One of the most common questions we get asked is how to style a teenager’s room. The most important thing when designing a bedroom for a person whose taste is likely to change relatively rapidly is to keep it quite simple when it comes to the walls, floors, furniture and curtains. They are the pieces that are the most difficult and expensive to change down the line. You want your child or young adult to be able to grow with their room and express themselves in their surroundings so you don't want the room to be bland but if you confine your more dramatic choices to say a headboard which is easily recovered or cushions, accessories or even removable trim for your curtains, you can still inject personality but without too much expense to change as their taste evolves.
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A grey or light blue paint choice is always a good neutral but impactful base to start with, regardless of gender. Something like our Billy's Blue by Helen Turkington for Curator for the walls, teamed with a neutral fabric like our OL123 is a fail-safe, go-to to create a perfect canvas.
In one of our recent children’s bedrooms, I decided to band the curtains with a beautiful red braid which I could then tie in was different areas throughout the room in the cushions, bed throws, lampshades, the fabric for the headboards, and the valance. I covered the headboard in quite a bold patterned material, which only takes 1.5m of fabric so it is easy enough to change to something more subtle and suited to an older child as time goes on. Using the colours taken from the headboard I carried the reds and blues over into the cushions but in different patterns to create layers while still coordinating. Adding a blanket box to the end of the bed is great for storing toys or shoes but still looks really smart, especially covered in velvet!
When it comes to bed linen I would always go for a classic white on white, any colour outside of that can end up being very hard to match. For a baby or smaller child, I love a light block-colored headboard with an interesting patterned cushion to match. More often than not teenagers seem to love bright extravagant colours and sometimes you have to go with it! I advise bringing these colours into the less expensive items and can be changed out easily if needs be.
