The teen years should be called the bedroom years. A computer, home entertainment system and a bed provide them with all they think they need. If it were not for the occasional trip to the kitchen, parents would never see their offspring.

There comes a time when your child will declare their room boring or childish. The American Girl Dolls or Brio Trains will be packed for the attic along with the posters from their favorite Disney movies. They are ready to express themselves in their own creative way. As a parent, your job is to remind yourself of what you wanted at this age and how much you would have loved it if your parents had been open to your ideas. I was lucky. My mom gave me the freedom to paint my room trim and closet door lime green. At the time I ( and my friends) thought it was so pretty. I am not sure that was true and it is probably the reason I want only white trim in my home today.

A cool teen room starts out with a theme. For boys, skateboarding, surfing or technology are popular. A giant mural depicting a surfer experiencing the ultimate wave or a skateboarder doing a 360 in the park will give an awesome impact to a room. You can find these as well as removable wall graphics online. Guys are often most comfortable with the colors of their favorite team or school. Painting the walls a neutral shade and then bringing in those colors with the comforter and window treatment will look great. Old t-shirts from favorite events can be turned into pillows for the bed. Hang plenty of shelves for them to display equipment, trophies and souvenir hats.

Stripes and polka dots are strong favorites with teen girls. You can use paint to create this look on the wall or purchase a comforter splashed with dots or lined with stripes. Animal prints are also a hit. A zebra is fun, especially when paired with a color such as yellow or bright green. Teens crave the exotic. Anything which will make them stand out is good.

Visit the paint store and let your teen play in the paint sample cards. Encourage them to think about colors that are different from the typical pink, purple, primary blue and red. Look at the color cards furnished by the paint companies. The combinations they suggest will spark your imagination. Do not worry about the future. Primers are excellent these days and they will cover the wildest colors, should you ever need to repaint.

Do not be surprised if they want to paint their room black. If you are not thrilled about this for the entire room redirect them to paint their furniture in this dark color. Just painting one wall in black can create a stunning accent behind their bed. Blackboard paint is also a fun choice. A large area painted in this specialty paint lets them express themselves with easily changed drawings or song lyrics. Their friends will want to leave messages and sketches on the blackboard so have plenty of colored chalk on hand.

Decorating your childs room can be a fun project. Give them a budget and a few guidelines then listen to what they have to say. They may actually think you are cool for encouraging their creativity.