HONESTLY, I don’t know what every teenage boy wants in his bedroom. And frankly, I really don’t want to venture there… I do know how to help you figure out what your teenager might want in his/her room though…

KIDS & OUR NEW REALITY

Kids are home a lot more these days, trying to make the best of their situation as we all are, right? Backyard use is a constant for recreation with all kinds of indoor activity happening as well,  in places like the kitchen, dining room, living room and family room/basement. Legos, crafts, baking, reading, the inevitable screen time…whatever the activity, we all need SPACE.

With part time online school a most likely scenario this FALL, we all need to make sure our kids’ rooms function well for their needs.

SO, on to BEDROOM DESIGN… One must ASSESS the room before PLANNING and DESIGN begins. Take pictures and dimensions of the room and try to think in new ways about the use of the space. What can you get RID of?  Have a conversation with your kid about what is and isn’t working for them in their room. What are their hobbies? Interests? Favorite things?  Will they need a new desk? A comfortable chair? A laptop? A good mirror? Adequate lighting in bed? A way to store books, games, etc?  Do they want to display any awards, ribbons, posters or art that they love?

Watch a few TIDYING UP MARIE KONDO or QUEER EYE episodes together.  They’re are so motivational and heart-warming.  

Creating a mood board together is a great idea…and believe me, it will change over the course of the project. It’s all part of the process, but so worth it in the end.

1. RUG     2. START PENDANT     3. BED LINENS    4. MURAL WALLPAPER     5. PAINTING    6. PAINT     7. PENDANT. 8. CUSTOM CURTAINS    9. ANTIQUE BED    10. PILLOW     11. PILLOW

EVERY GOOD ROOM TAKES TIME AND ENERGY TO COMPLETE

Once its all done you can truly enjoy it. The hard work really pays off.

I’ve been refreshing my girl and boy teens’ bedrooms this past year so let’s delve into that process, shall we?  

WORKING WITH YOUR KID

The process of working with your kid to create a room they really love is such a rich experience. Delve into their interests and get to the root of what they like to have around them and how they want to use their own space. It lets them know that you care. And it’s important for them to feel good in their space…

BOY TEEN BEDROOM #1 (ARTHUR’ S ROOM):

A LITTLE BACKGROUND

Arthur had an awesome room to begin with. The second floor location looks out over an ancient cherry tree (so it feels like a nest), has beautiful muntin/lattice trimmed windows, and a huge walk-in closet. The unusual roofline and crazy room dimensions, although challenging to work with,  make it unique and charming.  

START WITH A COLOR SCHEME

Arthur insisted that he wanted green walls as GREEN is his favorite color. Together, we considered many greens before we picked the right one. It helps if you have the beginning of a color scheme to work with, like this owl painting by local artist, ELIZABETH SEE.

We used STOKES FOREST GREEN by Benjamin Moore on the walls.  It brings a lot of happy energy into the room. 

NEXT, ESTABLISH A THEME OR A FOCAL POINT

In the case of Arthur, A LOVE OF OLD THINGS

The focal point of the room is the ANTIQUE ROPE BED from the late 1800’s that was his great, great grandparents’. Mr. Can Fix Anything reinforced this bed to last forever. It was once literally held together by rope with a mattress made of hay. Hence the saying, “Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.” I found this in the attic of an old house in Flat Rock, NC. called CHANTELOUP, that once belonged to our family. Arthur loves that it is the oldest object in our house.

Arthur has always loved pirates and the sea, so when we came across this wallpaper at a local boutique (PICNIC NW), we thought it just might work. It’s inspired by the old-fashioned copperplate illustration technique, full of hand-drawn lines and a real sense of the time taken to produce such a work.

HIGH SEAS MURAL WALLPAPER

Sometimes the most challenging aspect of a room turns out to be its best feature.  That was the case with this room.  The slanted wall from the roof line was a big design dilemna. Rather than ignore it, we decided to do something notable.

ACCENT MURAL WALL DEPICTING OLD SHIPS AT SEA

 The HIGH SEAS in Henderson Blue wallpaper mural was done in partnership with REBELWALLS. It was our first DIY wallpaper installation and it went pretty well. The design was based off of an antique etching but the scale and color gives it a modern edge.  The blue is a little softer on the eyes than the black and white version we almost went with.  I was afraid the green wouldn’t work with the mural but somehow it does. The mural really lights up the room. It stands on its own. I kept the color palette on the bed pretty toned down, mostly blues, whites and browns, to tie in the blue in the mural.

Once we’d identified the HIGH SEAS wallpaper and the old ROPE BED, it felt natural to go in the direction of an old captain’s quarters on a ship.

THE DUDE’S RUG!

We bought this antique rug on EBAY while drinking way too much Two Buck Chuck back in the late 90’s. We later discovered that it was just like The Dude’s Rug featured in the classic film, THE BIG LEBOWSKI. It has worn like steel over the years and Arthur wanted it in his room. So, that was yet another design component to work into the mix.

LIGHTING

The room was lacking light but after we put in the sconces on either side of the bed and the lamp on the desk, it seemed to provide enough light and cozied up the room.

FYI, sconces should be hung approximately 5 feet from the floor and 8″ away from the bed.  

These sconces were from IKEA and not bad for $17 a piece!  We just needed to drill holes and hide the wires which was a quick fix by my husband.

 The chandelier and lamp are also from IKEA.   I love the way the light shines through the holes in the copper lamp shade on the desk at night. 

MEANINGFUL ART

The original paintings are by local artist ELIZABETH SEE, who is a favorite of mine.  We have various paintings of hers all over the the house. We have been to her studio where the kids picked out the art from Elizabeth themselves. I also framed his birth certificate and included some antique ship prints and a vintage carved deer head. 

LINENS & COZY PILLOWS

The duvet cover and sheets are from IKEA and the decorative pillows, plaid throw and bedskirt are from STUDIO TULLIA (the fabric is from PENDLETON).  I often use ticking on the backs of bedding pillows because it is so comfortable and utilitarian. If one side is too hot or itchy you can just flip it over. I also used it for the bedskirt.

I used two different duvet cover sets and layered them on the bed.

STORAGE IS KEY

In the case of Arthur’s vast lego collection, we donated this ANTIQUE CURIO CABINET to the cause. I wanted to paint it bright red but my husband wouldn’t allow it. It was a wedding gift from my Aunt Donna. It really was the perfect solution as you can see the entire beautifully contained collection within the confines of this cabinet.

The STAR LIGHT on top of the cabinet is from POTTERY BARN and is a wonderful light at night.

HOBBIES 

The VINTAGE MODEL AIRPLANES are from a dear neighbor and I thought I’d try hanging them up in his room.   They are pretty delicate so I am hoping they hold up.

CURTAINS

Here is a detail shot of the curtains. They have the ribbon work which STUDIO TULLIA is so known for.  They used to be in my dining room but were in really good condition so I held onto them. Glad I could reuse them for this room.  I ended up using four pleated panels which works really nicely for this double window.

BIRDS AND BEES AND KIDS

When I think about what my teenage brother had up in his room in the late 70’s, I’m happy with legos and pirate ships for now.  

NOW WE HAVE THE INTERNET, WHICH IS ANOTHER BALLGAME ALTOGETHER

Safeguarding what’s out there on the internet for them to find, is another thing altogether.  A recent webinar I attended about kids and pornography held by local author of the book, BIRDS & BEES & KIDS, AMY LANG, was a rude awakening. Her website is a great resource for parents. Two great takeaways from the webinar were 1) establish house rules around internet usage and 2) install the Circle app that lets you manage content and time online for your family’s as well as enable you to manage all the devices on your home Wi-Fi.

THE ONE ROOM CHALLENGE

 This room was completed as part of the ONE ROOM CHALLENGE in 2019, which is a bi-annual design challenge in which you have 6 weeks to overhaul a room of your choice. REBEL WALLS was kind enough to partner with us on this DIY project. As a ORC designer/blogger guest participant, you are required to share your progress each week. The accountability piece and the collective spirit of the event, help to pull you through. If you haven’t heard of it, check it out. They have a whole section on KIDS ROOMS.