So excited to share the teen boy bedroom makeover I did for Sam! Such a bittersweet moment watching him grow from young boy to teenager. He is such an amazing soul and just I love this kid like crazy. He started asking for some changes to his room about a year ago. I wanted whatever we did to be a reflection of him and his interests. A space all his own that he would love being in. He couldn’t be happier with how it turned out!

A full source list is included at the end of the post.

Before

Just a quick reminder of where we began. It was a sweet room and served him well for a number of years. If you want to see more of it, check out this post.

Design Plan

After

There were just a couple deviations from the original design plan, but I think it came out even better.

Paint

Sam has been saying he wanted one black wall for a few years now. Ask and you shall receive! We went with Sherwin-Williams Urbane Bronze. It’s a lovely warm black that isn’t too harsh. The remaining walls and ceiling all stayed the same color, PPG Paints Gray Palomino.

Bed and Nightstands

When searching for a bed I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted at a good price. Then stumbled on this lighter colored upholstered boucle bed. What a find! It looks and feels high-end, but the price is amazing. Going from his Jenny Lind bed to one without a footboard really opened up his room.

My intention was to keep his mid-century modern nightstands, but they felt so small and he needed more storage. I found these steal of a deal nightstands that fill the space on either side of the bed better and give him much more drawer storage.

Art and Bedding

Anyone who knows Sam knows he loves Godzilla. This Godzilla art is his favorite part of the room makeover. You can also check out his other large Godzilla poster in his closet here.

Sam was very specific about his bedding and chose everything himself. He wanted soft bamboo sheets like I have on my bed but they had to be dark grey. To help with bedhead in the morning I also picked him up some matching silk pillowcases. The stripe linen duvet is a perfect addition and I like how it plays with the stripe rug.

BEDDING TIP: Do your kids or teens struggle with bed head in the morning? Get them a silk pillowcase! You’ll love that their hair isn’t a hot mess and they’ll love that their pillow always stays cool at night.

Desk Wall

The fun side! His need for a larger desk is what spurred this makeover. Over the years he has acquired a lot of gaming accessories. Most recently a steering wheel with shifter that wasn’t able to attach to his previous desk. He also loves to draw and had no open desk space for that.

A new desk needed to meet a few requirements; 1) a large desk top, 2) dedicated space for a computer, 3) fit his steering wheel attachment, 4) storage drawers, and 5) didn’t look cheap or flimsy. After searching high and low for a desk we found a perfect solution. This desk even has an outlet hidden in the top (behind his monitor) to cut down on cords being everywhere.

Sam wanted a “gaming chair” (gag), but tried out the chair from our home office first just to see if he liked it better. Thankfully he LOVED it because those gaming chairs are rough on the eyes.

I envisioned two large pinboards flanking his computer, but couldn’t find what was in my head, so I made some. You can see how I made these DIY pinboards in this post. A fun touch was having a custom LED sign made with his gamer tag.

I also gave him a little lounge space with this bean bag. He never sat in his hanging chair, but this chair he sits in all the time. The light up dart board is so fun! We’ve already had several family competitions. No worries about damaging walls with this one. It’s magnetic.

Drapes and Rug

You cannot deny the difference quality drapes make to a room. They make everything in a space look so much more high-end. To bridge the one black wall with the rest of the lighter walls I used a darker drape. The color is perfect, AND it’s the exact same drape I used in his bathroom for a shower curtain. This helps tie the two spaces together as well.

Drape Details: Ian Fabric in the color Steel, Tailor pleat header, and room darkening liner.

Drape Discount Code: use code CRAZYWONDERFUL for 15% off your purchase.

Recognize this rug from another room in our house? This was from our home office. Sam wanted it for his room because it’s seriously the softest rug you’ll ever walk on. Like, faux fur soft. We brought it up to his room and it’s just perfect in here.

LED Gaming and Under Bed Lights

One of Sam’s top requests was that there be LED lights throughout. You know the type, light strips along the ceiling – super gamer vibe. I suggested we do the lights in a more stylish way and he agreed. Here’s how his room looks when all the LED lights are on.

He has a light strip running under his bed, light bars behind his computer monitor, custom LED sign with his gamer tag, and an LED magnetic dart board. Oh and there are also LED lights on his computer, keypad, and mouse! He loves how it looks and I love that I’m not looking at ugly, exposed light strips all over the walls during the day.

We have one happy kid, scratch that, almost teenager over here.

Bedroom Sources

• Paint – Sherwin-Williams Urbane Bronze on dark wall, PPG Paints Gray Palomino on lighter walls and ceiling
• Bed
• Nightstands – here or here
• Desk
• Office Chair – similar look for less here
• Lounge Chair
• Rug
• Drapes – in color Steel, Tailor Pleat, Room Darkening Liner (code CRAZYWONDERFUL for 15% off)
• Curtain Rod
• Curtain Rings
• Bamboo Shades – in color Antigua Natural, Blackout Liner
• Stripe Duvet Cover
• Sheets
• Silk Pillowcases
• Lumbar Pillow
• Godzilla Art
• DIY Pinboards
• Dartboard
• Guitar Holder
• LED Sign
• Sconces – old (similar here)
• Ceiling Fan
• LED lightstrip under bed
• LED light bars behind computer screen
• Steering wheel and pedals for PC and gear shifter

Shop the Room