I have the space and the budget but no inspiration

[Kr1stina]

Please give me your inspired suggestions for decorating a bedroom for 15yo DD. Yes of course, she should have her own opinion on the matter but she has none . I've spent ages collating ideas and photos to show her and she says " I don't care. It's ok the way it is . You can change it as long as it's not black " . Sigh.

The room is reasonably large, 5m by 5m with a 3m ceiling height . Light , with a south and west aspect . Neutral - light wood floor. One wall of white and mirrored wardrobes . Currently another wall of white bookcases ( but that could go).

Current decor is purple and pink - walls in two shades of lilac / purple and curtains are pink and purple . More 10yo than 16yo.

I'm going to paint the walls and I have the budget for new curtains , bed (if necessary ) and accessories . What I'm short of is imagination .

I've looked at Pinterest, google images etc and the pins for " teen bedroom " and similar are

more suitable for a ten year old ( similar to what she has now )
or very boring and adult looking ( neutral on the assumption that they will be shared by a man and a woman )
or very themed ( sports or one direction or princessing ) .

I am stuck - please help

I forgot to say that she doesn't need a desk as she studies on the floor with a laptop . So a large soft rug is an essential.

Have you looked at Houzz?

www.houzz.co.uk

If she likes to study on the floor, might she like something a bit Japanese?

Does she have favourite weather, or smells, or times of day that might trigger ideas for her? Like if she was a sunrise person I would go cooler colours, sunset warmer colours etc (I wasn't proposing sticking up weather symbols!). I tend to go for an easy life and keep walls white, then change colours through curtains and bed linen etc, but my rooms are quite a bit smaller than the one you're doing.

If she really doesn't care what it looks like, I'd focus on texture, sound and smells - maybe she just doesn't find the visual side as appealing? So the big luxurious rug, different textured cushions, plug in essential oil diffuser, maybe a white noise/nature sounds thingy (or open the window if you're already in the countryside!), silky drapes on the curtain or the bed, or whatever textures she likes...

Thank you WWW I shall check out houzz ( which is new to me ) once homework is done .

Fresh - she hates the disruption caused by getting her room done up, but we've had to do some work in the loft above her room which affected the ceiling so it needs repaired . I think that's what's behind her reluctance to get involved , she resents the hassle. Also she has very little confidence in her own choices - she's always asking me what to wear and would be happy if I picked out her outfits each day .

She's very resistant to my " training " on this . So I say " so what were you thinking of ? Ok those jeans are a good choice - what top do you want ? Which jacket do you think goes with that ? that scarf looks great with that top, see how it's got the same colours in it ?

Then she gets frustrated because I won't just say " wear this, this and this " , she shouts " why won't you just tell me ???"

So this thing about not making any choices about her room is just an extension of this I think . Sigh

You are bang on with your comments about texture and smells - she likes fleece type clothes and bedlinen, she puts on fleecy PJs as soon as she gets home and she complains if I change the fabric softener .

Hmm......I shall need to think about this more . You are very insightful

Well, you can always wipe a bit of the right fabric conditioner on the radiators when you're finished, make it smell more comforting! I get what you mean about them hating making choices (for worry about making the wrong one?). Would it be any better if you got two sets of options together in a kind of textures / swatches mood board, and said "Either of these would be great in your room. Which one feels better?"

And there's always the old "the sooner you choose, the sooner we get it all finished and you get your territory back" line

I have done my girls room duck egg blue and silver. Carpet is sliver and curtains are white and silver it's lovely and light

Thank you for your suggestions .

We've had it out with houzz and various shade cards . She's finally settled on a feature wall in magenta and others in a grey blue . After hours in kea ( her favourite shop ) we found a large fluffy plum rug , which meets the texture requirement - you were right , fresh .

We ordered enough duvet covers to open a shop from Tesco - their online photos are so tiny it's almost impossible to work out what the patterns and styles are . But I can order them online and they deliver free the next day to our local Twco express ( despite a warning on their website that it takes 5-7 days ) . She's chosen two and the rest of the enormous box goes goes back tomorrow .

So success I think. Or at least a decision is made .

I discovered that she likes very traditional floral bedding ,which seems very random to be as she never wears patterns expect stripes and she's more " sporty " and " girly " . The things I had been choosing were far too modern for her .

Of course, she hasn't worked that out for herself, let alone told me . She just says " you choose " then goes through all my choices saying " no. No . No . That horrid . " sigh . The main criterion was that they go with her fluffy blanket collection ( texture again )

I'll try fabric softener on the radiator . Which she turns off all the time , her room is freezing . Weird child .

We have also settled on a beanbag as she doesn't sit on chairs .

Fabric softener on tissues under pillows and in cupboards then (and tiny wipe on the lightbulb if not LED?!)

Excellent detective work on getting a plan together well done.

Thanks . A friend has suggested that with teen girls it's all about the accessories - cushions with pug dogs, picture frames , fluffy blankets and tacky wooden plaques. And that the bargain stores like B and M are the way to go .

So next week I'll take her to pound land and she can fill a trolley with crap tasteful accessories for £20.

We are currently packing boxes and dismantling fitted wardrobes while she shops with her friends