Designing a teenager's bedroom is no easy feat - by this age, they have developed their own sense of style and need a room that multitasks as a sleep, study and entertaining space.
But with a little imagination and effort, creating a room that ticks all the boxes is possible. Colour is your first step according to interior stylist Julia Green. "It's the quickest and easiest way to breathe life into a room and will give you the foundation for a space your teen will love," she says.
The original bedroom pictured here was functional but uninspiring, with a green feature wall and very little colour elsewhere. "I loved the room's architectural features and wanted to highlight them with paint," says Green. "I also wanted to ramp up the fun-factor with some surprise colour hits and introduce texture and softness for a cosy, welcoming feel."
For inspiration, Julia looked to Dulux's striking Identity palette images, one of the four palettes in the paint brand's 2019 Colour Forecast. "Filled with bold, saturated brights and clashing patterns, these images are all about confidence and fun, making them perfect for a teen space," she says.
"My starting point was a playful, modern artwork in a riot of blue, orange, yellow and black. I hung it above the desk to create a focal point in the room and used the colours to inform the rest of the scheme. As this is a bedroom and needs to work for quiet times too, I opted for a soft shade for the feature wall and kept the adjoining walls and trims that were already painted in a Dulux Wash&Wear Lexicon Quarter (a shade of white) for contrast. I then introduced louder brights through smaller accents in the bedding, accessories and furniture."
As any parent knows, redecorating a child's room can be expensive. Green suggests you keep the budget in check by upcycling existing pieces where you can. "It only takes a few minutes to repaint old furniture and accessories in a fresh colour to give them a whole new look," she says.
The bed is the centerpiece in most bedrooms, so it was important to get it right. Green added funky, retro-patterned bedding and a fun denim bedhead to frame the bed. Mismatched bedding is all the rage right now and works brilliantly with this playful look, so Green made the bed with sheets in contrasting colours and piled it high with cushions in different colours, shapes and textures. This also gives it a lounge-like feel, providing a spot for friends to sit when they come over.
"When starting a project like this, my top tip is to get your teen involved from the start," says Green. "Teens have strong ideas about colour and trends and you'll want their new room to be a space they'll love.
"And be prepared to try something new - a child's room, which is separated from the main living areas of the home, is the perfect spot to be a little adventurous with colour."