Working as a home stager, interior stylist and professional
organiser/declutterer means that I often get asked by parents - and this question is usually asked with a
heavy sigh and raised eyebrows - “I really
don’t know what to do about (insert name of teenager)’s room …”
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| Does this look familiar? |
A common battleground between parents and teens is the young
person trying to assert their growing independence from Mum and Dad. And very often the
theatre of war where this battle is most bitterly fought is in the place that is their personal space, the bedroom.
So shouting matches ensue when teens hide the
walls with posters and the floor under piles of discarded clothes, unwashed
mugs and plates, and parents trespass on their offspring’s sacred space in desperate
guerrilla raids to clean up the muddle.
It’s true that teenager’s bedrooms can be the most
challenging to deal with, either when you
are trying to get your house looking its best to sell, or when you want to get the family on board to declutter and get the home more organised. I often find myself in the middle, with a teen intent on self-expression digging their
heels in on one side and a frustrated parent on the other.
An independent second opinion can be helpful in breaking the deadlock and finding a way forward that works for everyone, which is why I now offer family decluttering sessions (these can be very illuminating, and empowering for younger members, when it's pointed out that yes, Dad's out-of-hand 'piles of books in every room' library collection and Mum's overstuffed wardrobe are just as much clutter as a teen's treasures). Along the way I have learned ways to get younger members of the family on board with home organisation and makeovers as well as the business of staging your property for sale - which can get especially sticky when moving means leaving the home they've grown up in.
An independent second opinion can be helpful in breaking the deadlock and finding a way forward that works for everyone, which is why I now offer family decluttering sessions (these can be very illuminating, and empowering for younger members, when it's pointed out that yes, Dad's out-of-hand 'piles of books in every room' library collection and Mum's overstuffed wardrobe are just as much clutter as a teen's treasures). Along the way I have learned ways to get younger members of the family on board with home organisation and makeovers as well as the business of staging your property for sale - which can get especially sticky when moving means leaving the home they've grown up in.
So here are a few suggestions which I hope will help defuse teen room
hostilities if you feel like a family at war ...
Don't impose when you can involve
Allow your teen to be involved in decisions about organising
and decorating their space. You may not be particularly keen if they want to
paint their room black or purple or in their football team’s colours but they may
have other creative ideas that you haven’t thought about. And negotiation is good – you could be
persuaded to let them have one dark or vivid feature wall but point out that
all-over black/purple/red/fuchsia pink can be overpowering and will make their room feel
smaller and darker.
Making a wall feature of a giant pinboard is another way to allow your teens to display their stuff without ruining the decor. Here's one way to make one from Amber Interiors or you could hang several smaller pin boards together to make a larger display space.
If Blu-tacked or sticky-taped posters are damaging paint or wallpaper, putting them in inexpensive clip frames and hanging them properly will also protect the posters from tearing or curling at the edges.
Making a wall feature of a giant pinboard is another way to allow your teens to display their stuff without ruining the decor. Here's one way to make one from Amber Interiors or you could hang several smaller pin boards together to make a larger display space.
Moves to help motivate a move
However if you’re planning to move, pale and neutral wall colours are always best to show your home - and that includes teen bedrooms - to its best advantage when you put it on the market. In this case you could have neutral walls and incorporate your teen’s interests and favourite colours in new accessories instead (that can go with them to your new home). Then the room won't be quite so over-powering for prospective buyers.
When getting ready to move, previous clients with teenagers have found that my suggestion of an incentive scheme (OK, yes, it's a bribe in other words) will persuade their offspring to 'buy in' to changing their rooms to help the sale. It takes the form of a promise of a special treat or outing - or even a cash payment - once the house is sold. Music or match tickets can be a powerful inducement to get kids on side to tone down a loud colour scheme or take down some of their, er, very personal taste in wall posters!
If YOU need an incentive to go down this route because you anticipate resistance (opposing your parents is the very essence of teenage rebellion, after all) it pays - literally! - to remember this: prospective buyers will look out for things they would need to change as excuses to make a reduced offer. Too many 'red flags' will make them pass over a property altogether for one they can move into and not have to do anything straight away. In one recent case de-personalising a dark and cluttered teen bedroom was the only redecoration needed to clinch a sale for over £13,000 above the previous best offer. That more than paid for a fabulous family holiday to celebrate once the family had moved, and all for the minimal investment of a few hours' effort and a couple of cans of paint!
Another time-and-stress saving tip when preparing your property for sale is to have special 'staging bedding' (lightweight quilts and pillows dressed in clean pillowcases and quilt covers in plain and simple white or a pale neutral shade) ready to put over the top of the bedding your children are sleeping in when there are viewings. This saves (often unproductive) nagging to make the bed and a nicely dressed bed means at least the main focal point of the room will look clean and tidy to prospective buyers.
However if you’re planning to move, pale and neutral wall colours are always best to show your home - and that includes teen bedrooms - to its best advantage when you put it on the market. In this case you could have neutral walls and incorporate your teen’s interests and favourite colours in new accessories instead (that can go with them to your new home). Then the room won't be quite so over-powering for prospective buyers.
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| Tidying the 'floordrobe' and toning down teen decor pays off when selling. Incentives can help if they are resistant to change! |
If YOU need an incentive to go down this route because you anticipate resistance (opposing your parents is the very essence of teenage rebellion, after all) it pays - literally! - to remember this: prospective buyers will look out for things they would need to change as excuses to make a reduced offer. Too many 'red flags' will make them pass over a property altogether for one they can move into and not have to do anything straight away. In one recent case de-personalising a dark and cluttered teen bedroom was the only redecoration needed to clinch a sale for over £13,000 above the previous best offer. That more than paid for a fabulous family holiday to celebrate once the family had moved, and all for the minimal investment of a few hours' effort and a couple of cans of paint!
Another time-and-stress saving tip when preparing your property for sale is to have special 'staging bedding' (lightweight quilts and pillows dressed in clean pillowcases and quilt covers in plain and simple white or a pale neutral shade) ready to put over the top of the bedding your children are sleeping in when there are viewings. This saves (often unproductive) nagging to make the bed and a nicely dressed bed means at least the main focal point of the room will look clean and tidy to prospective buyers.
Storage that works
Recognise that it’s important for your teen to have a haven they can call and make their own. If they don’t like hanging up their clothes, no amount of nagging is going to make them do it. But putting up some (temporary) shelves in the wardrobe with storage crates to fit provides a quick and easy way to scoop the piles off the floor and out of sight. So what if their clothes are crumpled? Other than school uniform is it really so important? Anyway, they’ll need to learn how to use an iron sometime …
And so to bed ...
One inexorable sign that your 'baby' is growing up is when they want a double bed. OK, the boyfriend/girlfriend sleepover dilemma may yet be a way off, but they ARE growing up in size and they DO spend a lot of time in bed so it may simply be a more comfortable option. It doesn't necessarily mean they are planning on having sex the moment you're out of the house (and frankly, we all know you don't need a double bed for that anyway!)
If your teen needs a new bed and you do go for a double I'd recommend avoiding divans with built-in drawers (in my experience they'll never put anything in them). Instead choose a simple frame bed which not only looks less bulky in a small bedroom but offers storage space underneath that you can make good use of with lidded storage crates (semi-transparent so it's easy to see what's in them without having to turn everything out.
If you have rooms with high enough ceilings a loft bed will almost double your teen's personal space, giving them a cosy sleeping platform-cum-relaxing reading/listening to music area and plenty of room below for storage, study and entertaining friends.
And another big plus-point of a 'high sleeper' bed for a teenager who's not naturally tidy is that it's not immediately obvious if the bed's not been made!
Clear-up incentives
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| A loft bed can be built in as here or free-standing |
If your teen needs a new bed and you do go for a double I'd recommend avoiding divans with built-in drawers (in my experience they'll never put anything in them). Instead choose a simple frame bed which not only looks less bulky in a small bedroom but offers storage space underneath that you can make good use of with lidded storage crates (semi-transparent so it's easy to see what's in them without having to turn everything out.
If you have rooms with high enough ceilings a loft bed will almost double your teen's personal space, giving them a cosy sleeping platform-cum-relaxing reading/listening to music area and plenty of room below for storage, study and entertaining friends.
And another big plus-point of a 'high sleeper' bed for a teenager who's not naturally tidy is that it's not immediately obvious if the bed's not been made!
Clear-up incentives
If your teen’s room is bursting at the seams with stuff they
no longer need or use, it can be hard to persuade them to part with it by just
chucking it out. But teenagers always need money, so why not help them sell it at a car
boot or garage sale or on eBay with the promise that they can keep the profits?
Lots of teens are environmentally aware too,
so show them that saving the planet can start at home by recycling their old
stuff, either by donating to a charity shop or giving it away via sites like
Freegle or Freecycle or
the Books For Free initiative run by Healthy Planet
This approach can be particularly persuasive in getting your offspring to have a clear-out close to birthdays or Christmas when you can stress that they’ll be giving a gift to help others less fortunate than themselves (and not just doing YOU a favour!)
Finally, remember that your offspring are not teenagers for ever. And when they leave home and you're an empty-nester, you may even find yourself missing their noise and mess. Strange but true. I know I did!
Clare Parrack, owner, Clarify Interiors
