Teen Decorating

How to Help a Teenager Decorate Their Bedroom.

© Kristin Abraham

Jul 12, 2006

When I was about 14 or 15 my parents, probably just my mom, decided we could redecorate my room. I was so excited. I had a Raggedy Ann room and one wall was wallpapered in accent paper, which featured HUGE Raggedy Anns, Andys and a panda bear for some strange reason. The white parts of the panda bear seemed to glow in the dark so his huge white eyes with the smaller black centers could be very creepy to a child. Although I had stopped being afraid of the wallpaper after a decade of living with it, I still held a little hostility toward the wall.

But being a teen, my ideas for the room may have actually scared my parents. I wanted to paint everything black. I had white shag carpet and white little girl furniture and white lace curtains and a matching comforter. I thought black walls would look good with all the white, sort of a counter balance effect. Of course no parent was going to go for black walls, especially in the early 80's when they were worried that the music I listened to might make me suicidal or a mass murderer. So we compromised. We wallpapered the bottom half of the room in pink and baby blue stripes with little hearts and painted the top half, you guessed it, white. Ok, not much of a compromise. I did get red curtains and a red velvet comforter so I did get to let a little bit of rebel shine through but I still hated the room. I was just not a pink and baby blue heart and ruffle sort of girl.

My point is that when you're decorating a teen's room remember that it's their room. I realize that it's your house and I'm sure I would also veto the black walls but this is a room you want your teen comfortable in. You want them to feel like they have a place that is theirs and that they enjoy being in rather than trying to escape. And most important, you want your teen to feel understood and respected. Letting them have control over their little corner of the home goes a long way toward making them feel like you respect their decisions. And by working together on the room you're creating a bond and hopefully some good memories.

Now, if there had been as many design shows and magazines available when I was younger then I might not have jumped into the black. I may have wanted red walls. Which may sound equally horrible, but one accent wall can really be attractive. And this is what decorating with a teen is all about, compromise. They want black, how about gray, how about doing several different shades of gray in overlapping boxes (see photo). Then how about some wrought iron accessories. But let your child choose what pieces they like and let them help as much as possible.

Now that we've covered color schemes and the general theme of your teen's room let's take just a moment to talk about their mess. When your teen was younger he or she had a ton of toys but you most likely encouraged them to spread out and play all over the house. As teens they're still collecting toys and clothes and books and video games...need I go on? But you probably don't encourage them to spread out all over the house and they most likely don't want to. So give them storage!

Teens need a lot of storage space and let's face it, until they get it, their rooms are going to be messy. They just don't have room for all of their stuff.

Working with your teen to design a room that's comfortable for them can either be a dreaded task that no one is happy with or it can become a bonding moment that will give you and your child a happy memory that will last a lifetime.

For more information on Teen and Child Interior Decorating please see Teen Decorating Ideas, Tips on Teen Decorating or Teen Bedroom Decorating Ideas.

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