In today’s world or reduce, reuse and recycle, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to create a cool space for your teen. Paint is an amazing game changer because it’s easy, inexpensive and not permanent, which is great if you’re in a rental or temporary space. Most teens have eliminated the big bulky “toy” items and have slimmed down to sleek electronics. However, there still seems to be a lot of clutter to contain. For example, for girls, nail polish and hair accessories, jewelry and clothing. For boys, there may be video games and baseball cards (do boys still collect these??). To keep the clutter at bay, I suggest containing and labeling much of what can be taken out and looked at, as opposed to continually looking at the items (trophies, for example) that will likely just collect dust.
Another thing to consider when creating a cool space for a teen is a workspace, which can also function as a dressing table for girls. Your teen will likely wind up doing homework on their bed or sitting on the floor (add comfy throw pillows), but creating a workspace can encourage positive study habits.
A simple solution for containing the containers, if you will, is to use bookshelves. The shelves in this makeover are actually about 20 years old. They were one of the best investments I ever made! Not only are they fold-able, but they’re stackable too. I’ve used these in a bedroom, a storage area and now in my teen’s room, after repainting a crisp white. We already had all of the containers used in this project. I spray painted the round containers black. We used magazine holders for Teen mags and a pull out drawer for note cards and stationary. Yearbooks are in the mesh container on the bottom shelf next to scrap books.
The open shelving can present a slight feeling of clutter, but there's a place for everything!
Preserving a few memories of the past and displaying a current interest.
When it comes to repurposing items you already own, think outside the box. You may want to do this when it comes to a particular room too. In a recent home organizing project, we repurposed a client’s formal dining room into a study/arts & crafts/music room. Consider using an “old” table as a desk or a bookshelf as a container for baskets full of arts & crafts supplies, as opposed to the books that could be donated instead. There are many ways to increase functionality in a space, it just takes a little creative thinking.
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