Turn your teen's bedroom into the ultimate hangout.
When it comes to teenagers and bedrooms, boring just won't do. Teens love the unexpected, the dramatic and anything that reflects their interests and personality. There are plenty of far-out, fun projects you and your teen can accomplish together to take his bedroom from plain white box to radical space and room of his dreams.
Hammock or Hanging Chair
Now here's an idea that your teen's friends are guaranteed to covet: a hanging chair or hammock suspended from the ceiling. Hang a chair in one corner as an accent, or stretch a colorful hammock across the room for an eye-popping focal point. It is important that you suspend it from a ceiling stud for sturdiness, as sheet rock cannot hold the weight. Follow the hammock manufacturer's directions and your town's building and safety codes.
Gaming Center
Move your gaming console from the living room or the playroom to your teen's room. Set up an entire wall of contemporary modular cabinets and shelving for a sleek look and a place to stow games, movies, remotes and supplies. Install a mini-fridge in one cubby for a constant supply of cold drinks, and set up a snack center in one cabinet. Give the whole room a fresh coat of paint in a fun color, such as bright orange or lime green. Finish the room with bright beanbag chairs and video rockers.
Rock Band
If your teen loves to rock out to music, set up a mini stage or rehearsal hall in his room. Look for used equipment in your local classifieds; you can often find people selling their unused instruments for pennies on the dollar. Purchase an electric guitar, bass guitar, drum kit and a couple of amps, and set them up in one corner. Paint the walls black or silver, or a combination of both for an edgy look. Use wall hangers for the guitars, and they can function as wall art when they're not in use.
Graffiti Walls
Invite all 's friends over for a graffiti party. Have a big supply of permanent markers of all colors on hand, and let the kids go wild writing and drawing on the walls. At the end of the party, your teen will have a radical new room that's one-of-a-kind. Solid-color bedding and window treatments look best with this room, since it is so heavily decorated.
Crazy Hamster Mansion
Your teen is guaranteed to be the only kid in town with a crazy hamster cage running the perimeter of her room. Hamster cage manufacturers such as Habitrail and Crittertrail allow you to endlessly connect their hamster cages with plastic tubing, so you can create the most extreme hamster mansion ever. Start with a couple of cages on a table, dresser or shelf, then take the tubing up toward the ceiling and run it around the perimeter of the room, connecting it to "pit stop" cages along the way. You'll have the luckiest teen and the luckiest hamster in town.
Tags: your teen, your teen, , perimeter room, teen friends, your teen friends