The Ultimate Guide To Preteens & Teenager Boys Bedrooms

 

The Ultimate Guide To Preteens & Teenager Boys Bedrooms

The daughter has now finally flown the nest or should I say the departure lounge aka her bedroom and our ten-year-old son has taken up residence. Thankfully we’re back to calling it the bigger bedroom as we’ve at least 8 years before he even thinks of moving out! That is, of course, if we ever let him now our two eldest have gone.

Thankfully, the bedroom he inherited from his big sister was redesigned around her love of yellow and grey (you can find it here) so we’ve not had to make too many adjustments moving him across. We will, of course, be changing a few things to make it more personable to him but as he’s fast approaching teenagerhood we need to give some thought to make it right for him in the long-term. Afterall their bedrooms become a bit like mini apartments for teenagers albeit they tend to sleep a lot when the hormones kick in.

 

Preteens & Teenager Boys Bedrooms

All this change got me thinking about how quickly our little ones grow up and how they suddenly become teenagers overnight.  Preteens can prove to be a difficult age to know where to begin when it comes to redesigning their bedrooms. You may want to start before they hit the Kevin stage as trying to communicate with grunts and the “What Mums” can be rather challenging.

You may have gotten away with neutral gender styled bedrooms for a while or may have even opted for a  themed bedroom approach which, from experience, has an acute lifespan before they move on to the next big thing. My advice is don’t do it unless you’re prepared to change everything every few months!

 

Top Tips for Your PreTeens & Teenagers Bedrooms

Having been there once with a pre-teenager son and one currently at that stage, I completely understand how tricky it can be to create a design scheme together that will hopefully last them into their teenage years and if you’re lucky beyond!

To help you try and keep your sanity as a parent, you might want to consider the next few tips to help you and them if you’re looking to change their bedrooms completely, or maybe like we will be doing altering a few things. I’ve even put together a selection of look boards at the end of this post to help get you started! Ready…..

Avoiding The Drop Zone

If there’s one thing guaranteed with your pre-teens it’s that the ability to put stuff away suddenly becomes an almighty chore especially if it means opening a door or drawer. The floor is a much easier option for them. I’ve named this phase as the drop zone which basically means on entering a room they will drop said bag or jacket and there it will stay; well until you ask them to pick it up a dozen times at least!

The answer you’re looking for is hooks! It takes a minimal amount of effort and they can see exactly where things are which helps you in the long run as you won’t keep getting asked where things are. If they can see it there’s the likelihood that they’ll use it. You may want to read How To Create A Happy Home & Healthy Home You’ll Love which deals with some other aspects of making life a little easier with a family.

These multifunctional ones from Garden Trading are great as they have the leather loop option which doubles up the hanging space. Oh, and they look cool too!

 

Put hooks up near their bedroom door and you’ll hopefully avoid the drop zone!

 

Alternative To The Chair of Doom

As we’ve discussed the drop zone, there’s another important matter that we need to address. The chair of doom aka the chair that will become the dumping ground for washing, clean or otherwise as well as whatever else they’ve decided not to drop on the floor. Whatever you do, try and avoid the spare chair it will become yours and their worse nightmare.

Maybe consider a bean bag or why not try an alternative design like this Ball seat – Poof Ergonomi offered by KSL Living. They are based in France but do ship worldwide. What I love about this poof ball seat is that if you’re worried about bad posture brought about by gaming and/or IPads, this will actually help contribute to the proper postural support and help their muscles need at this age. In fact, it’s ergonomic value may mean you replace their desk chair with one. Oh and the fact that there will be no chair of doom appeals immensely don’t you think?

Lounging Around

Floor cushions are great for relaxed seating for them to hang out with their friends or for generally lounging around. These Serenity floor cushions can connect to create a modular floor layout. They’re also water-resistant ideal for when their hand to mouth co-ordination suddenly appears to stop working. If they do venture outside they can be used outdoors too!

 

Storage

Opting for cool looking storage and you may find they might actually use it. You might want to consider industrial style storage that not only has kerb appeal but is durable too.

 

Shelving is a great way for them to show off their possessions and add their personality to their rooms. Add some functional baskets for storage and you’ll hopefully create a happy medium of a room that looks great as well as the potential for them putting stuff away.

 

Walls

If you’re trying to prevent the advent of those Assassins Creed’s/Fortnite posters going up you may want to check out some seriously cool art that will stop them in their tracks at least for a few years I hope!

 

For our children, the world is their oyster and there’s nothing like a giant map to let them see that there’s more to being in their bedrooms on their Playstations or X-Boxes. Even if they use it as they get older to pinpoint where their virtual friends they talk to around the world are based.

 

You may want to check out my previous post here on Decorating Your Home With Maps

Larger scale artwork is ideal for those of you that may shy away from wallpapering. It’s also easier for re-positioning around furniture as the imagery won’t be lost as well as creating a feature wall. It might even encourage your pre-teens to enjoy geography more at school too!

 

Considering teenagers end up lying down a lot you could even add a map mural to their ceilings.

 

Want to find out more about how decorating your ceilings can enhance your homes? You can find out here.

 

Personalise Their Walls

 

Part of becoming a teenager is finding out who they are as they enter into a different stage of their lives. Your pre-teen/teenager will want to be able to express themselves and allowing them to put their favourite posters or personal artwork up will help them identify who they are and make their space their own.

Dedicating one part of their bedroom wall, say near a desk, will allow them to have some freedom that we all need to personalise our spaces. Cork is a fantastic way to do this so consider cork tiles either by creating a vertical line or add a pin board or two. This ingenious roll and pin custom cork by Albert and Moo adds another level to their creativity. Allowing them to create a feature out of the cork board itself. You may even find the posters don’t go up!

 

Or you could encourage them to get outdoors and start photographing. Our daughter loves taking photos and she had started a gallery wall with some of the images she had taken. It’s a great way to personalise their rooms and make their mark.

 

Art

If your pre-teen isn’t keen on creating their own art displays, why not consider some fun artwork. I’m loving this piece by Davies Babies from Made.com.  It adds a fun grown-up up feel to their rooms. There are others in the collection too that they may like.

 

Lights

If your preteen is anything like mine, given half a chance they’re probably be stuck gaming all day and all night. With that in mind, they might need a little direction as to where their bedroom door is! This neat sign is your way of having a bit of fun with them and has the cool light up factor that their friends will be envious of!

 

I’ve spoken about lighting up our bedrooms here and for children here which you may find useful. You may, however, want to encourage them to actually switch a light on by considering a fun decorative form like this Rubik’s cube lamp from Smithers of Stamford. I can’t tell you how often I walked into my eldest sons room to find him staring at a screen in the dark so it’s definitely worth considering.

Four Looks To Help You Get Started

And finally, I’ve put together 4 looks incorporating some of the ideas above to inspire you and your preteen/teenager to help get you started!

The Dreamer

 

The Scientist

The Adventurer

 

The Playful Artist

 

Which one would your preteen/teenager go for? Mine is drawn to The Scientist and The Artist which will make for an interesting update for his bedroom. Me, I was hoping he’d go for The Adventurer as I really want to get a giant map on his wall. I can see we will be conferring for some time yet

 

Until next time have a beautiful day wherever you are and thanks for stopping by!

Maria xx

 

The Interior Editor

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