Decorating a teenager’s bedroom – it is not only posters

It seems like only yesterday that you were deciding on baby names and furnishing a nursery. Now, you’re about to decorate a teenager’s bedroom. Doesn’t time fly?

While it was you who made all their decisions about furnishing and decorating the nursery, this time your child will want to have a say in the proceedings. One way of meeting this challenge is to agree that you will decide on the major items like furniture, and your teen will make decisions about matters like paint colours, quilt covers, curtain fabrics – and posters.

When it comes to furniture, start with a bed (or more than one if you teen is planning sleepovers), desk, work chair, bookcase, and an easy chair or two. You might want to consider baskets, racks or dividers to make it easier to manage clothes storage in a built-in, or free standing wardrobe. Think about the best types of storage so that all the stuff your teen accumulates can be stowed away tidily.

Pay attention to the lighting for your teenager’s room. In addition to the overhead lighting, you’ll need good bedside lighting and desk lighting. A cable management system at the desk will avoid tangled, trailing computer cables, and a wall mounted flat screen TV will add to the sense of order and spaciousness in the room.

The colours, patterns, styles that appeal most to your teenager may be world’s away from those you would have chosen, but they are an expression of your teen’s personality and taste. Designing and decorating a teenager’s bedroom is a challenging project for both you and your teen; look forward to working together to create a comfortable, functional, spacious room, with high quality furniture, and the interesting style of decor that might just grow on you!