You can transform your teenager's bedroom without breaking the bank.
Putting together a bedroom that a teenager can appreciate is not without its challenges. The task becomes all the more arduous since the teen can change entire styles after what seems to be just a few short months. However, there are ways to design a room that will remain aesthetically pleasing to even the most fickle teenager for years to come. You can put together this bedroom yourself with just a little elbow grease and an ounce of determination -- all without sinking your budget.
Instructions
Heavy Metal
1. Paint the walls of your teenage rocker's bedroom blue, choosing between slate blue or a more vibrant marine blue. On the longest wall hang 2-3-foot sheets of wide, corrugated tin vertically. Repeat this pattern every two feet for the length of the wall.
2. Hang rope lights around the room where the wall meets the ceiling. Use a staple gun to hold the rope in place. You can choose blue or clear lights.
3. Turn a school locker into a decorative storage piece in your teenager's bedroom.
Place one or two lockers in the bedroom to hold sports equipment or even books. These usually can be purchased used at a garage sale or new at many department stores. Choose between different colors for the lockers or leave them a traditional gray.
4. Use inexpensive bedding. In the event your teenager decides he or she is suddenly "into" different colors or styles, you can simply change the bedding -- a cheap way to combat the teen's ever-changing tastes.
On Display
5. Chalkboard paint comes in several colors and is not too child-like for your teenager's room.
Install a chair rail around the bedroom. Above the chair rail, use chalkboard paint. Chalkboard paint has come a long way and isn't just for small children anymore. It can now be purchased in many of the same colors you find in latex paints. As a multi-use place, the chalkboard can feature friends' autographs, worked-out algebraic equations or simply doodles. The best part is that you can clean the "board" with a simple swipe of the eraser.
6. Paint an accent color below the . You may consider a brown paint below the chair rail to complement a turquoise chalkboard paint above it. Your color options are virtually endless and depend on your teen's personal taste.
7. Collect your teenager's favorite photos and copy them in black and white. Frame them in bright-colored frames and hang them around the room with caption placards below them. You can make these with small, unfinished plaques purchased at the local craft store. Stencil or freehand the caption onto the wood and hang it just below the frame.
8. Sand and paint an old window to hang above your teenager's bed. Cover the panes in different patterns of wallpaper to brighten the room. Your teen can insert school mementos and favorite snapshots between the frame and panes, creating a headboard that can display many years of high school memories.
Tags: your teenager, chair rail, around room, below chair, below chair rail, chalkboard paint, different colors