5 teen bedroom makeover hacks

If you’ve got a teen in the house, you’ll know that they can be the hardest to please members of the household. So, you can be forgiven for approaching the idea of a teen bedroom makeover with more than a little trepidation! Fear not though, we’ve got you covered with some expert advice.

1) Easy does it: Hands up if you remember the days when your child loved having you in their room? In the teen years however, an invite into their room can come as often as an invite to Buckingham Palace (like never!). So before you go steamrollering into their room armed with your paintbrush, Channel 5 Parenting Expert Jane Evans had this advice: “As children grow they go though many confusing changes. It’s part of their emotional, brain and body development and their bedrooms can suddenly become VERY important. They increasingly withdraw to them and it’s great to respect this as their space but not abandon them to it. Be a regular visitor to the outside of their door and sometimes they will let you gain entry as long as you don’t use it as a chance to nag them.”

2) Pinterest it: Have a chat about updating their bedroom, a conversation that is uber important to a teen’s emerging individuality and independence says Life Coach Emma Jefferys: “Many parents struggle with choices that deviate from the style of the rest of the house. If you are dictating the style then you are still exerting your preferences onto them at a time when they need to explore their own. That said it is understandable that you might not love all their ideas. This is when you need to express your views clearly and then ask your child to tell you more about theirs, encouraging them to think creatively around their options. Pinterest is a great way to support and encourage their creativity and ideas whilst also adding your own. Building a board together can encourage discussion and finding solutions so that you get to a final style that you are both happy with (or can at least live with!).”

3) Changeable elements.  But what if your teen is insistent on a theme that you think will have the longevity of a loaf of bread? Tania O’Donnell, founder of Happily Tania and expert on blissful homes said: “Use changeable elements such as command strips or Grid Mesh Display Panels to allow your teen to put up terrifying-looking pictures and skull motifs that can be taken down and swapped out once the phase passes.” They can also turn phone photos into proper Polaroid prints using Super Snaps App. Tania adds: “Accept that their rooms may not be as picture perfect as the rest of your home and allow them some space to express their own personalities.”

4) Shelf it. The last thing you want is to invest time and money in updating your teen’s bedroom only to have it looking like an explosion in a laundrette within days! The solution, says Tania, is effective storage: “Definitely put in plenty of shelving as the best storage is just being able to place something atop a shelf.” These White Adjustable Shelves are a good choice for teen bedrooms, being durable and easy to clean. Tania also suggests adding a laundry basket in their room, a sturdy laundry hamper can be a modern addition for a teen’s room. Tania adds:  “Offer a really amazing reward (such as a mini-fridge in their room) if they stick to taking all mugs and dishes back to the kitchen and into the dishwasher at the end of each day. Time out tidying chores by songs – so a whole album for a deep clean and a couple of songs for a quick tidy.”

5) Upcyle. The biggest investments in a teen bedroom makeover will be the large items like the bed, wardrobe and desk. Cato Cooper, Co-owner at The Emporium Somerset, said: “If your teen has furniture in their bedroom such as a desk or a wooden bed frame, these can be upcycled and given a new lease of life. I use Autentico Chalk Paint, which offers a huge variety of colours, needs minimal prep and is super-easy to paint with. Once you’ve both agreed on a paint colour, you can get on with painting.” For an easy and cost effective teen wardrobe, try a Heavy-Duty Clothes Rail!