Come with me as we declutter, organize and give this shared boys room a more mature glow up. Hopefully you’ll get some ideas to transition a boys room to a teen room.
My son told me his room (that he shares with his brother) was too childish as he started taking the dinosaur and bug posters off his wall. I didn’t realize he paid any attention to his wall decor, but I said, “Ok, ok, give me a minute before you trash these things someone else might want.”
Artwork
Before
After
We started out by finding some digital Etsy prints of the boys’ favorite soccer players. I had them printed at VistaPrint and put them in some large IKEA frames I already had.
I like that the fonts and style are all uniform. And the frame elevates them from being a poster to more like artwork. It did take us a while to find some that we could agree on! But I like this idea better than random posters taped up everywhere.
Paint
This is not something we changed, but I did paint the back wall in this moody peacock color with the idea in mind they would prefer a more masculine vibe as they got older. It’s called Benjamin Moore Newburg Green and shifts from blue to green depending on the light.
Declutter
Of course, when rooms need update, decluttering is always necessary. We went through old cleats and shoes and clothes and bins stuffed back in the closet. We also went through some more boyish mementos to decide if that’s something they want to keep or not.
They are getting bigger so we are hanging more of their clothes than we have in the past so I had to get some new hangers. We can talk about the unavoidable hoodie situation in a minute.
Desks/gamer chairs
They’ve had these wooden desks for a while and I like their masculine feel but we compromised on some game chairs and that made them quite happy! I didn’t realize how small the drawers were in these desks, but it’s probably for the best so they can’t keep all the candy wrapper collections and broken pencils.
Lighting
Of course, if you want to glow up your teenage room, you have to have LED lights! And while I do not love them just exposed like this (they look better behind things) this is their room and it makes them happy.
I also found this neon “on air” sign. I was able to plug it into an outlet on a switch so they can just switch it all on at once. And it adds a cozy glow at night.
They also have a small UV light for their beta fish tank that adds a nice glow. I love the way my son decorated this with natural plants and rocks.
And recently we had to bring George (the bearded dragon) inside because it is getting colder. My son got him from a friend at school who could no longer care for him. And he is slowly warming up to us … I guess.
Shoes
Teen boys and shoes! We have slides and running shoes and high tops and indoor cleats and outdoor cleats.
We have some space by the back door, but I also cleared out the shelf for them to use for shoes so they can see what they have. Sometimes they get really into shoes and they want to display them on the shelf.
But if you find yourself in need of more storage, you could buy those Shoe storage consoles that fit up to 15 pairs:
I’m still thinking about putting one on the back wall under the hoodies.
Space for collections
This Ronaldo jersey doesn’t fit anymore, so we hung it up with an upside down hanger. Makes jersey displays so easy and cheap!
We cleared out most of the bookshelves so the bottom two could be for their huge school backpacks that are so heavy that can’t hang on a rack anymore! And then the top two are for whatever they’re into that month. Sometimes it’s a trophy they want to display or sometimes it’s cologne or like I said their new favorite shoes. So this is a nice rotating space to have.
I’ve also seen some cool wall displays for sports balls and shoes that we might try to integrate at some point, like these:
Hoodie organization
Before
After
This back wall used to be a bulletin board for all their drawings and school papers, but now it’s new life is storage — especially as their clothes get bigger and the closet can’t hold them all.
Let’s talk about the chokehold that hoodies have on this generation. I put up two simple racks with hooks ($15) behind the door for hoodies and hats. We live in Florida and it’s always hot so I’m not sure why we have 20 hoodies.
The bulletin board is cuter, the hooks are more practical.
The backpack situation
These boys have a school backpack, a soccer backpack, and a random one they used to go to friends houses or adventures their bikes. I’m forever trying to make sure that everything has its own spot and they know where it goes so the dining room table doesn’t look like a gym locker, but sometimes it looks like a gym locker.
So for now there’s school backpacks go in their bottom two shelves the soccer backpacks go on the rack by their closet and their other random backpacks go on the new hooks I put up. 🤷♀️
Beds
I’m not sure how mature bunkbeds are, but that’s what we have right now. They’ve had them for years and they’ve worked great but I’m seeing that my oldest son isn’t going to fit in them very much longer! They were nice to save space, but we’re going to have to do some rearranging here in the near future.
I have two sets of headboards, but I don’t even think they’re going to fit in twin beds for much longer, so we’ll see!
Here are few ideas:
Rug??
There is no rug in this space. I took it out because it would basically just trap dirt in and under it. So gross! This is easier to keep clean for right now.
So that’s the little glow up for the boys room we’ve been slowly working on. Do you have any tips that I’ve worked for you? Isn’t it crazy how their rooms evolve with them over the years?