Teen Bedroom Update

As our sons grow into tweens and teens their tastes have changed and become a little more grown up and we want their shared room to reflect this. Here’s a teen bedroom update.

Back in January, I shared some goals for our home and updating the boys room was one of them.

We’ve started updating this space and thought I’d share our progress so far. John turned 13 yesterday so it’s seems apt to give the update today, now that he’s officially a teenager! Yikes.

Below is when we redid their room about three years ago here and here. The kids still love their desks and beds, but the desk lighting was becoming an issue and we had to replace the sea grass rug.

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase via a link I may receive a portion of the sale. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

This is how their room looked last year:

I LOVED that sea grass rug so much BUT the boys didn’t. They found it to be rough underfoot and just didn’t like the look. Unfortunately, Poppy peed on the rug under John’s bed. She went under there a lot and I think she got scared during fireworks and the smell was awful. Soooooo, we had to replace the rug. For a long time (over the summer and fall) they went without a rug. I asked them what the wanted. What their dream rug would feel like and look like.

They wanted soft.

Fluffy.

Geometric.

Blue and white.

Here’s what we came up with:

It’s the Hudson Shag Modern Ogee Navy/ Ivory by Safavieh I ordered it from Overstock.com and I’m always impressed with the great prices of rugs and also how quickly they arrive. Our living room rug is also from Overstock. This rug is everything the boys asked for and more. It’s super soft and feels amazing underfoot. Conor tried to sleep on the floor the other night. I really was trying to get away from blue and white and thought something black or gray would be fun, but it seems the boys are blue lovers like myself. We did flipflop their dressers so the Union Jack isn’t right on top of the rug. I snapped this as we rolled out the rug.

We went with a 9 x 12 for their room and also put a thick felt pad under which adds to the comfort of the rug.

The size of a rug for a room is so important. This is a very big room and if we went smaller it would have made the room look smaller. When in doubt, always go bigger than you think!

The rug actually adds visual interest to the room and makes it appear even larger.

A few weeks ago, I asked you guys for your opinion on lighting here.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4

5 / 6 / 7 / 8

You can see all the lights we were thinking of above, and you can shop the light by clicking on the corresponding number. I really loved the angle poised lights they had but they kept falling and weren’t safe.

Our main objective was finding something industrial but sturdy. Number 2 and 7 are similar. Number 2 was hard wired and didn’t have a switch on the light to turn it on and off. It was cheaper than number 7 but didn’t have the best reviews. Number 7 is from Crate & Barrel. I went up to the store to check out the light in person and loved it. So did the boys.

This light can extend over their desks but is so sturdy. It won’t be falling anywhere. The only thing about this light is it’s not hardwired. We have wiring but decided to cap it off so we could just plug in these lights.

Over February vacation I asked the boys to tidy their desks. This is tidied as far as they’re concerned. John loves all his bits and bobs: vintage pieces, cameras and drawing stuff.

I would show you the rest of the room but it’s a bit of a mess currently.

You know how boys are…

Above gives you a better idea of their work area. The lights look perfect!

Shop the Look

We still need to figure out the wall in their bedroom that has the flag and their black and white drawings. I was hoping to do a wall mural but John didn’t like the idea. The other problem with that is the wall is textured and I don’t think a mural would adhere. So we’re currently thinking of framing a collection of their art or doing a large canvas photo from Cornwall or Scituate. I just want this wall to have special meaning.

What do you think of the updates so far?