Decorating a Teens Bedroom

Decorating a teens bedroom should really be mostly based on the teens likes and needs, and luckily most teens will want to be involved in the decorating so they will do a lot of the work and decision making. However, this can also be the hard part about decorating a teen's room. Here are a few tips and guidelines that will help make the project easier:

• Set a budget and make sure your teen knows what it is. Let them know that if they want something that is much more expensive than the budget then they will need to find a way to get the money for it on their own.

• Help them choose a decorating theme and colors that will last for a while, or that will be easy to change when they want a new theme.

• Make sure they know about all of their options, such as painting walls, hanging artwork or even painting a mural. Brighter more trendy colors can be just the thing a teenager needs for their room and luckily paint is cheap and easy to change in a few years if their tastes change.

• Help them decide if the furniture needs to be replaced or if simple changes such as painting them or adding new elements such as new handles will update it enough to fit into the new room. Make sure they budget for any new items they want.

• If your teen is having a hard time coming up with a theme or colors a good place to start may be looking at bedding options. They just may see something they love and be able to decorate the rest of the room to fit it.

• Encourage your teen to think of ways to incorporate their own personal style. A plain lampshade can be turned into a great design element by having the teen add cutouts or paint the lampshade to fit into the room. Other small inexpensive ways to add style are to make door hangers, use favorite photos to make a laminated placemat that can be put on a desk or dresser, or make fun throw pillows for the bed. Take time going to shops and thrift stores where you may find fun one-of-a-kind items that will be perfect in the room.

• You should also encourage your teen to think about storage needs. Do they need more space for putting schoolwork and organizing projects? Does their closet need to be changed to fit their new needs? Should a dresser be replaced by shelving? Make sure they have places to put things that are important to them such as trophies, medals, pictures and other items.