Time flies, and your child who loved stuffed animals or building blocks has suddenly become a teenager! They’re moody, critical about their surroundings, and are especially clear about what they don’t like… So, how to create a space for them that lets them be comfortable, allows them to express themselves, and perhaps most importantly, makes them stop moaning? Well, we have some tips for you on how to furnish your teenager’s room.
Involve them as much as possible
The word together is important here. Try to guide your children rather unobtrusively and don’t impose anything on them. The occupant of the room should have the main say in how the room is decorated – they’re the ones who spend all their time in it! Their opinion should be final and they should be allowed to have a say in the decor.
Make decorating or renovating a fun shared activity. Take pictures of the room before and after the makeover so the children can show off the difference on social media. And above all, keep an open mind. If your teenager decides on colours or furniture arrangements that don’t suit you, you need to respect that.
In the beginning, let them choose inspirational pictures and photos of things they would like. Then you can either go shopping together, or again, have your child create a wishlist online. And if they’re handy, they’ll definitely appreciate the room more if you involve them in the practical side of things too. They can paint, decorate the walls, frame pictures, and so on.
Choose a theme for the room according to your child’s biggest hobby
At this age, teenagers often have a distinct interest or hobby that can become the main idea behind the theme of the room. For example, allow a skateboarder to put graffiti or other street art on the wall, a ballerina or gymnast the biggest mirror possible, a bulky bookcase will help a young intellectual.
You can attach a guitar or the aforementioned skateboard to the wall, or you can leave one wall bare and leave room for their creativity – they can stick various designs or art they like there with washi tape. You can also paint one or part of the wall with magnetic paint, which can be painted over in any shade and serves as a large magnetic board on which pictures or photos of them & their friends can be placed using magnets.
Try to visually define the different zones of the room – with paint and furniture
It’s easy to define the zones of a student room using different colours or wall decorations. A room has to serve several functions in one space – it’s a place to work and study, a place to relax and unwind, a place to sit with friends or just hang out. The room also needs to hold a lot of things, whether it’s textbooks and books or clothes.
In the working area, we definitely need a large enough desk and a good quality chair to support good posture. As for the bed, kids at this age are often interested in loft beds, which can additionally serve as a space saver, if needed.
In the “lounging” area, poufs, stools or seat bags can be used on which to sit or lie while surfing the internet with a tablet or phone.
Storage space depends on the size of the room and whether your kid’s clothes are stored in a shared family wardrobe outside the room, for example, or whether a large wardrobe needs to be incorporated.
Lightweight furniture on wheels is practical, too. The smaller the room, the more you need to engage your imagination and come up with various gadgets to fold and unfold the furniture, slide it under the bed, into the wardrobe and so on.
So what to furnish with?
Let’s start with the floor. If you’re keeping the original flooring, it’s a good idea to use different rugs. You can choose one or a couple, and use them to visually divide the space. If you also need to change the floor covering, lino or laminate flooring are good choices. For one, they’re easy to clean and you can often get a trendy hardwood effect without shelling out on solid oak floorboards.
Some teenagers will appreciate a repurposed furniture that allows them to get handy or think outside the box. For example, pallets can be used to make a table, a sofa, a wall shelf, even a bed. You could also place an old ladder on the wall as a coat rack or shelf, or a stack of old magazines that would have ended up in the sorted waste can be “bound” with, for example, a leather strap to create an original table or stool.
Goodbye, white walls
While the parents’ generation of today’s teenagers had only posters of rock or movie stars pinned to dated wallpaper, today our kids have a choice – colours that the shop will mix to your liking, and modern, stylish wallpaper with all sorts of motif patterns. There’s even photo wallpaper, where you can have a wallpaper made with the image of your choice! Great for a feature wall.
Don’t forget the details
And finally, what must not be missing and what will give the room the style and character you want – textiles and accessories. These can transform and elevate even a neutral room. Details are key. Lamps, wall hangings, hangers, cushions, bedding, frames, stands, holders – all of these can bring the room’s atmosphere round to perfection.
