Sunday, July 11, 2010

teen room design

I have yet another room to design and I am pumped! My neice, Kenzie, is ready for a refresh of her bedroom. She's a freshman in high school and her favorite colors are orange, green, and blue. She wants to incorporate these colors in to her new room design, but was thinking about a more toned down palette on her walls with some punches of color via accessories. To jump start the room design process, I hit the web and have organized a bunch of photos for inspiration and possible directions. I have no idea if Kenzie would be interested in any of these ideas, but it should at least get us started!

The details...

This desk from Ikea is simple with clean lines and just a punch of color. Would be great with some blue or green accessories on the shelves.


Rugs can be a great way to bring color and texture in to a room. I could see using the blue rug as a calming element if we were to use more pattern and punch on the walls and textiles. The patterned green rug would be fun if we were to keep the rest of the room more neutral.


Throw pillows are one of my favorite ways to dress up a room. They are fun, inexpensive, and easy to change and move around. I loved both of these as options for Kenzie's room. The other thing I love about pillows is that you really can't go wrong with mixing patterns and colors...


Another way to add some fun color and texture is through lighting. People often forget to think about the design of lighting within a space, but it can really make a design if done well!

And of course, there are the small accessories. How cute would these elements be in a teen room? I love the bright colors and organic forms...


Accessory pairings...

The small details are great, but ultimately we need to put them all together so that they create a balanced design scheme. Too much pattern and color and the design will become over-the-top, but we also don't want Kenzie's room to be boring. I chose the images below because they are fun and lively, while maintaining some sense of order. Bold prints are contrasted with solids colors and simple forms, something that is not always easy to pull off.


Putting it together...

Last but not least, I found some rooms of differing styles that fit the desired color palette. I organized the photos with the more bold and modern rooms at the top and the more calming rooms at the bottom. Again, I'm not sure what look Kenzie is ultimately wanting, but this should give us a good starting point and at least get the conversation started!