Good tips for teen room re-decorating ?

[Findarto]

Hiyah folks !
Well, I want to know what tips you have for me (and other teens) for decorating or re-decorating their rooms ?
I live in an apartment, and I have a big room to myself and well I'm getting new furniture and things for it so I want to re-decorate it.
I'm trying to convince the 'rents to let me paint it, because I'm tired of boring white.

Also, does anyone know of good places that are usually local to get good beds ?
I had two twin beds in my room (don't ask me why as it's only me who still lives at home), and now my dad wants to get me a king or queen sized one.

Also good things for organizing systems (game, dvd, tv, clock, lamps, fan, etc) wires ?

Does anyone know good colours for walls that go with that typical beige carpert ?

[Jolixte]

That clearwater matress place has beds, can't remember where it is exactly, but it's close.

[Dusk]

Does the landlord allow painting? If you can't paint, hang things. Framed posters are great. You could also hang cloth (like a tapestry). An extra large alter cloth could look great.

Beige goes with many things, you should be ok there.

[Gwenhwyfar]

If your aloud to paint the walls, a neat thing to do is take some kool pictures out of books, magazines, whatever and have them made into transperants(the library does it here, or most schools will do it for ya for free) borrow a projector, get your image up on the wall, pencil it in, then paint it, it looks great when its done, professional even, and you can have whatever theme you want, I did my daughters once in a rolling hillside theme, apple trees, clouds, happy flowers, bunnies, all kinds of neat things, everyone told me what a great artist I am, LOL.

[Findarto]

That clearwater matress place has beds, can't remember where it is exactly, but it's close.
Haha, 1-800 Clearwater Today !
I know that commercial, I should check that out ! thanks !
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Yeah the lease allows painting, my neighbours painted their house blue inside.

I like the trans. idea, I also want to get some tapestry to put on the windows to give that cool glow effetc, and to filter the sun out so I can say I didn't know it was day if I oversleep ;).


I want a cool colour that will look good always, and I have mostly wood objects decorating now that I made, I have this neat little mahogany table I made last year in shop !

I wonder if my 'rents would let me paint a pentagram on the ceiling ?

[Cev'aq]

Most stores that have an electronics section will have things for organizing the wires and cables. I prefer the velcro wraps, but there are several different types of organizers available. :)

[Findarto]

I need to be way more organised.
I'm thinking about getting a book-shelf also, I have LOADS of books !

[-Ember]

With the carpet, most colors go okay with beige. I suggest you go to any decorating store and look through rugs. Find one with some beige (close to the color of the carpet) that you like and look at the other colors in it. If you can, getting a rug is also good. It is a great way to bring in the other colors and can help focus a room/define areas. But if you do, put tiles underthe rug under furniture legs to avoid the deep dents from having a rug on carpet.

Look through magazines and such and try to pick out what you like about certain looks and what you don't. Also, right now there are LOTS of decorating shows on tv, especially with cable/satilite. Watch a few... there are ones on faking expensive rooms, ones on working with little budget, ones that are really good at explaining why they pick certain elements. If you get a sense of the general direction you want to go style wise and what has looked good, you can more ideas.

Finally, just about anything looks nice/interesting framed and matted. Depending on your personal style: fabric, calendar art (be sure to mat over the hole), cd cases on a backer board, silverware, anything really.

[lovemy1dane]

My 13 yr old DD wants her room purple and pink, and kinda funky. We are looking at paint chips now.

[Koehnae]

Teen rooms are the best to decorate. You mentioned you have a large room with beige carpet, so I would suggest sticking to more neutral tones and adding punches of bold color... I'm partial to royal blue, deep purple, and burgundy (jewel tones). This makes the room grow with you more easily... you just have to change the accessories. Get an area rug to match your accessories and liven up the basic beige carpet.

I recommend a daybed in a teen's room. This gives you someplace to sit during the day. Its also great for when you have friends over to visit. A trundle under the daybed would give you room for a friend to spend the night or use the space for roll out storage drawers.

For the walls... have you considered fabric? This works well if you can't paint or you would have to repaint the walls when you move out. Find a fabric that blends well with your carpet. Something with a stripe or small patterns (similar to wallpaper) is best. You attach it to the wall using a crown molding at the top of the wall and your existing base boards at the floor level.

With all those books, you may find it more cost effective to turn an entire wall into shelving using brackets and long shelving boards. This allows you to shift the shelves around as your shelving needs change. Organize small items and CDs into little drawers or baskets on the shelves.

Hope you can use some of these ideas. Any questions or need some more ideas... just ask!

[LittleRhiannon]

Ikea!

[Findarto]

Teen rooms are the best to decorate. You mentioned you have a large room with beige carpet, so I would suggest sticking to more neutral tones and adding punches of bold color... I'm partial to royal blue, deep purple, and burgundy (jewel tones). This makes the room grow with you more easily... you just have to change the accessories. Get an area rug to match your accessories and liven up the basic beige carpet.

I recommend a daybed in a teen's room. This gives you someplace to sit during the day. Its also great for when you have friends over to visit. A trundle under the daybed would give you room for a friend to spend the night or use the space for roll out storage drawers.

For the walls... have you considered fabric? This works well if you can't paint or you would have to repaint the walls when you move out. Find a fabric that blends well with your carpet. Something with a stripe or small patterns (similar to wallpaper) is best. You attach it to the wall using a crown molding at the top of the wall and your existing base boards at the floor level.

With all those books, you may find it more cost effective to turn an entire wall into shelving using brackets and long shelving boards. This allows you to shift the shelves around as your shelving needs change. Organize small items and CDs into little drawers or baskets on the shelves.

Hope you can use some of these ideas. Any questions or need some more ideas... just ask!
Thank you for your post, it's one of the most helpful so far !
I like the Royal-Blue idea, and a day bed is good too. What colours do you think would be good to for the windows (Drapes) ? I've always liked how when you have the right colour and the sun shines the whole room glows effect. I've looked through some of the design books, but most of them just focus on building houses (I'm not quite there yet, but when I get older I'd probably want to build a little cottage in the country, of course prices will probably be high jacked then ! *_*).
What would you say I should get first ? Working on a low-budget (since I want to pay for it myself) I have to do small things at a time ^_^.

[Koehnae]

Thank you for your post, it's one of the most helpful so far !
I like the Royal-Blue idea, and a day bed is good too. What colours do you think would be good to for the windows (Drapes) ? I've always liked how when you have the right colour and the sun shines the whole room glows effect. I've looked through some of the design books, but most of them just focus on building houses (I'm not quite there yet, but when I get older I'd probably want to build a little cottage in the country, of course prices will probably be high jacked then ! *_*).
What would you say I should get first ? Working on a low-budget (since I want to pay for it myself) I have to do small things at a time ^_^.
Glad you like the ideas. First I would start with organizing. It may seem like the most boring part, but just getting things in order gives your room a whole new look. The shelves and baskets should be your first expense... and they really aren't too badly priced. Check your local Home Depot or hardware store. For the drapes, I would recommend deep blue. Even try layering thicker drapes over a sheer blue curtain. This will give you privacy and darkness for sleeping and the "glow" effect during the day. ( I know exactly what you mean... I love that "glow" too!)

You can do the daybed idea on a budget, too. Just place your bed the long way against a wall and use lots of pillows to create a sofa-like effect. You can start with a few pillows and build up as your budget allows until you get the effect you like. Don't be afraid to mix and match pillow sizes and shapes... if you stick to a basic color family it'll be fool proof.

Good luck... and post pictures!

[LittleRhiannon]

Well, I can't paint my room, so I've covered the walls with posters and paintings that friends of mine have done. I've also hung an umbrella from the light fixture and some feather boas from various other parts of the ceiling.

My advice is to do whatever you think would look cool. It's your room, and it should represent your personality! At least thats how I feel about mine.

[Findarto]

Looking at HomeDepot.com, I see a few drapes I like.
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0026890789.1098845000@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccjadcmlkkmkmdcgelceffdfgidgjm.0&CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=Products_2/D%E9cor&MID=9876&pos=n09

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0026890789.1098845000@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccjadcmlkkmkmdcgelceffdfgidgjm.0&CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=Products_2/D%E9cor&MID=9876&pos=n09

I dunno if you can view them since HP.COM might be Session-based (looking at URL)...

I looked at Daybeds, but I dunno if they would be long enough to sleep on seeing as I'm kind of long.
The look of those old victorian-esque beds is really nice, My room is a mess though since they had to re-model the apartmen and I had to put a lot of stuff in my room that just now I can take out it looks like a slobs best friend X_X.

Tables, Dressers, and Mirrors will also probably be good things to get. I like the Rug idea, I've always wanted like an emarald or sapphire rug.
The main problem is doing everything on a colour, I'm torn between emerald, sapphire, gold, or ruby. I also have to do it without looking too feminine, especially if I have friends over.

I bought one of those big wooden board thingys where you're supposed to tack all your pictures, calendars , etc. but I never put it up, that might help.

[Koehnae]

Looking at HomeDepot.com, I see a few drapes I like.
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0026890789.1098845000@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccjadcmlkkmkmdcgelceffdfgidgjm.0&CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=Products_2/D%E9cor&MID=9876&pos=n09

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0026890789.1098845000@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccjadcmlkkmkmdcgelceffdfgidgjm.0&CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=Products_2/D%E9cor&MID=9876&pos=n09

I dunno if you can view them since HP.COM might be Session-based (looking at URL)...

I looked at Daybeds, but I dunno if they would be long enough to sleep on seeing as I'm kind of long.
The look of those old victorian-esque beds is really nice, My room is a mess though since they had to re-model the apartmen and I had to put a lot of stuff in my room that just now I can take out it looks like a slobs best friend X_X.

Tables, Dressers, and Mirrors will also probably be good things to get. I like the Rug idea, I've always wanted like an emarald or sapphire rug.
The main problem is doing everything on a colour, I'm torn between emerald, sapphire, gold, or ruby. I also have to do it without looking too feminine, especially if I have friends over.

I bought one of those big wooden board thingys where you're supposed to tack all your pictures, calendars , etc. but I never put it up, that might help.
I can't see specific drapes from the links, but I browsed through and found some I like too. Of your color choices, I would say emerald would work great with the beige. Use the other colors as accents to the main emerald coloring. To avoid looking too feminine, try using more metal accents and dark colored woods. Avoid frills, fringes, and laces... stick to things that have straight edges (even pillows). Hang the drapes from wrought iron rods.

Your height might be all the more reason to stick with your existing bed and just convert it. If you're handy with a jigsaw, you could cut simple side and back pieces from plywood and create the back and arms to your daybed. Either paint or upholster the pieces. Its easier than it sounds. :ahhhh:

:chattin: I've become a posting fiend on this thread... lol. You may have guessed that I am an aspiring designer.

[Findarto]

One of the reasons I'm getting a new bed is my height, It's kind of painful when your feet hit the back of the bed's headboard in the middle of the night X_X...
I've always liked the emerald colours for some reason, and for some reason I've always liked my room to be freezing so I can sleep under the covers without being hot...

I dunno about using a Jigsaw, I'm not *That* good with tools. I almost burnt my hand one time using one of those hole-drilling machines.

It's good you've become a regular poster in this thread, Other teens will have great advice when they want to re-do their rooms, not just teens but anyone actually. Design is cool, It would be a killer job to be an interior decorater for a living ^_^

[Koehnae]

My mom likes to keep it cool for sleeping too, but I'm one of those roasty toasty types. I live in Wisconsin, so my mom's thermostat dialing has me waking up some mornings with blue lips... lol.

Using a jigsaw isn't usually too complicated, but I don't want to end up hearing you lost a finger at my suggestion. Yikes! :hrmm: I do think its possible to find daybeds in longer lengths, but it may be a touch more expensive.

[Findarto]

HEhe, yeah all my fingers intact hopefully.

It's good to be roasty in the winter sometimes, but in the summer and spring I like to be cold. Weid.
Hehe, No blue lips here in florida that often, sometimes though :D!

And the search for the ambiguos daybed continued, dun dun dun.

I love your banner and avatar btw.

[Koehnae]

HEhe, yeah all my fingers intact hopefully.

It's good to be roasty in the winter sometimes, but in the summer and spring I like to be cold. Weid.
Hehe, No blue lips here in florida that often, sometimes though :D!

And the search for the ambiguos daybed continued, dun dun dun.

I love your banner and avatar btw.

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/16/16_6_13.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZSzeb001XXUS)

Florida, eh? That's where my boyfriend is from... and intends to go back (with me along this time) after his daughter finishes school here in Wisconsin. I would love the warmth!

Good luck with the daybed and thank you for the kudos on the banner.