Last year, the MBA team completed a wonderful project. We were invited back to a past client’s home to decorate their elder son’s room as a celebration for ending primary school. It was time to create a space that is a good fit for the teenage years.

During the meeting where we obtained the brief, we met with the son to hear about his interests, favourite colours and what he needed in the space. We like to work with the end-user of the space, so while the idea of a surprise makeover is sweet, in the interests of family harmony and longevity of the design, if we are working with a tween we always get their input. Have you ever met a tween that doesn’t want to be heard?

For this project, our client’s interests were reading and geography. He liked timber, blue, and needed a space to comfortably do homework. We quickly noticed his world globe and took it as inspiration for anchoring the space with a full wall world map mural. The removable wallpaper (from the wallsticker company) was selected in the warm antique colourway which works well with the timber tones we introduced to the room.

A new king single bed was sourced to accommodate his topping 6ft in the coming years. Bed linen was found to tone with the mural which a feature cushion was selected to tie in with the fun blue bedside table.

Practical bedside lighting was the solution for this avid reader and again the colours and materials were selected to repeat those already being used in the space. Continuity helps a space feel resolved and comfortable to live in.

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After:

Dream your new adventure · More Info

Dream your new adventure · More Info

We sourced a new and bigger bookshelf from Ikea, and now the books were stored on the wall adjacent to the bedhead and mural. The bigger bookcase will accommodate the growing book collection, but will not be the focal point when you enter the room. On the floor, we introduced a round multi-coloured rug. This is a bright accent for the middle of the room and helps the colourful book collection settle into the scheme of the room.

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Finally, we had a custom desk built for our client, adult size with room to study at comfortably (we designed this room over a year before remote learning was ever a consideration, and we know the size has been a boon) with storage. Above the desk a large pinboard in cork (to tone with the other finishes) to keep mementos and schedules in a tidy way.

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Dream your new adventure · More Info

The room has been a household hit, and we’ve just finished delivery of his younger brothers’ room, which we can’t wait to see in person and share with you too as soon as we are able to. If you need help talking tween and designing an age-appropriate space, get in touch.

You can see the rest of this project here!