Transforming a Child’s Room to a Room Fit for a Teen

Image: Frank Gruber

They may still enjoy playing soccer or riding horses, but as children become teenagers they seek more mature representations of their hobbies and interests. Those little cartoon horses on the wallpaper might be cute to you, but they’ll likely be embarrassing for your child when peers come to visit. Follow the tips below to turn a child’s play area into the living space of a young adult.

Cut Out Cartoons

Replace any curtains, bedding or wallpaper depicting animated characters and activities. Instead, decorate the room with a color scheme suggestive of the adolescent’s hobbies and interests. For example, if soccer is a teen’s main interest, a black-and-white color scheme will depict this hobby in an abstract and mature way, as opposed to soccer ball wallpaper.

Decorate While Teaching Responsibility

Introduce a plant or fish tank to the adolescent’s new room. Not only can these living things function as decorations, they can also teach responsibility to a maturing teenager.

Plants such as bamboo or bonsai trees grow easily in small pots and look great sitting in a windowsill. Furthermore, their subtle green colors offer a sense of calming relaxation — great for any stressed-out teen.

Fish tanks are a powerful decorative tool because they are colorful and convey a lot of personality. Keep in mind though that fish tanks also require greater personal responsibility on the part of their owners. Most fish need to be fed daily and tanks should be cleaned regularly to avoid bacteria and waste buildup.

Add Fun Seating

Teens love to socialize with friends. Plan for visiting guests by ensuring there is enough seating for everyone.

Beanbag cushions are a fun, easy and relatively cheap way to provide stylish seating. They come in a variety of patterns, colors and textures, offering a little something for everyone.

Similarly, butterfly chairs offer many of the same pattern and color options of beanbags but with the additional comfort of not having to sit on the ground. These chairs are also lightweight and collapsible, perfect for teens who frequently have friends sleep over.

One final seating option to consider — video game chairs. Compatible with most brands of gaming systems, these chairs are a good idea for any teen with a gaming console in his or her room. They come in a variety of colors and styles, but most include built-in speakers, a variety of built-in controller options and Bluetooth capabilities that allow mp3 files to be played directly through the chairs’ speakers.