How much say does your teen have in how their room is decorated (Christmas lights)

[Anonymous]

I'm actually surprised at how little decoration is in my teen DS's room. I remember my brother as a teen having pictures of cars, Sports Illustrated swimsuit model posters, etc. Where my DS has next to nothing on his walls. But then he spends so little time in there, just sleeps at night, since he practically lives in our basement where the game system and big TV resides.

[Anonymous]

My 16yo DS has purple walls, a low profile bed, black/grey bedding and throw pillows, 2 desks (one for gaming PC and one for schoolwork), a bright orange wheeled desk chair. Lights around room at top of wall similar to these:
https://www.amazon.com/Govee-Waterproof-Multicolor-Halloween-Christmas/dp/B07RY7RX93/ref=sxin_8?ascsubtag=amzn1.osa.fbc3442f-9295-4ad7-8d2b-e000077ea74d.ATVPDKIKX0DER.en_US&creativeASIN=B07RY7RX93&cv_ct_cx=led+lights+for+room&cv_ct_id=amzn1.osa.fbc3442f-9295-4ad7-8d2b-e000077ea74d.ATVPDKIKX0DER.en_US&cv_ct_pg=search&cv_ct_wn=osp-single-source&dchild=1&keywords=led+lights+for+room&linkCode=oas&pd_rd_i=B07RY7RX93&pd_rd_r=b802ece8-6a36-4772-850d-653a142070a5&pd_rd_w=yDJ1R&pd_rd_wg=zy2fo&pf_rd_p=b9bea1c2-6981-439e-9086-1a31b4eafe7d&pf_rd_r=BFR2ZCB5WDGN40SQV5HT&qid=1587654986&sr=1-2-72d6bf18-a4db-4490-a794-9cd9552ac58d&tag=aimassociatesyj-20


and color changing panel lights similar to this:

https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/07/aurora-is-a-set-of-connectable-color-changing-led-wall-panels/


He did all of this within the last 6 months, much of it was part of his birthday present since he didn't want anything else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess mine are the only kids with rooms that look professionally decorated? Custom dark green velvet curtains, fancy 9x12 rug, matching bedding, custom pillows, Ballard chandelier, carefully collected paintings on the walls and I refinished the entire bedroom set really well. Daughters is the same but with pink and pink silk curtains. They love their rooms and really haven’t ever asked for posters. They can put whatever they want on their dressers.

I remember I loved helping my mom decorate my room when I was a teen.

You're not the only one. We hired a separate designer for our kids' rooms. It sounds extravagant but I'm pleased with the result. If my kids were speaking to me I'm sure they'd tell me they like it, too. But I'm not going to lie, it was a bit of a chore: had to fly the designer over from England. And then travel with her to the couple of Sotheby's and Christie's auctions until we found the right paintings and objets d'art to tie it all together. DS is a teen so of course he wanted some risque poster out of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. We compromised on a lesser-known Mapplethorpe and a Reubens reproduction. The window treatments, rugs, pillows, mattresses, etc. are all custom by various artisans. So yes, you're not alone. I don't let them put whatever they want on their dressers, though. They can put whatever they want *in* the second drawer from the top of each dresser, but they've been directed not to re-arrange the lamps, frames, and objets on top of the dressers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't be a control freak. As long as it's not truly inappropriate (e.g., porn hanging on the walls), let them have one space in the hours that is theirs.

+1

I side eye my neighbor who has color coordinated her 3 kids rooms. They look like they are ready to put the house on the market. They have almost no clothes hanging in their closets as she wants them to look ready for a photo shoot. There were no knick nacks or anything to indicate people actually live there. She's usually drunk by 1pm and is pretty nutty so maybe it all goes together.

[Anonymous]

My teen son's room is gross and I can't stand it. But it is his room, not mine, so why should I care? He can fix it or change it if he wants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: My teens like the white Christmas lights. I allow them as long as they are LED-which are cheap and easy to find (want to save electricity plus they don't get hot).

I'm pretty fine with whatever they want to put up in their rooms-as long as they use command hooks/hangers! I don't allow tacks as we just built this house 2 years ago, don't want holes. I would certainly excersize veto power over pot or tittie posters LOL but they have never put up anything like that.

I chose the paint color, one color for the whole interior, so we all have it in the bedrooms and that isn't changing anytime soon!

Maybe worry less about pot or titties and more about your atrocious spelling.

Maybe you could take a charm course?

[Anonymous]

There is a joint task force commissioned for these sorts of negotiations. Residents can bring forward their concerns and/or complaints, present their case, and a ruling is issued. There IS an appeal process, but appeals only go through about 40-45% of the time.

The most recent request was a resident requesting a new, non-warped mirror. While secretly we thought this was a perfectly acceptable request, we also noted the resident in question had slipped in turning in assignments, so we tied the two together. Win/win.

[Anonymous]

My kid isn't old enough to care about their room yet, but when I was growing up, my mother and I compromised that I could do whatever I wanted on one wall- posters, pictures, lights, paint, etc.

That one wall was the one you couldn't see from the hallway, so unless you walked into my room, it looked totally Laura Ashley (hey, it was the 80s) from the hallway.

Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled to pick out my own bedding for college, but I think it was a fair compromise.

However, keeping the room neat, clean and beds made was non-negotiable.

[Anonymous]

Our DD started decorating her room in high school- string lights, photos, etc. tons of thumbtack holes in the walls now. She is now in college and added some banners, etc. We let her do what she wants in there and plan on sprucing it up just before putting on the market when that day comes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My Teen DS has lights up, stickers all over, and he currently is working a La Croix wall tower. His room.

You own stock in a La Croix too? Boy they can put that stuff away these days!

Mine, too. Lights and LaCroix cans, like little gems all over the room.

Original poster here- I order flats of La Croix from Costco...the kid guzzles them. And I am also LMAO at the posters who hired designers for their teens rooms because so did I!! He begged for a loft bed and I hired a designer who put together the whole room. My DS has just added his special touches. This usually also includes wet towels which drives me nuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 15 year old son's room looks like a teenage boys room. When we first moved in he started with a 'shell' I created (nice, approrpate furniture, new paint, shelves, the basics done nicely) but he's been allowed to make it his own. For him this means Christmas lights around his bed and above his dresser, band and car posters and tapestries hung with thumbtacks, random electronics boxes stacked in the closet (why he wants to keep them, no idea), a weird bubbly lamp thing on his desk, a very random assortment of shells, bones, sand, sticks, and other found items that mean something to him, etc. Also, a constant tornado of clothes and shoes on the floor. It sometimes drives me crazy but like PP said - it's his room, it has a door, I close it and try not to go in.

LOL. It sounds like he's gone retro and has a Lava Lamp on his desk.

[Anonymous]

I loved having lights in my room! they are old enough to be able to design their own space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When my kids were little I decorated there room all cute with nice stuff from Pottery Barn Kids and the like...
The years have gone by and I/we never really updated them...now the rooms are kind of a hodge podge of some of the cute bedding and random other blankets, etc.

So with this staying at home business I've been on an organization/decorating binge in general....My 15 year old boy has a few strings of Christmas lights on his walls/ceiling. I can just hear my own mother's voice telling me how awful and trash it looks...

What is your teen's room like?

Your mother had a stick up her bum. In our house you can't post stuff to the front of the door (so the hallway can't have like "salt life" stickers or some other such teen stuff as decor!) But in their rooms? If it smells fine that's all I care about

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't really care what my 15 yr old son's room looks like and neither does he! As long as there is no food and it is generally not a mess (no laundry on the floor, occasionally cleaning it), I don't care.

Why wouldn't you help him make it nice?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess mine are the only kids with rooms that look professionally decorated? Custom dark green velvet curtains, fancy 9x12 rug, matching bedding, custom pillows, Ballard chandelier, carefully collected paintings on the walls and I refinished the entire bedroom set really well. Daughters is the same but with pink and pink silk curtains. They love their rooms and really haven’t ever asked for posters. They can put whatever they want on their dressers.

I remember I loved helping my mom decorate my room when I was a teen.

You're not the only one. We hired a separate designer for our kids' rooms. It sounds extravagant but I'm pleased with the result. If my kids were speaking to me I'm sure they'd tell me they like it, too. But I'm not going to lie, it was a bit of a chore: had to fly the designer over from England. And then travel with her to the couple of Sotheby's and Christie's auctions until we found the right paintings and objets d'art to tie it all together. DS is a teen so of course he wanted some risque poster out of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. We compromised on a lesser-known Mapplethorpe and a Reubens reproduction. The window treatments, rugs, pillows, mattresses, etc. are all custom by various artisans. So yes, you're not alone. I don't let them put whatever they want on their dressers, though. They can put whatever they want *in* the second drawer from the top of each dresser, but they've been directed not to re-arrange the lamps, frames, and objets on top of the dressers.