Ah, teenagers and their identity. For those of you that have raised or are raising this age group, the challenges that we all faced or are facing can be overwhelming at times. How to decorate a room with a young adult changing of moods and all that goes with growing up? The good news when you think about decorating his or her room is to try and have them involved.

I know many young men may care less about how their room looks. Let them take their interests and develop a theme base room. Having them identify their interest and displaying in some form of color, accent, or accessory will allow them to express their own personality. This is also a great way to build self-esteem and communication. I wanted to share with you some simple illustrations of easy things you could do with this age group. room. Below are four ideas that might help you get started.

This illustration shows you a neutral color that would work in a teenagers room. Neutrals can be great for both male and females. The highlight of this idea is the one wall done in cork. A cork wall opens up so much for a teenager to express his or her interests. This is what I call the "identity wall." Cork comes in different tones and isn't hard to apply if the wall is prepared properly. Simple idea to allow your teenager to create a space for his or herself.

The two tone stripe is a popular decorating feature for any age. I like the idea of instead of doing the stripes vertically, create a different look by painting two tones horizonal. Horizonal stripes gives the room a unique look. Let your young adult pick out the color tones and make this a project the two of you can do. I will be doing a page in the near future on the techniques of painting stripes in a room.



A mural or poster wall is also a great idea. Murals can get expensive and may not be in your budget, so I have an idea. Are you daring? Prepare the walls before painting and allow your son or daughter to have one focal point wall to do his or her thing. (within reason, of course) Let them paint or decorate that one wall in their own style. This opens up their own creativity as well as identification that this area is his or her very own space. Another aspect of developing confidence and self esteem.

All rooms have a foundation color, whether it is painted or wallpaper. This is a great idea to think about. Let your teenager pick out his or her favorite color family. Expand beyond the foundation and let them choose a matching color for one or two or even all the walls. Now I know what you might be thinking, "this is going to look wild and crazy!" In reality, rooms painted with different color walls can result in a stunning and unique look. The complimentary colors just need to blend and balance with the foundation color. Your son or daughter can also bring out accents and accessories using the different colors.



These four illustrations above are just some simple ideas to get in tune with your teenagers style and personality. Don't let decorating a young man or woman's room a nightmare. Work and communicate to bring out your son or daughters personality!