07 Apr 2007 10:20 AM

Decorating a teenagers bedroom

Why is it so hard to decorate a teenage girls or teenage boys bedroom?

Actually decorating a teenagers bedroom is easy. The hard part is getting them to like it and keep with the theme for longer than 3 months. You can't keep changing the bedroom furnishings and decor once or twice a year because that would be far too expensive.

These tips have worked for me over the years I have 4 girls and one boy. Three are still teenagers and now 2 college aged kids. My son a typical teenage boy just thought of his room as a cave to go sleep in so decorating his room was a little easier. Girls on the other hand feel their bedroom is more like their home.

The trick is to decorate with a style of furniture that is in between contemporary and modern. The colors should be neutral so they will match with the ever changing wall colors.

This is where you should allow your teenager to have a say in when and which color to paint the walls. Most teenagers will find earthy tones too depressing in the winter but like them in the summer. The same goes with pastel colors or bright wall colors, they are good for a cheery atmosphere in winter but far too bright in the summer months.

Make this rule right at the beginning, that if they want to change the wall colors it can be done but only twice a year and they must either do all the painting or at least help. I save quite a bit of money by buying miss tints at home depot, rartely do I pay more than five dollars a gallon.

For the windows because my kids rooms are on the south side of the house facing the noon day sun I use a room darkening shade on the inside and mount the blind to extend an inch or two wider than the window. If you wanted you have it on the inside leave out the shade and hang a heavier sheer to cover the blind.

It would be my advice not to use wallpaper for the bedroom walls, unless you enjoy scraping it off when it comes time to paint.

Start with the bed and bedding

Remember a difference in six months of age is like 5 years difference in adult years.  Likes and dislikes go in and out as often as their friends. Start with the main feature which is the bed. Your son or daughters personality and sleeping habits are important considerations. Canopy beds are nice for 13 year old girls but they get tired of them quickly, one year of age makes a huge difference in what they like. Boys are a little easier to buy beds for because they just see it as a sleeping compartment. Girls see beds as a furnishing or as part of their personality. A style of bed that all of my kids liked was a platform bed, these are easy to move around and you can fit storage boxes underneath them.

If you would like to read more about decorating a teenagers bedroom the rest of the article is on this page about teenagers bedroom

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