Tucked away behind pine trees and bushes and shrubs on a cul-de-sac in suburbia of Chicago is my home. The lawns are scalloped and there is a prestige walkway to my front door of my two stories colonial. From the outside you would never suspect the turmoil inside. You see I work full time and also take work home with me so there never seems to be enough time in the day to accomplish a thing. I also have two teenagers so enough said. With my nerves on end recently I had made up my mind not to enter either of their rooms. I had thought to myself they are old enough to be responsible and take care of their own surroundings. Until this time the cleaning and tidying up had fallen on my shoulders. This big idea of mine that they would want to help out had accrued to me about a month before.
Saturday morning arrived and there were activities I needed to get my kids to. They both were still asleep so I first entered my son's room. I should say just barley entered. His bedroom door would only open an inch. I tried to push my way through as I toppled to the floor. There were clothes, books, dirty dishes amongst other things all over the room that I could not even tell what they were. I woke him up and could feel my blood boiling. Next I went to wake up my daughter and deep inside me I new I would find her room in shambles as well. Needless to say they both did not go to their scheduled activities that day.
White Metal Headboards
They both worked for hours on their rooms but when they were finished they came to me and proclaimed that their rooms left much to be desired. Both rooms had been designed by me when they were younger and they did not feel it expressed who they were. They went on to tell me that their needs and stuff they had acquired over the years had far out grown their rooms. It lacked organization and a place that represented who they were. I listened to them and together we all came up with creative ideas.
This article hopefully will help other families go in the right direction. It should give you the tools and ideas to help make your lives a little more organized and serene. I will begin by laying out the road map that my own family took to reach the goals we set for ourselves.
The most important thing when decorating a teens bedroom walls is to allow the teens input so that the room is a reflection of who they are. Teens live stressful lives just like the rest of us so they need a place to retreat and feel comfortable in. They are still searching for who they are and designing their own bedroom walls provides them an outlet to express themselves creatively.
Teen wall décor decisions will vary depending on the teen in question. There are a number of different ideas for you to explore which will hopefully produce for your teen a room they can enjoy and a look that the parent approves of. Be sure to take in the size of the room, your budget and the practicality of the style. You also need to consider what end of the teenage scale your child is on. Teens taste and sense of self will change considerably between thirteen and eighteen. So be sure to tread lightly with fads and trends that are likely to go out of style. After all you do not want to take on this task again next year.
What we did is we all sat down together with pens and paper. I then asked this question. What are you crazy about and what really gets you excited? I then proceeded to ask them about their hobbies, sports, and a location they love to visit or a topic they want to learn more about. I had them write all these things down. This is the list of ideas they came up with: Dolphins, Birds, Abstract, Flowers, Sports, Space, Fashion, Animals, Music, Numbers, Moon and Sky. I recommended that they choose one idea from the list and making this interest the centerpiece of their room.
We first looked at lots of pictures from books and magazines and spent hours on line at different decorating web sites. We also watched a couple of home decorating shows on television and went to a design center and talked with others to get some ideas. The first thing to realize is not to rush. Take your time since this will be the room that you chill and hang out in.
My daughter decided on fashion as her bedroom theme while my son choice was sports in particular football with the main theme being the Bears. We then gathered in our car and took a drive to the paint store. We browsed through many selections of different colored paint chips until the ones caught their eyes and attention. My daughter picked candy apple green while my son stuck with the Bears colors of navy and orange. All of these being popular colors according to the many hours of research we had tackled.
For one of their walls for each of their rooms we bought a paint that had a faux texture designed that seemed to shimmer and shine. They decided they would keep this wall bare so they could keep adding additional items such as posters from a movie or concert that had seen. In this way they always had space so they had room to grow and develop.
My son had found on line a beautiful hand woven wall tapestry of Soldier Field where the Bears make their home and play their games when in Chicago. He made this the focal point of the room and placed framed artwork of Bears Players all around it. He also hung pennants and his prime passion of an autograph jersey that his favorite player had signed. He is also handy with wood and built shelves along one entire wall. Then with wall paper borders of pictures of footballs went along the edges of the shelves. He was able to use these selves to display his trophies and had space left over for his entertainment system.
Meanwhile fashion was the main theme for my daughter's room. She had also spent hours on line in search of her perfect design. Like most girls she loves to go shopping and purchase as many shoes and purses imaginable. So I was not at all surprised when I saw her selection for the focal point for her room. It was wall art made up of whimsical purses. It was defiantly cool, hip and certainly prissy. The purses came designed with stripes and swirls of polka dots and matched her candy apple green walls. They had white ribbon and are embellished by a metal snap closure and silver balled feet. This design is definitely unique and personal.
There are three inch letters attached and painted with matching silver. She named her space by hanging each letter of her name over her bed. On the wall opposite the windows she purchased a silver frameless mirror that made the room look double in size. It also came with a pegboard message center and held colorful bins for plenty of storage. We then commissioned a local art teacher from a public school located near our house to hand paint a mural on the wall opposite the display of purses. My daughter is artistically inclined and drew a sketch of abstract designs that the artist successfully copied on to her wall. It truly accomplished the customized look she was going for.
All I can tell you is it has been about a year since we finished making their rooms a place they can call their own. The best part is they have kept their belongings in place and they spend many hours studying, laughing, entertaining their friends and most importantly keeping their rooms neat and tidy. Be patient, creative, listen and if you follow these steps you will also have tranquility in you life.