At a sage minute, a prebreakdown, pre–X Factor judge Britney Spears sang about no longer being a woman but not yet being a girl. This between-worlds dilemma extends itself to the design world, where tween and teenage girls often want to leave behind childhood tokens while yearning for a more complex taste.
Interior designer Jane Hamilton says it’s not about letting girls this age have too much of a grownup, grownup room. “It is about taking the time to comprehend what is important for them and listening to the way they feel, requesting them exactly what accessories and colors and prints they would like to surround themselves with and then going from there,” she says.
Parents may not always understand their tween and teen girls, however the chambers below reveal that if they function together as a staff, designers, parents and young clients can do a great job showcasing a young man’s unique taste.
Katie Rosenfeld Design
This college-bound teen asked designer Katie Rosenfeld to get a soothing environment. “She needed a location where she could decompress. Simplicity and no mess were a priority for her, so the room needed to make her feel rested after a long day of academics and athletics,” says Rosenfeld.
Yellow flowery background, an Oriental carpet, twin beds plus a cement-block bookcase had given the space a hodgepodge feel. Now the chesterfield sofa, a four-poster bed along with an overstuffed Lee Industries seat, together with accents from Lee Jofa, Sister Parish and Serena & Lily, mix traditional forms using a new, young palette of colour and layout.
Katie Rosenfeld Design
“I loved working for this particular young lady,” Rosenfeld says. “She also gave me total input, and there was minimal intervention from the parents.”
Bed, nightstands: Somerset Bay; sofa: Century Furniture; seat: Lee Industries; Biedermeier seat: client’s own; carpeting: Stark Carpet
Ana Donohue Interiors
Sewing Fashion and photography rule that this tween girl’s world. “I worked closely together with the young customer and her mother for this room,” says designer Ana Donohue. “The teen is quite the inventive but was about the shy side, so it was fine to have her mother there as the bridge of communication.”
An accent wall in Sherwin-Williams’ Eros Pink creates a sweet-as-candy institution and adds additional punch and energy into the space. “Clients ask this colour all of the time,” says Donohue. “It is popular throughout all ages.”
The designer paired subdued grays using the splashier pinks for contrast. A womb-like swivel chair sits in the corner, perfect for journal writing and hours perusing style magazines.
Ana Donohue Interiors
At precisely the exact same home, the previous client’s tween sister got a new update for her room prior to her bat mitzvah. Sherwin-Williams’ Cooled Blue provides the space a relaxed vibe. “She preferred blues, blacks and grays. Pops of magenta and pink appear from the accessories, but maybe not in precisely the exact same manner as in her sister’s room — which makes sense, because they have very different personalities,” says Donohue.
Chair, lamp, throw pillows: Ikea; zebra rug: Overstock; drapery fabric: Kravet; duvet cloth: Duralee
JAC Interiors
Schumacher’s Birds and Butterflies background adds plenty of whimsy and movement to this teen girl’s room. “The distance was a collaboration involving the young lady, her mother and me,” says designer Jane Hamilton.
A posh tufted seat with white piping carries the twin bed from girly to complex adolescent, and a faux sheepskin rug includes a lavish, touchable quality.
JAC Interiors
A fuchsia pouf from Shabby Chic brings out a rosebud’s pink color, along with a potted plant on the bedside table imitates the background’s foliage.
JAC Interiors
Hamilton’s design studio mixed her signature blue paint to get a different teen girl’s bedroom. “It is where she stays when she is in her father’s,” Hamilton says. “She desired a beachy design, and I think the blue really brings out the coastal appearance she had been heading for.”
JAC Interiors
A white maple dresser from Room & Board throws the new-traditional space a modern touch. The piece is made to last well to the young client’s adult years.
JAC Interiors
Hamilton upgraded a vintage wingback chair and paired it with a white pouf, developing a cozy reading nook in one corner of this space.
JAC Interiors
A parson’s desk and Tulip Chair give a trendy, modern touch to the teen’s homework space, and a custom made raffia bulletin board adds an organic texture.
“My young customer adores this trendy blue room. I think that it makes her feel understood,” says Hamilton.
More:
Teens’ Rooms: The Haven Grows Up
Style Ideas for a Teen Boy’s Room