After the bathing, brushing and bedtime stories, you child will outgrow the bedroom that was once so perfect for them as a youngster. It’s time to design a bedroom to meet the needs of a teen’s busy lifestyle.   The real challenge is to create a livable, beautiful space that allows you and your teen to live in harmony as grown-up and child.

With evolving opinions and changing preferences, you kid’s bedroom will need to grow right along with them.  The bedroom has many functions; it’s a quiet retreat for reading, a social zone for friends and comfortable place for play.  Give your teen a space to grow into by swapping out the rocking chair for a media unit to house a stereo.  Bring in a bookcase to showcase trophies and collectables and a vanity for brushes and nail polish.

Include your child in the process of updating their bedroom.  “They may not know paint chips from potato chips but kids know color”, says Mary Jane Johnson, an interior designer at Ingenue, Inc. with 36 years experience in the field.  Enlisting your child’s help gives them a sense of ownership and accomplishment.  Whatever their idea is, there is a way to make it work.

If your teens’ idea of a dream room encompasses every color in the rainbow, resist the urge to become overwhelmed.  Bright colors can create vibrant patterns and no one can resist cheerful charm.  A lively space encourages expression and allows the space to act as an outward reflection of who they are starting to become.

If your moody teens favorite color is black – work with her, not against her.  Instead of fighting it, earn ‘Cool Mom of the Year’ for encouraging her unique design taste and suggesting some design savvy solutions.  Stick with high contrast –  black and white with a bright pink duvet for example – to enhance the overall drama of the room.  Try Sherwin Williams Heartthrob for a hot pink accent wall.