Let’s talk about organizing with children and teenagers! As a mother of two grown boys, I
understand your child’s space will change overtime, just as they are. I recently had a lot of fun working with a teenager on her closet, and would love to share some tips and tricks in making this transition seamless, affordable, and of course fun.
First, establish a budget for the project and your goals. Let’s say you’re imagining a customized closet solution. I like to show clients examples of what could work for their room and get them excited about creating a new space. I then like to guide my clients by having them come up with a keep, toss, and donate pile. Some kids collect a lot of stuffed animals or collectibles and may want to still hold onto them, but they can be smartly and safely stored in containers outside of the room to create more space. And remember under bed storage is a great way to store seasonal clothes and apparel.
Customized closet systems can be added in as little as a few hours and provide ample space for not only hanging clothes but also enabling floating shelves for items that can be stored in baskets and bins. I also like to recommend using simple peel and stick hooks for organizing belts, purses, hats, scarves and jewelry.
Once they start getting the closet cleaned out, I encourage clients to choose a theme or color and select either a peel and stick wallpaper or accent paint color to set the closet off and make it feel customized and unique. I have found getting teenagers involved in the process makes them appreciate the space even more. I recently built a simple vanity space for my niece, although we had limited space we were able to maximize this small area of her room and make it truly special and useful for her. We used a simple white melamine board cut to size which most home improvement warehouses will do for you. In this case, we asked for the boards to be cut down to 29 inches and went with a board that was 12 inch deep. It was the perfect fit for the space we were working with. We installed the first shelf 30 inches off the ground with the 2nd shelf placed 6 inches above the lower shelf with some fun, reasonably priced decorative brackets. A cute stool and a round mirror completed the look.
And here’s a fun budget-friendly way to upgrade the rest of the room without buying new furniture: consider a fresh upholstering on an existing chair, or adding new drapes, linens, throw pillows, lamps and art. You can also consider painting or refinishing an existing piece of furniture for a new look. And once my client has a selected theme or color palette they’re going with, I’m happy to hunt and shop for them to create the room of their dreams!