Decorating 14 Yr Old's Room

Hi Toni-
Have him pick the wall and trim colors. Then, if someone is artistically talented, you could do a basketball mural. Or- and I lean toward this- go looking for cool posters with him. There are lots of excellent posters of basketball players, champions of all the sports he is interested in. Pick about four. His interests will likely change- cars, anyone? Karate or Tai Quon Do? Have him pick out the patterned fabric for his curtains, too. Don't try to change his mind unless something includes naked girls or whatever- his hormones will be quite sufficient the way they are. Hope this helps- S.

I got the chance to decorate my friends 15 yr olds room. I took a light coffee and a muted blue ..... that he picked out .... and I painted the entire room including the cealing light coffee and then from cealing to floor huge diamonds in the blue. The diamonds bairly touched and it gave the room a sophisticated feel for little $$$$ I would leave one wall for him to put posters or pictures or anything for him .... that is his wall he can do anything he wants on that wall (even wright on it). All his friends thinks his room rocks! I did good:)
I can help with any questions if you want.
R.

Hi Toni-

Here are a few simple ideas that I did in my son's previous room:

1) Purchase already cut out round pieces of wood at Lowe's or Home Depot. They are already sanded and finished. Paint them to look like basketballs and have them 'bounce' across the wall. You can paint 'bounce' marks on the wall with black paint or just leave the wall as is. In order to attach them to the wall I attached picture hooks from Home Depot and nailed them to the back. I am always on a tight budget and this was very cheap.

2) Keep your eye out for a free basketball hoop on Craigslist or even a cheap one at the thrift store. You can either keep it attached to the backboard or reattatch it to a larger piece of plywood, so he can actually bounce a real ball off the wall without damaging the actual wall. The larger piece of plywood can be painted to look like a crowd, scoreboard, etc.

3) Hang old jerseys on the wall or enlarge photos of your son playing basketball-action shots would be better-but your 'typical' sports picture would do as well.

4) Cut out letters to the name of his favorite team and string it onto a really neat rope or string and have it go from one corner to the next.

Get him involved. You might be surprised at how interested he might be. My nephew just moved here and painted his own wood valance and has completely decorated his own room. My only suggestion is to go neutral and to not purchase a lot of 'premade' sports items. Those might be fine for a younger child, but might not be very 'cool' for a teenager. I would also stay away from specific team colors, as their likes and dislikes change so often. Let me know if you need any help with anything, I would be more than happy to give you more suggestions. Good luck!

Hi Toni,

I am not great at domestic ideas but how about letting your son help with the painting. Sponge painting can be pretty cool and your son could help. Pick one wall and let him pick the colors and "go for it". Also, you could try splatter painting. Basically splattering different colored paints on a white wall. Again, your son could help.

Lastly, if you are artistic or know of someone, you could do a sports mural on a wall. Several different sporting activities could be included.

A couple more thoughts - how about a little bit of "astro turf" as a rug in his room? Kind of like a mini soccer or football field. You could also mount a small basketball hoop on his wall.

Final thought - if he has windows, use black and white striped fabric for curtains to simulate referee clothing.

Good luck.

L.

Try painting accents, like put a scoreboard over the bed, you can paint some balls on the wall or you may be able to find a sponge, cut it into a circle, sponge on the bballs using one or 2 colors, when dry you can paint the lines on. Do this as a project with your son helping also. My daughter and I did this when she was 16, she is now 24 and she still talks about what fun we had!. Put down a dropcloth, when sponging do not dip it in paint just roll or brush on enough, a little goes a long way. My daughter wanted butterflies and I went to Michaels and got ribbon and feather butterflies, she hot glued them on to the ribbons and we tied them on her curtain rod, we took pipe cleaners and twisted some butterflies on and pu them in a vase. Anyway, these are just some ideas to get your creativity flowing, hope it helps! Good luck!

I personaly think you should let your son do whatever he wants with his room... i mean he is 14yrs old.

1. When you look for paint go to Home Depot or Lowes (can't remember which one) and ask for the OOPS paint (yes it is really called that) it is paint at a big discount as it was mixed by mistake.
2.I would not go too much with a theme, but more a young mans rooms (it you go with a theme in a couple years he will have out grown it).
3.IMHO I would look for basketball & music items that will stand the test of time, try sheets in the colors of his favorite team, but not necessarily with little basket balls all over them.
4.One thing he might enjoy is going to a couple games (they often have a great deals on certain nights) and picking up items from the team shop to decorate with. It would give him a sense of ownership.
5. Does he have any music groups that he loves? Does he like any older groups, ie when actual LP's where around? You could find an old LP and frame them.
6. School pride is always an inexpensive way to decorate a room (it worked great with my daughter). You can put up shirts & posters.
Finally, take your time and look outside the box! You will have so much fun. Good Luck!

Find a really cool picture of your son and load it on to Photobucket.com or go to Ritzpix.com (Ritz Camera).There you can play around w/the picture such as paint it different colors, elimanate background noise and blow it up into a framed poster and hang it on his wall.
Also look at Pottery Barn for teens (pbteens.com) they have good ideas like using skateboards for shelves.
Maybe paint a boarder along the walls.
Have Fun

How about getting some paint for the floor and painting a basketball court on the floor. Then you can paint a hoop on the wall, or even purchase one of those small ones with the suction cups on it. Good luck! I did my sons room and it took me 6 months!

Mel