Three Decorator, Four...

A big thank you to all who participated in the Mission Impossible teen room challenge! You've already seen a couple of really great rooms. Since there are others up on blogs, I'll go ahead and post them a bit shy of Monday's deadline. I tell ya, you people are a bunch of real overachievers! LOL

My good friend, Lisa, at Cakes and Cupboards, has put together a teen room for her son. Lisa has a cool software program that allows her to create rooms, so you'll get to see a virtual room, in addition to the wonderful design elements she came up with.

Also, one of my decorating board friends, Mary (aka soccermom), was inspired to create a blog as a result of this challenge, The Secret Life of a Suburban Soccer Mom, as well as decorate a room for her daughter. So many of us used our own kids and kids' rooms as inspiration, but Mary may be the only one (at least, so far) who's implementing her design for real. Her daughter's one lucky girl!

And bear with me, I have one more room to share. My good cyber-friend, Louise, from Arizona doesn't have a blog, and she put together some fun pieces that any teen would love. Pix and prices are below...

Bed -- IKEA $80
Desk -- Cost Plus $170
Ghost chair allmodern.com -- $330
Bookshelves -- WalMart $63



Chocolate brown, faux suede comforter ($40), purple jersey sheet set ($15), shade ($15)
Accessories include:






Louise adds the following notes:
Vintage looking fan 29.99 at www.shoppingwarehouse.com. It's small but cute. Retro alarm clock 19.99 at www.blair.com. Irregular ribbed natural color paper lantern, the largest sixe 24# diameter, $8.00 at www.paperlantern.store.com There are some GREAT lanterns there! Test tube vase from www.cb2.com. They are hanging vases so must have some kinda hanging attachment, but if not, coarsely but tightly wrap some jewelry wire around the top. They are only $2.99. I'd want six. Place a single purple daisy in each and hang at little below eye level horizontally along one wall, largst daisy 7" flower, at www.afloral.com is $2.29 each. Ikea steel boxes 2 sets of two $6.99 each. Desk lamp is $23.96 at WalMart.com. My total so far with the furniture, the linens and these accessories is $815.00 (I rounded up) so that leaves money for paint.

I'd not paint the walls chocolate; it would be a shade of brown between the chocolate comforter and the natural paper shade but leaning towards chocolate. I'd put the storage boxes on the book shelf, bringing the silver of the bed and other accessories over to the bookcase.

As for the chalkboard paint, on one wall paint a large rectangle, to form a chalkboard (phone numbers, important dates etc can be writing on the board, with purple chalk, of course THAT PURPLE SQUARE is a cube of purple chalks - go to www.silvercupchalk.net. Don't just leave the chalkboad unframed of course, you could paint cheap stock molding from home depot, or I would just paint a free-hand "ornate frame" with silver paint, nothing ornate about it though, I'd just paint long swooping lines and a few swirls or curlyques in a rough childish depiction of a fancy frame, directly on the wall. I can see it in my head, but I'm not describing it well.

We all know a room is never finished, so over time and as budget allows, a nice throw or colorful quilt with lots of purple and brown and other colors would be lovely at the foot of the bed, and a nice framed print, something retroish to go along with the look of the lamp and fan . .

Great job, Louise!