small bedroom, think vertically. Place magnetic dry erase boards or cork boards to free up space. Use the walls vertically for storage shelves. Place the bed along the wall to save space.
You cannot place sofas for lounging if there is a space crunch. In that case, use a rug and a few throw pillows to create a comfy lounging area. Even a small bench near the bed’s footboard would work as a lounging space.
If budget is not a constraint, you can go for a complete makeover. From shelves to bed, from sofas to ottoman, get pieces that create a coordinated look for the room. However, if you are not ready to shell out such a huge sum of money, choose only a few items now, maybe the bed and the shelves and rest you can do later on.
Shelving is important for a teen’s room. Most teenagers are still not ready to give up on their valuable possessions like teddies, old cars, toys, and magazines. So, create enough shelves to stack these things for them. High shelves with plenty of storage area would help them to keep their things organized.
Keep all childish décor at bay. Don’t impose your ideas on your teens. Listen to them, ask for help in designing the room and go by your choice and budget.
Teen room décor – decorate your princess’s space
Girls often get moody during their teens. They look for a space to unwind, to do things they like and also to plan and dream a lot.
Choose a theme, as we suggested earlier. If you know her favorite celebrity or color, go by it. Paint the room to give it a nice makeover. You may choose to highlight one wall for a cheerful effect.
A teenage girl’s bedroom should look energetic and girly. However, don’t go over the top with sweetness as she may not like it.
One way to decorate a teen girl’s room is to give it a fun but mature look with bright colors on the walls and floral printed linen and bed sheet. Choose a rug in soft hues to complement the wall. Toss in a few cushions in bright geometric prints to make the room look cheerful.
If your princess loves adventure and is more of a tomboy, maybe a boho look would appeal to her. To bring out the boho style, keep the walls white, get furniture in dark wood and go for bright ethnic-printed bed sheet and curtains. A canopy on the bed would be a nice idea and place décor items that you have collected through the years from the places you have traveled. A map on the wall, shells on the table, a bamboo lamp shade or a hammock at the corner, give the room a laid-back vibe.
Let her room express her attitude. That’s the idea for decorating a teen’s room. If your daughter is into art, use it as the theme. Choose a unique color for the walls, like purple or yellow to spread positive energy. Choose bed sheets and drapes in soft hues to complement the walls. Place tall vases on the table or a potted plant at the corner for a touch of green. For the sofas, choose upholstery in ethnic prints. Geometric prints would also do. Use one wall to showcase her art. Frame her drawings and create a collage of them or keep a few pieces on the bedside table. You may keep one corner for her creative pursuits. Maintain this space secluded from the entire room where she can brainstorm and give her creativity a vent. Decorate this nook with her drawing board, easel, and a few items that she loves like an old school photograph or her favorite teddy or even her trophies.
Teen boy room decoration – keep it cool and fun
Boys are hard to please. As they grow up, they tend to coil up in their own world and it gets harder to excite them. This should give you enough clues to decorate his room that would reflect his attitude and values. While designing his room, keep in mind how valuable his privacy is.
Again, choose a theme based on his choice. Does he love soccer or baseball? Is he a fan of any sportsperson or club? Choosing a sports-themed room décor for guys is easy. However, you may go for a rustic or boho look if your boy prefers that way.
Wood gives any room a cool and classic touch. For a cool guy, use wood to give his space an exclusive appearance. Wooden panels on the wall and wooden racks for his belongings would keep things simple. Does the room look too simple? Use bright colors on the bed or the walls. Boys are not into colors but still, you can give the room a vibrant touch with checked walls or striped curtains in bold colors.
Star Wars theme would do well for a boy’s room. A big poster of a spaceship on the wall would stroke his imagination. Use globes and robots for decorating the room. Alien printed bed sheets and pillow covers with spaceships would complete the look.
Is he a soccer fan? Fantastic. A huge poster of his favorite soccer player would make him happy. You can use pillow covers and bed sheets in his favorite team’s colors or emblems. Get a pen stand or table clock in the shape of the football.
To celebrate his love for baseball, use a pegboard to hang his baseball caps. Colorful and unique, this can become the focal point of the room and also make it look trendy.
For a boy who prefers to keep things simple, use basic colors on the walls and add a touch of playfulness with designed headboard, pillows, and sheets. Geometric patterns, checks or stripes would look good.
If you want to surprise him with an exclusive room décor, give his room a southwestern look. Rattan rug, a leather ottoman, and patterned curtains would make his room an object of his pride.
Let’s accessorize a teen’s room
A bed, desks, and shelves are the basic things that your teen’s room must have. To make the room look eccentric or eclectic, you need to choose décor items carefully. The right use of décor items would make the room stand out. When selecting accessories for your teenager’s room, think from his or her perspective. The way we want our rooms to look cool or relaxing doesn’t apply to the teens. They need more energy, vibrancy, and a way to express their attitude. Yes, attitude is the keyword that you need to remember while decorating a teen’s room.
Canvas art with edgy messages would look great in a teen’s room. If the walls are painted brightly, get the canvas art in simple tones. Bold and simple, the funny messages would definitely add to the coolness of the room.
Get a few hooked shelved to store his stationery. Get them in interesting shapes to make the room look attractive. Mirrors would be a good choice for a girl’s room. Elongated ones would look great on a narrow strip of wall. You may get them in other shapes and embellishments for adding to the elegance of the room.
A table lamp is a must-have for a study desk. Nowadays, table lamps are available in different shapes and designs. Some of them are so catchy that they can change the entire look of a room. Shop for such a piece for your teen’s room.
If your daughter aspires to become a globetrotter, inspire her by using globes and maps in her room décor. You may choose pen stands or coffee cups with designs of maps too.
A funny looking hanging light, colorful pots, graphic artwork on the wall, and desk accessories in bold colors can help in expressing the attitude of your growing tweens.
Teens still love to hold on to their memories. So, you can get their group photos of school friends or soccer club framed and put up on the wall.
Their old pictures, trophies, artwork from playschool, and cutouts from magazines can find a place on the study board for exuding warmth.
Think of the ceiling as the fifth wall and glam it up with posters, abstract paint or glow-in-the-dark stars. This would give the room a unique personality.
Mix up, match things, experiment and ask your teens to pour in their ideas. Make teen room decoration a fun activity that all of you can enjoy.
