Decorating Ideas for a Teen's Room With Browns and Blues

Floors

• Scatter rugs with brown and blue geometric shapes around the room. If the room is already carpeted, purchase a large bamboo rug. In pencil, draw shapes or foliage on the rug. Enlist the creative powers of your teenager for ideas and hands-on artwork. Use brown and blue paint to fill in the patterns made on the mat.

Walls

• Paint three of the bedroom walls a shade of blue that your teenager chooses. Turn the wall behind the bed into the accent wall. Draw large and small overlapping circles on the wall and paint them using the same blue paint that is on the other walls. After the paint dries, tape over the circles with painter's tape and paint the entire accent wall brown. Once the paint is dry, carefully remove the tape, revealing the modern blue and brown pattern.

Furniture

• Choose furniture that complements the blues and browns. Don't get trapped into painting the furniture to match the blue and brown theme. Metal furniture adds an ultra-modern appearance to the room whereas natural wood finishes give it a low key touch. White furniture pieces also work well with the blue and brown color scheme in a teen's room.

Window Treatments

• Use imaginative window treatments in your teenager's room. Metallic blue and brown acrylic beading won't offer much privacy, but it is a youthful touch to replace traditional drapery. Use a patterned brown wallpaper to cover old fashioned pull-down shades. Monogram the wallpaper shade with a large painted initial or three smaller initials in blue paint.

Bedding

• Solid brown bedding with a few blue accents are in keeping with a guy's space. Bold patterns and too much brown may overpower a small room, though. Neutral bedding that is lightly patterned with blue and brown complements a small space or a room that has heavy furniture and accents. If your teenage daughter prefers "girlie" decor, predominantly blue bedding with a couple of brown throw pillows with blue lacy trim won't detract from the femininity in her bedroom.

Decor

• Balance the brown and blue color scheme with a few matching items. Set clear acrylic lamps with brown or blue shades on night stands. Place a brown vase with blue Gerbera daisies on a desk or on a window sill. Hang artwork that reflects your teenager's interests while continuing to enhance the overall blue and brown theme. Equestrian prints, a sandy beach and sunset painting and enlarged mountain photos are plausible options.