I am trying to make my room in the house more unique. I've already cut out celebrity pictures from magazines and newspapers and pasted them on the walls. Any other suggestions? THIS IS AN ANSWER I GAVE FOR A CHILDS ROOM, BUT YOU CAN USE THE SAME IDEAS JUST DO IT FOR A TEENAGE ROOM.
You can do many things.
Start by searching through your house, and asking neighbors to donate items that they want to get rid of that are suitable for a bedroom.
Go to your garage and find some things from previous projects that you can use for this room. Ideas for this can be:
Spray paint
Latex paint
-----------> Tip: Use the paint to repurpose small pieces of furniture to make old furniture items 'match'. This is a great trick to make unmatched pieces of furniture look as though they belong in the same room. Just paint them the same color and purchase hardware for the front of drawers that all match. Hardware is not very expensive when you consider the price of buying a brand new bedroom set.
Use wrapping paper scraps
Use magazine clippings
Use advertisement clippings
----------> Learn to do decoupage. This is an extremely easy craft skill that even kids can help to complete. Basically you lay down a piece of paper after applying the decoupage medium.... (glue type stuff)... it sticks.... then you let it dry. You come back after it dries and apply another coat of the decoupage medium to the surface to lock it onto the project surface.
Very simple to do...yet makes an incredible look.
A friend of mine did this to the drawer fronts of a small white dresser. She cut the 'Winnie the Poo' design off of a shoebox because she loved the picture on it. She actually decoupaged them to the front of the dressers. It was great. I thought they would fall off with so much use of the dressers everyday.... but NO ... they stayed on and never even looked vulnerable to wear and tear. I was very impressed with the whole technique. TRY IT!
http://www.craftown.com/instruction/deco...
---------> You could also use an old large picture frame to make a collage of your childs artwork... or just feature one picture and just add ribbons as borders to it. Like scrapbooking on a large scale.
http://www.crazyaboutscrapbooks.com/arti...
------------>Use paper lamp shades made out of your childs own artwork.
Remove the shade from an old lamp.
Make the design of the lamp shade out of paper that your child can color on and decorate. Give them only the colors that will work in the room. Allow them to use glitter, or beads to glue onto the paper... whatever will work. Perhaps punch holes in the paper to allow light to shoot out of the holes that will dance on a dark wall, or use transparent paper scraps to make a 'stained glass lampshade'. The ideas are endless. When the child is done... simply put the shade onto the lamp.
Use things that you already have:
------------> Old empty CD cases... pop the center black CD holder out, put in some decorative paper, add your own photo... then mount to the wall with sticky Velcro. This way you can change out the pictures anytime you want. These do not have to be 'photos'.. They can be pictures of ballarinas, or baseball cards... whatever you think your child will like.
----------------> Old detergent bottles or 2-Liter soda bottles
Cut the tops off the bottles leaving a small bowl size. Cover this with fabric that you get from old curtains or bed sheets that match the design of the room.
-----------------> Use old curtains or bedsheets to cover items for storage. Such as old baskets that you have, old pillows that you can recover to match the room, or old plastic bottles that can be made into 'catch alls' for the dresser top or desk top. You can make these for toy storage or art supplies as well.
-----------------> Use paint store sticks. (They are free at the hardware store.) Paint them or stain them whichever color you prefer. Glue on some springy clothes pins to the front to serve as an artwork display center. Put a small hanger on the front of the paint stick to hang it from the wall. Add as many or as few as needed to make the display center on the childs wall. Usually spacing them one foot apart is enough to allow room for the artwork to be displayed.
...............> Find an old headboard at a yardsale/fleamarket or free from a friend. Perhaps you already have one.....
Paint it or cover it with fabric. Cover it with an old comforter that you glue or staple to the surface. This will be in place of the batting that most people buy for this purpose. An old comforter already has the batting in it and as a bonus is covered in fabric. (Batting is the fluffy stuff you buy in sheets for apolstering things.)
No one will see the comforter because you will then again cover it in your desired fabric. Fabric can be purchased at the fabric store/ Wal-Mart/ craft stores.... you can find great deals and pick out EXACTLY what you want. Then you can be as creative as you want to be.
Repurpose furniture
---------> Turn an old narrow tall bookshelf on its side where the shelving now forms 'cubby holes'. Have someone cut wood that will fit over the top of these 'holes' to form lids. Cover these with batting and fabric to make seating for the room. Use hinges on the back of the cushioned lids to allow the child to open his/her new toy box. Be sure to apply lots of wood glue to the shelves to hold them in place... and reinforce the sides of the whole shelf with glue and wood strips to hold it together. ***Remember, you can paint it, stain it, decoupage it, whatever you like to make it match the decor of the room.
-----------> Find an old sheet. Fold it over and sew the ends up to make a pillow.... Stuff it with old clothes, old pillow stuffing, whatever you can find to make a big fluffy long floor pillow. Kids can use this to form a horseshoe to lay on while watching TV, playing video games, making a fort, wrestling, whatever makes them happy. (You can dye the sheet to make it the desired color that will match the room.)
-----------> You can take a regular area rug and paint it to match the room as well. Just take a regular paint roller.... and paint it a solid color... then once it dries.... add whatever design you want to add to it. A small nap rug is best so it wont have long shaggy painted strands to trip people up.
Hope these ideas help. :o) A "teenagery" room does not necessarily include the tired cliche of "can't see the walls for all the cheesecake."
Ask your folks if you can re-paint your room. Get rid-of or put in storage, all of your teddy bears (if any) and GI-Joes, etc. (A Garage sale, or selling them to a re-sale store like the Sally-Ann can help pay for the paint.)
What ever you do, make sure it is something that YOU feel is appropriate for you. What do you like? I found a shelf and set it on my dresser. Then I put some stuff that I liked on it. I love cows and groundhogs, so what could fit on there went on, and I love mirrors. Find some mirrors, and put them opposite the windows, it really brightens up the room. Put a corkboard up, and put pictures of you and your friends up, and if your parents are ok with it, paint a mural on the walls and ceiling. That way, you can make it your own space! Hang Christmas lights across your ceiling!!! If you have any paint, paint each of your walls a different color! you could hang movie posters on the ceiling, get a funky lamp, or you could put up a few strings of christmas lights ( any color) around your room. If you have a desk or chair in your room, you could paint it a new color. If you have the room for it, you can add a beanbag chair. Put stuff you like on a bookshelf so you can get to it easily. Like things you use all the time or books.
They best way to decorate a room is to make it the way you want and will feel comfortable in.
Hang empty pop cans from the ceiling.
A comfy chair or bean bag chair to sit in.
Hang up a shirt of your favorite team. Throw all your clothes on the floor. Make sure there are at least 3 things to trip over and never ever vacuum The pictures and posters are a little old hat these days but still OK. Try to use things in your room that are unique to you. Leave any of your hobbies out for people to see like sports equipment and trophies or weird stuff like dumpster art, and ball of bellybutton lint. Think outside the box a little. |
