Teen Bedroom Ideas: A Cozy Retreat

Give your teen a cozy retreat that's big on style and color.

Walls
Every room needs a color scheme, and this one is no exception. Head to the paint store with your teen to browse through the paint chips. Decide on a two- or three-color scheme for the room. You'll need one color to serve as the main wall color, and one or two more to serve as accents.

Graphic Walls
What you'll need:

• 2 or 3 colors of latex paint
• Roller
• Paint brush
• Masking tape
• Level
• Pencil

Directions:

1. Start by painting the walls with your main color. Let dry.
2. Choose spots to paint big squares and rectangles on the wall. You can do a lot or a little.
3. Use your level to mark out the locations for your shapes.
4. Carefully mask the shapes off with tape.
5. Paint inside of all of your shapes with your second (and third) color.
6. Let dry and remove tape.

Bedding
Take basic bedding from boring to wow with a few simple modifications.

Ribbon Sheets and Shams
What you'll need:

• A solid-colored top sheet and pillow shams
• Ribbon in lots of colors and styles
• Sewing machine
• Thread
• Scissors

Directions:

1. Cut pieces of ribbon the same width as the sheet.
2. Stitch them on to the top seam of the sheet-, sewing one right over top of the other to create a dramatic edge.
3. Do the same with the pillow shams.

Curtains
Tie the curtains into the bedding by giving them the same ribbon treatment. A foot of ribbon sewn to the bottom of each panel will create a great focal point and keep the cost of window treatments down.

Art
Remember those graphic shapes that you painted on the walls earlier? Now, it's time to put them to use. Frame up several pictures of your teen with her friends (similar frames will unify the group), then hang them inside one of the squares or rectangles for a neat, organized look. If you have a lot of pictures, you can do the same with several of the shapes around the room.

Want to do more to personalize the room? Try this fun project:

Monogram Art
What You'll Need:

• An artist's canvas
• A large monogram stencil (first initial)
• Stencil adhesive
• Paint (leftovers from when you painted the walls is fine)
• A paint brush

Directions:

1. Paint the canvas all one color and let dry.
2. Spray the back of the stencil with stencil adhesive and center it on the canvas.
3. Fill in the letter with a contrasting color.
4. Let dry. Carefully remove the stencil, and you've got custom art for the room.

Seating
Your teen is likely to spend a lot of time in her room doing homework, talking on the phone and hanging out with friends, so it's important to incorporate seating into the design. Opt for a comfortable lounge chair as the main seating option. A futon can will serve double duty as it can be used as a chair or opened into a mat that's perfect for sleepovers.

Need more seating to accommodate all of your teen's friends? Try this project:

Floor Pillows
What You'll Need:

• Fabric
• Stuffing
• A sewing machine
• Thread
• Needle

Directions:

1. Decide how big you want your floor pillows to be. Two square feet is a common size.
2. Cut out your fabric, leaving an extra inch all the way around.
3. Turn the fabric, right sides facing in, and pin.
4. Stitch all the way around, leaving a few inches open for stuffing.
5. Fill the pillows with stuffing to your desired thickness.
6. Stitch up the opening with needle and thread, and the first floor pillow is ready for use.

For even more fun, stitch ribbons onto the fabric before sewing up the pillows, to tie in with the other design elements in the room.

Floor
Extend the seating options in your teen's room even further by investing in a big, fluffy rug. Who knows, it could even become your teen's favorite study spot.