How to renovate a teenager's room without going broke and keeping peace in the family? We have collected the most interesting examples of functional interiors for you and prepared some useful tips
If this text were written for European and themesmore American audience, it would be addressed directly to the teenager. "How to decorate your room beautifully without spending all your money?" or "How to convince your dad to let you paint the wall black - maybe finally mow the lawn?" In Russia, it's different - we are proud of our closeness to our children, sometimes for the better, and sometimes not. And yet, a teenager's room with the sign "enter without knocking - fly out without a sound", real or only implied, has ceased to be an exclusively adult matter. And renovating it is perhaps one of the last truly joint projects in your life together. Why not take advantage of this chance for understanding, even if it means putting in some financial effort and a lot of stress. Especially since summer is the only time of year when a busy parent can meet their equally busy child without rushing.
Organization of space
Start not with what you would like to have inresult, but with what you don’t like now. Perhaps you and your child will have different opinions on this matter. They can and should be reconciled. Clutter almost always means either a lack of storage systems or a lack of free space. Although a grown-up child no longer needs to leave a playground for active games in the room, he still needs air and freedom. In addition, comfortable, roomy and aesthetically pleasing furniture stimulates the desire to use it for its intended purpose.
Our opinion:— The most ergonomic solution for a small room, especially a multifunctional one like a children's room, is custom-made furniture, and . Designs that allow you to raise the sleeping area to the second floor save enough footage to arrange a workplace, a recreation area, or bookshelves below. For clothes, it is worth providing a full-fledged adult closet or a structure built into the wall. Remember that your growing child's workplace should be as spacious as possible. Given the workload of modern children, this is essentially an office at home. To plan a sufficient number of drawers and compartments, ask your child to make a list of items that need to be placed and their dimensions.
Wall of Fame
Psychologists distinguish two types of teenagersattitudes towards one's personal space: the glory room and the flophouse. To achieve the first and avoid the second, you need to give the child the opportunity to honestly show off to his guests what he is passionate about and can be proud of, be it a surfboard, judo medals or a guitar collection. You definitely need to find a place for them. Ideally, his room should be the first thing that comes to his mind when he needs to impress a girl or a guy, a new acquaintance or an old friend.
Light
Darkness is still a faithful friend of youth anda persistent enemy of her health. Does your teenager prefer twilight and dim light? No problem. Let the overhead light be subdued, but the bedside sconces and table lamp - bright and clear. In the work area, you need to provide a modern, high-quality lamp with a high stand and a large angle of rotation - for all occasions. Keep in mind: in teenage fashion - Why not make one together - from an LED cord, for example? Just don't forget to consult an electrician if all your experience with wires begins and ends at the Christmas tree.
Decorating with IKEA and more
The most cumbersome of the stumbling blocks betweensenior and junior designers — decor. Surely, you and your teenager have very different ideas not only about “cool”, but even about “appropriate”. What can you say? The color of the walls and hair, as well as the length of pants and skirts — is the most accessible form of self-expression, a way to explain to the world what there are not enough words for yet. Why not let your child try? Or maybe even direct and organize the creative process? One of the hottest trends is . If this option scares you or the room seems too small for such a solution, suggest painting one of the walls dark to begin with. The tension of “otherworldly” coloristics can always be reduced with photographs, paintings and bookshelves.
Another popular option is wall-mountedpainting. Of course, you can invite a decorator or artist. But this is not necessary. You can make a modern "fresco" in a youth style yourself. To do this, you will need to paint one of the walls with matte light paint or paste over with paintable wallpaper with a minimal texture. A contrasting marker of medium thickness will do for the painting itself. If you do not have any special artistic experience, it is better to first make a sketch - with a soft pencil on the wallpaper or charcoal on the painted wall. The owner of the room will suggest the theme. For example, quotes from rock and roll classics look great. If they are also in English, the benefit will be double: both aesthetic and educational.
If the child has an interest in modernart, and you have free time, suggest creating your own art object in his room. For example, from a nightstand or a wardrobe. For this, you will need any evenly painted piece of furniture, the price of which allows you to experiment with it. Something suitable is almost always found in IKEA.
Draw and write on the surface of such a cabinetyou can use chalk or soft pastel. If you want to achieve a more lasting effect, you can use artistic acrylic paint - the easiest tool for a beginner decorator. Until it is covered with varnish, it can be wiped off with a damp cloth or napkin. In order for the painting to be beautiful and lasting, 3-4 layers will be required, each of which will need to be carefully sanded after drying. When you are satisfied with the result, carefully cover the surface with acrylic varnish and use sandpaper again. If this technology scares you, do it easier. Take any contrasting paint suitable for furniture work, dilute it a little (enough so that it easily splashes in all directions) and "spray" it on the surface of the cabinet with a wide paintbrush (do not forget to cover the surrounding objects and the floor with film beforehand). The more random the splashes are, the more interesting the effect. If you film the creative process and let your child post it on Facebook, you'll have a family performance.
Our opinion:— Even if your child does not yet have any clearly expressed wishes or stable interests, try not to impose your vision of their personal space. It is better to let the room remain neutral for now. Experts do not recommend monochromatic design for children over 13. Your child has most likely already outgrown boats and planes, or will very soon. If you are the happy owner of a house on a lake in the Provence style or a futuristic mansion in a pine forest, allow one room to stand out from the stylistic uniformity a little. The eclectic space that a teenager’s room inevitably turns into, both thanks to and in spite of any design efforts, is a wonderful metaphor for the diversity and variety of future adult life. There will always be a place for Chippendale with Philippe Starck, and IKEA, and Karelian birch. And that’s great.
