Teens need a place to hang out with their friends. If you have a teenager, you know they like nothing more than just spending time with their friends doing nothing much at all. As a parent, you also know it’s infuriating having teenagers lounging all round your house all day with nowhere to go.
Rather than throwing them out onto the street for them to get into trouble, giving them a place to congregate which is their own keeps them out from under your feet and away from mischief outside.
However, with all the gadgets and gizmos of today’s world costing a whopping price, designing a teen room on a tight budget can be difficult; especially with the high expectation that young people have these days and the pressure to look cool to their friends.
But as a parent, you don’t need to break the bank to design a teen hideaway. All you need to do is look for hidden gems in places you wouldn’t usually find them. Teenagers aren’t exactly interested in high quality furniture; they’re about appearance and just having somewhere to go. So where do you start?
1. Gumtree, Craigslist and Ebay
Someone’s old furniture they’re trying desperately to get rid of could be the treasure you’re looking for. Websites such as Gumtree, Ebay and Craigslist often have cheap or free furniture for you to collect that they just want out their house. And it’s not always bad quality.
Why not get online and look at some of the classified ads. You’ll be needing sofas, chairs, a table for eating or playing games on, storage etc. You can find all these things on these websites from people living not too far away from you. Reply to some of the ads and within days you could have a room full of furniture ready to be turned into a brand new teen hideaway.
If some of it is bad quality or old looking, applying a few coats of paint to fit in with the theme of the room or to add some colour is an excellent way to rejuvenate these pieces. Additionally, try wallpapering a few to give them a shiny new look.
These websites are also great for old televisions, stereos and other electronics that people no longer want or need. Try to find cheap gadgets here to add to them room for sources of entertainment for your teens, rather than investing large amounts of money in brand new home entertainment systems.
2. Garage Sales
If you’re more of a hands-on ‘get out and have a look’ kind of person, why not visit local garage sales in your area? It’s the same principle as online classified ads but you get to see the goods in person before you go out and buy them.
3. Budget Stores
Budget stores such as Target and Walmart aren’t the places you’d usually look for furniture for your home. However, when you’re attempting to create a cheaply put-together room for your teen, they often have great quality cheap tables and chairs and storage which you can use for this room.
It often comes flat packed for you to put together, which is a great way to get your son and daughter involved in helping to set up their room. By having them build the furniture they’re going to use, it instils a sense of responsibility and hard work in them to create something which is theirs. It also gives them a sense of ownership of their newly built hideaway.
Additionally, budget stores are a great place to look for cheap and colourful furnishings to give the room a funky spark. Try to find your cushions, lampshades, curtains etc in budget stores to save money but keep that fun teen vibe.
4. Carpet Cut-Offs
If you’re looking to carpet the floor, this in itself can eat up a huge chunk of your budget; carpets are far from cheap.
However, carpet dealership stores often have pieces of cut-off carpet which are left over from customers ordering carpets that are made to fit their homes. These pieces are usually thrown away so visiting carpet dealerships to ask about cut-offs can save you a great deal of money.
It’s a little like a puzzle and you may end up with a patchwork effect, but if you work this into the theme of the room, it can create more of a colourful look than a messy thrown together cheap appearance. And unlike second-hand carpet, cut-off pieces are brand new so they will be of high quality.
You don’t have to break the bank when you’re decorating a teen hideaway. Using your initiative you can create a room perfect for your young people without having to splash out. According to http://www.menshideaway.com, planning the room beforehand and working out a realistic budget is the best way to renovate a room, and in this case it’s the most sensible way to ensure you don’t spend too much money. And if you’re using budget stores online and offline, you’ll find many places out there which can assist you in building the bargain base for your teen son or daughter.
Mike Kelley is an blogger who loves to offer a helping hand for those redecorating their homes. As the owner and writer for Men’s Hideaway online, he spends a lot of time dedicated to helping men find a place in their home that they can call their own. In this way, he’s very sympathetic to teenagers! Whether it’s writing about NFL wall murals or telling you how to make a ‘man cave’, Mike’s got the male room renovation covered!
