Furniture For Teen Rooms:
How To Makeover Your Kid Room Furniture Using Online Images

By Sherrie Le Masurier

I just turned 13. I've been looking at furniture for teen rooms but it's not in our budget. Do you have any ideas on how to make my kid room furniture more grown up without spending a lot of money?

Now you’re a teen, it’s important you have a bedroom that reflects a more mature you. It’s easy to give your kid room furniture a new lease on life without having to spend a fortune.

One of my favorite ways to makeover kid room furniture involves your home computer, a scanner, some clip art or photos, a high quality printer, some specialty computer paper, and little do-it-yourself effort. With these simple tools you can update not only your old kid room furniture but give your entire teen room a fresh new look.

Now if your parents would rather you pass along your old kid room furniture to a younger sibling you could check out flea markets and second hand shops for some great previously owned bedroom furniture bargains.

Before you start deciding what kind of images you want on your teen room furniture talk to your parents and see how they feel about you painting or refinishing the furniture first. Sometimes a little paint and decoration is all that’s needed to transform old dressers and desks into trendy teen bedroom furniture that will be the envy of your friends. 

Once you and your parents have decided whether or not you’ll be altering the finish on your kid room furniture, you can either start searching the Internet for an image that works well your teen room theme or you can simply scan a favorite photo or print.

If your teen room doesn’t have a particular theme you can use your selected image to inspire one.

The image itself can be as simple as a close-up of butterfly or a flower. Another option would be to use clip art or scan something like the cover of a favorite book or the saying on a T-shirt.

Now adjust the image to the size you want and print it on adhesive paper. Next, carefully cut the image out and peel off the backing. Apply the image to dresser tops, drawer fronts, chair seats etc. While I don’t suggest you go too crazy and apply the same image everywhere, you may want to either select different sizes of the same image or a similar one, and use it on your walls or to decorate picture frame. Done carefully this technique can really bring the theme of your teen room together nicely.

One word of caution - less is more. It’s a good idea to give some thought as to where you want to place your images before you actually peel off the backing and apply them. Instead use sticky tack and do a test run by placing the images where you think you may like them.

To preserve the look of your newly decorated teen room furniture apply a protective finish like a water-based, latex urethane.

For more ideas on how to use your computer to decorate your teen room please visit Fun Teen Room Decorating Ideas Using Online Images.