How to Decorate a Preteen Bedroom

Decorating a preteen's bedroom is not difficult, but there is one thing you have to remember: Preteens have strong opinions about what they do and do not like. Therefore, decorating without your preteen's knowledge is not recommended. Instead, consult your preteen before you decorate. Find out her likes and dislikes, including paint colors. It might not be a surprise, but if you do include your child in the planning, you will create a room that she will truly love.

Things You'll Need

• Paint and painting tools
• Bed linens of your choice
• Curtain treatments of your choice
• Comfortable seating
• Desk or table
• Bulletin board
• Shelves or shelving unit
• Art light
• Other decorative accessories of your preteen's choice

Instructions

1. Start with colors. Decide on one, two or more colors as your overarching theme. The colors will appear on the walls, window treatments and bed linens. Try to stick to colors as a theme rather than commercial themes such as "Hannah Montana." Such themes are better limited to posters, which can be quickly replaced as tastes change.

2. Create a workspace. Set aside an area to do homework in. This could be a desk or table. Place a bulletin board on the wall above the space to tack up important items such as when homework is due, or photos of friends. Finish off with a comfortable office chair.

3. Create a leisure space. This could be as simple as piling a lot of comfortable pillows on the bed, or a beanbag chair near a reading lamp and bookshelf. Every preteen needs a space to just curl up and relax in.

4. Add display shelves. Most preteens have special items that they would like to display. Show off your preteen's valuables by adding an art light above the shelves to highlight his trophies.

5. Allow for your child's interests. That might mean letting your preteen put that Hannah Montana poster above her bed, or letting your son line up his eight soccer balls along the wall in front of his closet. It may be inconvenient or ruin the perfect look of the room, but those personal touches are what make a preteen's room his or her uniquely special space.

Tips & Warnings

• Let your preteen pick out her own bed linens, but keep it reasonable by first choosing five or six within your price range, and let her pick from those.

Resources

• More decorating ideas for preteen bedrooms