Small Space Make-over: A Teen Boy’s Bedroom

Children’s rooms are always fun to renovate as you can go a little more crazy, but when they start to hit their teens it’s time to reign it in again and create something a little more grown-up. My stepson Albin, is 16 and spends a fair amount of time in his room (sometimes I think I hear him talking to himself but he’s actually gaming against friends (in my mind, gaming is still Horris Goes Skiing on a ZX Spectrum circa 1984 so you can understand why this gets confusing!). When it comes to interior decorating, Albin has a fairly laissez-faire approach (understatement!). As long as he can sleep, study and play on his computer / watch football, tennis, baseball or WHATEVER is scheduled at the time, he’s as happy as Larry (I’m still wondering who that is?!). Despite Genevieve Jorn and I being give free reign to design his room (which measures 7.7 metres square / 82 square feet), we were keen to ensure the look reflected his personality, run items from my wonderful make-over sponsor Danish homeware brand Nordal passed him, and ensure he had everything he needed!

Teenage Boy’s Bedroom checklist*

Bed + reading light
TV and gaming console
Shelving for books
Storage for sports equipment
Desk with task light + drawers
Clothes storage

*according to Albin!

Inspiration

Photography: Bettina Holst / Coco Republic / IKEA

Floor plan

I really wish I had a ‘before’ picture (totally forgot to take one) but if you can imagine all white walls, no shelving and a slightly ripped poster stuck on the wall using sellotape you’re on to something!

The tour

A 200 cm bed perfectly fitted the width of the room – with enough space for a TV, placed on a narrow wall mounted shelf, at the end. Layers of textile in the form of cushions and a rug (all Nordal) and the blue-grey wall colour (S 7010-R90B Ambience by Nordjö) helped to add a cosy feel.

Simple wooden shelves were painted in the same colour as the wall and mounted higher up for extra storage. Gen and I love a corner gallery wall (remember this one?!). This ensemble includes a Happy Mondays print, and an old drawing by Albin. He can easily add to the gallery over time too. A wall-mounted reading lamp helps to light up the corner after dark (in a small room, wall mounting items help to free up floor space).

From left to right: Satin Pothos plant from a local flower shop, and grey and blue cushions with lovely fringed edges, a patterned rug and lampshade from Nordal.

Since Albin is often at his Mothers he doesn’t tend to store a lot of clothes at ours, so we decided to do away with the wardrobe to create more floor space. A clothes rack (from IKEA) with storage underneath works as a great replacement and doubles up as a bedside table.

We couldn’t place the desk in front of the window because of the big radiator. However, it still gets plenty of natural light in the corner. Right now a big palm adds a splash of colour to the corner of the room but we could add a wardrobe in it’s place if needed. PS Loving the tassles on the rug!

I found the desk chair in a local second hand shop (imagine how excited I was?!)- it’s originally from Hungary, and perfect because it’s still relatively ergonomic (it swivels and the height can be adjusted). As you can see from the picture, I still need to sand down the seat and re-varnish it – Gah! Where does all the time go?!

My sister took the framed picture of Albin, the man and I many moons ago on a beach in Falsterbo. I love it as it was such a happy, sun-kissed day. There’s a good chance we might just be replaced with a signed picture of Zlatan Ibrahimovic imminently though! The Nordal library lamp was moved up from our sitting room.

And here he is, looking pretty happy with his new room, I must say…

… and perhaps wondering why I swapped his Malmö FF poster for an Arsenal one (at of shot) – kidding, England was a much better match!

I hope you liked the make-over as much as my stepson! In case you’re looking to do something similar, here are a few of the items we picked:

1. Library table lamp
2. Dark blue cushion cover
3. Black wall lamp
4. Cotton quilt bedspread
5. Fabric lamp cover
6. Graphic canvas carpet
7. Natural cushion cover

*Find a webshop stockist near you here (Europe only).

If you are wondering about anything else just give me a shout in the comment section below and I’ll do my best to help!

Come here for a home tour? You might like to check out the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian home tour archives.

Have a lovely day!

Niki

Photography / shoot styling: Niki Brantmark, Interior design direction / styling: Genevieve Jorn.

This make-over was made possible with the help of Nordal. All design, styling and words are my own and I only ever work with brands I love and think you will too. Thank you for supporting the companies that make fresh content possible.