Teen scenes: rooms for modern teenagers

Teen bedrooms can be tricky. For many teenagers tastes and interests can change wildly between the ages of 13 and 19 as they graduate from the toys and primary colours of childhood to the hobbies, hangouts, studies, jobs and trends of adulthood.

The simplest way to give your teen the bedroom they want, is just to let them have a go at it, giving over free reign to let them do what they want with their bedroom style, on the grounds that it will likely be temporary – and it can be a good lesson in trusting their own judgement, or living with their decisions!

If your budget, living situation or fortitude levels aren’t up for that, there are smart, cost effective and impermanent ways to create personalised spaces that suit your teen, which are also practical and that hopefully, they will think are sufficiently cool.

Self-expression is key

As Resene Colour Consultant Christine Hodges says one of the most important parts of creating a successful teen bedroom is involving the teenager. You may think you know what they want, or what you want them to want. They may not agree.

“Most teenagers like to express their individuality, whether that’s through colour, patterns, art, memorabilia, bedding or even lighting,” Christine says noting that all those things can be added as a layer to your new bedroom design.

If you want to maintain a neutral colour palette in the bedroom that matches the rest of your house or, if you’re renting or your teen has to share a room with a sibling, work with them to find a way to personalise their decor and colour palette.

If they have an artistic bent or just want a fun project, give them some stretched canvases or sections of ply and let them loose with their selection of Resene testpots to create their own art.

If art isn’t their thing, they could choose a themed wallpaper like the artistic design of Resene Wallpaper Collection 2539V pasted to strips of board to hang like paintings.

Small sections of wallpaper can also be a hugely fun and creative way to upcycle childhood furniture into a more teen-appropriate style. Add strips of wallpaper to drawer frontages, the inside back of bookshelves or even wardrobe doors, then repaint the rest of the pieces in a matching or neutral colour. Add wallpaper to a headboard or simply add a drop behind the head of the bed to resemble a headboard.

Work with your teen to find a wallpaper design themed to something they love. It could be the Bridgerton style florals of Resene Wallpaper Collection 333163.

If you don’t want to repaint or wallpaper another fun idea is to add a mural-style wallpaper design like Resene Wallpaper Collection 333160 over one section of wall or try a design from Resene’s range of circular wallpaper pieces, featuring scenes like famous art, cityscapes, naturescapes, birdlife and dancers. For a less permanent but similar idea, try one of the Resene wall decals available in a range of designs featuring New Zealand botanicals and birds like Nikau palms, toetoe and pukeko.

Christine also suggests stencilling or tracing patterns or designs onto walls and other flat surfaces then painting them in with your teen’s favourite Resene paint colours. If it’s a large wall design, consider adding a floating shelf or hooks for coats and bags in the middle of the stencilled design and in the same colour for added functionality.

Even a series of simple circles painted on the wall can be turned into a personalised piece of art by experimenting with colour effects using Resene FX Paint Effects Medium, sections of Resene wallpaper or Resene FX Metallic paints.

Bring your teen’s hobbies and achievements front and centre to personalise the decor of their room. Frame sports jerseys or school awards, even a favourite t-shirt they’ve outgrown can make a fun, individual piece of decor. Use upcycled old frames, giving them a sand and fresh coats of Resene paint or Resene Colorwood stain.

The colour conversation

Has there ever been a teen who didn’t at some point proclaim they wanted to paint their whole bedroom black? If that’s too much you may be to get them to compromise slightly by suggesting other, less black but still moody and interesting shades, Chrisine says.

“There are some quite versatile dark and moody colours like deep warm green Resene Forty Six that look quite different in different light conditions or grey-brown Resene Thunderstorm and midnight blue Resene Dark Knight.

“They’re close to black but still have some colour and work well with interesting brighter colours like Resene Iko Iko or Resene Dynamite as a contrast.”

If you want to keep things lighter and more neutral, suggest more complex mid-toned neutrals to your teen, like oaty-beige Resene Truffle, or for an edgier industrial neutral try silver grey Resene Concrete, Christine says.

Another way to indulge your teen’s desire for bold blacks or other dramatic colours without repainting the whole room is to work with moveable screens. Attach framed sheets of ply to a base with wheels or simply create a hinged three-piece screen that can be easily folded and moved and let your teen paint and decorate it as they want.

This moveable option is great for renters, but also for shared room spaces and multifunctional rooms when your teen might need to reduce distractions to promote study or when they want some quiet gaming time.

Colours mentioned in this article

Products mentioned in this article

March 27, 2025

If you or your teen need help choosing colours to suit your project, come in and visit your local Resene ColorShop, Ask a Resene Colour Expert free online or book a Resene Colour Consultation free instore or virtually or a paid home visit in selected areas.

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