Pottery Barn Teen
Getting organized might be one of the most frequently sited New Year’s resolutions, right up there with losing weight and probably just as hard to maintain when it’s a teenager’s room. For the best results consider a few practical ideas that are based on increasing the odds of long range success!
First it is absolutely required that you purge the space of all unnecessary junk, no matter what age! Evaluate a room in a dozen ways, and if you pile enough old toys, books, clothes, and dusty stuffed animals it will look awful. Memory reminds me of our son’s teenage room and the dark corners of his closet where you could find literally dozens of baseball caps many of which honestly never were worn. It took me years to get rid of that stash and to clear out stacks of magazines, class projects, remote car racing supplies, boxes with shells, pictures, and an indescribable amount of pencils, pens, and paper clips.
On one hand once he left home for college, I was loathe to remake his room too quickly, lest he think that we didn’t want him to come back home to visit or live. On the other hand, I was kind of afraid to toss out anything that I considered litter, but that he might consider precious. Eventually we remodeled the entire house and everyone’s stuff was boxed up and put out of sight for months so that once we moved back in, I had a choice about what I moved back into out private spaces.
As the adult, it is up to you to guide your teenager and help them achieve order. The next huge issue: Invest in the proper furnishings that are conducive for organization. Surely there are many levels of sophistication and attendant price tags to this step that range from a do-it-yourself approach at the local home improvement store to having a carpenter come in and build you custom storage.
Remember that your kid won’t care too much as long as what you use is sturdy and rather simple. Take a hard look at the doors to the closet in the room. If your room configuration would allow for recessed or pocket doors this is an extremely efficient way to conserve space. There are companies that make reliable, specially engineered hardware for hanging pocket doors that are a sound investment. More important is the fact that if you can eliminate the closet doors you will have total access to every inch of your closet and thereby increase the function.
If you cannot negotiate pocket doors, then consider a fun curtain that can be pulled with a wand and hung from simple curtain rings. Be sure that the curtain is dense enough to hide the insides of the closet and that your chosen hardware allows for a quick and smooth drawing open or closed. Make an effort to find a fun and youthful fabric that is suitable for a teenager’s space. You could check out flat sheets for an easy fix or if you have access to an interior designer ask them to show you European style fabrics that are woven at 108″–118″ wide. The advantage of such a fabric is that you won’t have any seams and the light weight fabric will be easy to move open and closed.
One item not shown in our example is the bulky athletic shoes of a boy with size 13 feet or all of the soccer gear for a boy or girl. You might encourage your kids to stow their athletic gear in another place like the garage, basement, or a good-sized mudroom. If that doesn’t work in your small apartment, try a plastic toy chest that might sit on your balcony or protected porch.
Our example shows the ideal situation with neat storage of purses on a shelf, folded tops and pants on another, with a minimum amount of handing clothes. There is a place for CDs, boxed treasures, towels, and an extra blanket. The tiny rolling desk is 34″ wide x 17″ deep, but a good surface for a laptop. If you cannot manage a total re-vamping of your existing closet you still might benefit buying the closet storage bins that come in teen friendly pea green, turquoise blue, or hot pink. Small, medium and large, as well as shoebox sized boxes, range from $25–$90 depending on the size.
BACK
Copyright © Copley News Service. Used with permission.
