How to Decorate a Teen's Rock Bedroom
Maybe your teenager shreds on the guitar or can sing like Robert Plant. Maybe she doesn't make music but is passionate about listening to it. Either way, a love of rock 'n' roll can make for a kick-butt teenage bedroom design, featuring music-related art, vivid colors and bold prints. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Old tapes, LPs or CDs
- Picture frames
- Wall paint
- U-shaped wall mounts for guitars, plus screws
- Screwdriver
- Throw pillows
- Throw rug
- Animal-print fabric
- Black bedding
- Black upholstery fabric
- Black paint for wood
- Salvaged headboard
- Faux fur
- Staple gun
- Hot glue gun
Instructions
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Walls
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Pay homage to your teenager's favorite bands by framing old LP, CD or cassette cover art and hanging it on the wall. Take a sample of each size of cover art to the framing store to make sure you get the right size frames for each one. Make sure the cover art is from an album your teenager doesn't mind using as wall decoration. Alternately, visit thrift stores and the bargain bins at record stores to find good music-related art without damaging your teen's prized record collection. Other good music-related art to frame: band and gig posters and flyers; sheets of music or tabulature; and those big promo posters that street teams tack to lampposts when a new album is coming out.
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Before you hang your music art, think of a rock 'n' roll color for your walls. Black might be too severe, and may also make the room seem dingy and depressing--not a good idea when your teenager is probably going to spend a fair amount of time in his room. Consider bright red or purple--try to keep the shades lighter rather than darker, to make the room seem brighter. Hot pink is also a good rock 'n' roll choice. You can also choose patterned wallpaper, or stencil designs onto the walls. Keep it simple, or it may be too busy and overwhelm the room.
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If your teen plays a musical instrument, clear some floor space by hanging the instrument on the wall. Guitars and basses look especially good on the wall, giving your teen's room that rock-music-shop atmosphere, but you can hang up brass and string instruments too--almost any instrument except piano and drums. You can even spotlight the instrument--literally--by installing a light fixture above or below it on the wall.
Accents
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While animal print is very glam-rock, using it too liberally can overwhelm a room. The same rules go for skull-and-crossbones prints and leather anywhere other than on furniture. If your teenager likes leopard, tiger or zebra print, use it as an accent pattern, on throw pillows or small throw rugs. Alternately, have one big block of animal print, and don't use it anywhere else. For example, get your teen a leopard-print duvet cover.
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Black can be a good accent color too, especially if you've painted your teen's walls a vibrant color like red, pink or purple. You can use black more liberally than loud prints. Consider an all-black bedding ensemble, or a small sofa or chair upholstered in black fabric. If your teen's room has a desk in it, do what the Rolling Stones said: Paint it black.
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Fur can be very rock 'n' roll. Again, you need to use it sparingly, in case it overwhelms your teen's room. Use faux fur to create a cool headboard for your teen's bed. Find an old headboard from a salvage yard, the trash or a garage sale. You may even already have an ugly old headboard that you want to revamp. Purchase several yards of faux fur fabric. Wrap the fur tightly around the headboard and hot-glue it down. If your headboard isn't going to be against the wall, you can create an almost seamless-looking fur covering by choosing long, thick fur and using a staple gun. The staples will disappear into the fur, meaning both sides of your headboard will look more finished.
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Tips & Warnings
Sit down with your teenager and look at her things for inspiration: You can base a room around his love for one particular band, genre of music or other musical element. Involving your teenager in the design process will be a fun bonding experience and a chance to practice compromising.
Ask, ask, ask. Never change your teenager's room without asking first. A teenager's room is her sanctuary, and while it's fair to ask that it be kept clean and neat, it'll only create tension if you try to force stylistic changes.
