THE NEED FOR COOL HEADBOARD IDEAS!
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I may seem to focus primarily on finding the perfect set of cool bedding for modern teen girls in my blog entries, but I want to let my visitors know that I do pay attention to the whole decorating package. I take care to design bedrooms for tweens and teens with ideas that will catch the attention from the minute the bedroom door is opened.
Focal points on the walls, floors, ceilings as well as the bed itself are very important elements in the decor. What good is a funky comforter if the rest of the room is plain Jane? Let's narrow it down even more and say that the rest of the bed itself should not be without interesting appointments and design.
The bed frame is not an issue because the bed skirt or dust ruffle covers it completely in most cases. A sumptuous padded mattress cover is a lovely addition for reason pertaining to comfort and protection of the mattress more than appearance.
This brings us to the subject of headboards.
The headboard of the bed could almost be considered the bridge between bedroom wall decoration and the bedspread. There are many popular styles of headboard from bookcase to luxuriously upholstered headboards. The kind that is right for your little lady's room depends entirely on your taste. Go classic with iron or brass or make your own headboard with instructions from any number of free patterns and videos found online with very few tools or materials.
One of the most creative headboard ideas that I've seen for a pink and frilly girl's bedroom recently involved a set of large headboard stickers or wallies that I found at American Blinds, Wallpaper & More at less than twenty five dollars each! This would be perfect for a coed's dorm room or apartment where you didn't want to haul lots of heavy furniture up multiple flights of stairs!
Return to Tween and Teenage Girl Bedding and Bedroom Decorating and Headboard Ideas for more tips on the latest in bedroom decor that you can easily make yourself.
DIAMONDS and STRIPES - A COMBINATION of TWO COOL WALL PAINTING TECHNIQUES
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Four walls covered in a bold diamond pattern might be a little bit overpowering even for a sassy teenage girl's bedroom wall decorations, so what's a decorator to do? I would say that if diamonds are to be a girl's BFF (best friend forever) the wall painting technique might benefit from a chair rail. You can use a faux chair rail that's been painted as a break at the right height or if you prefer a 3D effect, you can nail some wooden trim as it's not too expensive. If you want to do something funky and fun, you can hot glue some fake fur, feathers or beaded trim in coordinating colors. Silk flowers at regular intervals can be cool, too. It all depends on your bedroom color scheme or decor.
You can stencil your large wall diamond designs above or below the chair rail and then tone them down with painted stripes below the chair rail. So long as you keep the color combinations similar, you should be in good shape! Here's a cool decorating tip to add a little something special to your diamond pattern; at the tip of each diamond glue or nail in a decorative nail head. You can find lots of burnished silver, brass and gold nailheads to use at your local upholstery shop.
GIRAFFE BEDDING and DECORATING IDEAS
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In my opinion giraffe is one of the more unique wild animal prints and I wonder why it's not used more in teen girl's bedrooms. I was looking for some tween safari theme decorating ideas and came across the usual cheetah, zebra and leopard print bedding sets and BOOM I chanced upon some luxurious chocolate brown and gold giraffe bedding. My first thoughts were to wonder why on earth I had not designed a room covered in giraffe patterns before. The only answer that I could come up with is that I might have regarded the earth tones found in a giraffe skin to be a little too dark or mature for a tween's or teen girl's bedroom much less a baby's giraffe nursery theme.
I still might not advise using these earthy tones for a preteen, but older girls are demanding more and more sophisticated bedding for their daybeds in their dorm rooms as well as their beds at home. If you don't want to drown the room in a sea of giraffe opt for a sumptuous golden or brown dupioni silk for bedspread. If you skip the busy pattern for your comforter or duvet cover, drop some pops of giraffe on the bed with pillow shams, bolsters or small accent pillows or any number of other decorative items like a giraffe shower curtain for the adjoining bath as well as chair and ottoman covers that will help you to complete a successful giraffe decorating project.
Return to Teenage Girls Giraffe Bedding and Bedroom Decorating Ideas for some tips on ways to incorporate this unique wild animal print into your home's decor.
PAISLEY PATTERN BEDDING and DECORATING IDEAS
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Mixing and matching bedding fabrics has a way of making any duvet cover or comforter so much more exciting! First of all, it’s a real challenge to choose just the right balance of color, texture and design for a teen girls decor. A paisley pattern with all those funky, bold shapes and colors is no different.
Here are some ideas on how to decorate your teen or preteen girl's room with funky paisley motifs and designs using fabrics printed with different patterns and prints rather than solid colors.
You know from the beginning of this bedroom makeover that you will have to bring in a print with small designs that will provide a background for the dominant paisley fabrics.
Take inventory of the color scheme of the large paisley pattern. Paisley patterns are an eclectic hodgepodge of color, but which one jumps out at you? Whatever the answer to that question may be, that color will be used as accent colors in decorating the bedroom.
Now, what color seems to be the anchor or background in the paisley design? That’s the color you will use in your coordinating prints. An example would be that if your paisley bedding pattern has hot pink flowers with brown stems on a field of beige choose a fabric with a neutral brown print. Some examples of acceptable patterns would be gingham checks, polka dots, houndstooth or wild animal prints like the cheetah print in the pictures.
Consider how fabulous the hot pink paisleys will look beside the chocolate brown prints!
SURFBOARD BEDDING and BEDROOM DECORATING IDEAS
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No matter what season it is, surfboard bedding sells. Regardless of what the weather's like in their country, surfing nuts know that somewhere in the world the waves are perfect, the sun is shining and the sand is soft and just waiting for them to show up and ride the waves and dance the night away.
Some lucky teenage girls get to enjoy winter surfing vacations. Those of us who are land locked and less fortunate can only dream of tropical flowers and swaying coconut palms AND design an island oasis in our homes starting with just the right set of surfboard bedding.
Until summer arrives and the calendar says it’s the perfect time to head to the seashore and hang ten at our favorite Hawaiian beach or a quiet cove tucked away near our town, a girl's got to make do. We can be all sad and lament the lack of surfing opportunities or be positive and spend our time coming up with cool ways to decorate the bedroom with stuff that makes a sand and surf oriented teen girl tickled pink. A pretty surfing theme comforter, quilt or bedding set with pictures of brightly colored woody surfboards is a great place to begin the decorative process.
The great thing about this particular surfboard bedding and beach themed room design is that it works equally well for tweens and teens girls….and in a pinch you could slide surfboard bedding into a young boy’s room unless the surfboards are pink!
Once you decorate your bed with your favorite beach bedding set, pick up some cheap accessories shaped like surfboards. Here are some surfboard theme decorating ideas for a preteen or teen girl’s bedroom:
- Surfboard clocks
- Surfboard rugs
- Furniture made out of an old surfboard (Adirondack chairs with surfboard backs)
There you go! Scatter some funky colored tropical fish decorations and tiki hut stuff around the room and you’re good to go until it’s hot enough to break out the bikini and board shorts and hit the beach.
Return to Tween and Teenage Girls Bedding, Bed in a Bag, Comforter Sets and Bedroom Decorating Ideas for more surfing theme inspiration.
Pink and Green Bedding for Tweens and Teens
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Nothing is as fresh and pretty as a new set of pink and green bedding for a tween or teens bedroom. A patchwork quilt or comforter is stunning and not so country that your teen will object so long as you offer a color scheme that is appealing. Even if you rely on a retro paisly print or polka dots to sneak your favorite colors by your young lady, the result will be worth the compromise.
For a vintage feel, consider brushing the rust off of grandmother's old iron bed and giving it a modern look with some fresh white paint. If you don't have an authentic antique iron bed tucked away in storage, there are replicas that are just as good as the real article. If you shop carefully, you can find an ornate metal bed that's relatively inexpensive and fancy enough to provide a beautiful background for most any style of pink and green bedding that you desire.
I'm Not There
Ever since I saw Todd Haynes' new film I'm Not There over the weekend I've been trying to figure out how I really feel about it. It was a disjointed experience for me: a little bit slow in parts, a little bit brilliant, a little bit too precious, a little bit surprisingly funny, a little bit confusing, a little bit nostalgic, a little bit biting. I'm not sure that I ultimately "get" what Haynes was trying to say about Dylan. But then I'm also not sure that matters. Here are some simple bullet points from me about the film:
Cate Blanchett. - She was brilliant as always. I don't know how she does it. She has this way of acting with just a twinkle of her eye that is other worldly. It was also brilliant on Haynes' part in casting her. There was something about a woman playing Dylan that got to the meat of his character. She revealed the fire in his mind in a way that did not come through in the male performances. At the same time, even knowing it was her, a woman playing this part, I was not distracted by it. I watched the film and saw a man, Jude Quinn (this particular character's name).
The performances in general. - All the performances were good actually. I particularly liked Michelle Williams and Ben Whishaw in their smaller parts. Everyone seemed to capture their characters with perfect clarity without falling into caricature.
The use of Dylan's music in the film. - Sometimes there were entire scenes with no dialogue, just the Dylan songs playing which made it almost like watching extensive music videos. It reminded me of Haynes' Velvet Goldmine a lot. I enjoyed those scenes. Listening to the rambling storytelling songs of Dylan while watching a rambling filmed story of his "life" was interesting, it was apropos.
The Beatles scene - Funniest moment in the entire film. I don't want to give anything more about it away.
Sometimes the film made me sleepy. - There were times during this film where I could barely keep my eyes open. I understood Haynes' desire to let the movie unfold slowly and in that rambling way I've mentioned before, but I guess I needed more action!
Billy the Kid, really? - I guess I don't know enough about Dylan to have understood the Billy the Kid character played by Richard Gere. Maybe it's all part of Haynes' treatise on celebrity? I don't know. Those were some of the scenes that bored me the most.
What was Haynes getting at anyway? - Again, I wasn't really sure what to take away from the film. What was the filmmaker's intention? I felt that maybe he was speaking to the cult of celebrity. Dylan has transformed himself so many times in so many different ways while always remaining this cult figure to his fans. Or maybe it's simply about the music, showing how each of Dylan's personae infused the music each made.
All in all, the film seemed to be made out of love which is enough. I'll tell you that it inspired me to re-watch Pennebaker's Don't Look Back and download my Dylan CDs to my iPod.
I wonder what Dylan himself thinks of it?
Cate Blanchett. - She was brilliant as always. I don't know how she does it. She has this way of acting with just a twinkle of her eye that is other worldly. It was also brilliant on Haynes' part in casting her. There was something about a woman playing Dylan that got to the meat of his character. She revealed the fire in his mind in a way that did not come through in the male performances. At the same time, even knowing it was her, a woman playing this part, I was not distracted by it. I watched the film and saw a man, Jude Quinn (this particular character's name).
The performances in general. - All the performances were good actually. I particularly liked Michelle Williams and Ben Whishaw in their smaller parts. Everyone seemed to capture their characters with perfect clarity without falling into caricature.
The use of Dylan's music in the film. - Sometimes there were entire scenes with no dialogue, just the Dylan songs playing which made it almost like watching extensive music videos. It reminded me of Haynes' Velvet Goldmine a lot. I enjoyed those scenes. Listening to the rambling storytelling songs of Dylan while watching a rambling filmed story of his "life" was interesting, it was apropos.
The Beatles scene - Funniest moment in the entire film. I don't want to give anything more about it away.
Sometimes the film made me sleepy. - There were times during this film where I could barely keep my eyes open. I understood Haynes' desire to let the movie unfold slowly and in that rambling way I've mentioned before, but I guess I needed more action!
Billy the Kid, really? - I guess I don't know enough about Dylan to have understood the Billy the Kid character played by Richard Gere. Maybe it's all part of Haynes' treatise on celebrity? I don't know. Those were some of the scenes that bored me the most.
What was Haynes getting at anyway? - Again, I wasn't really sure what to take away from the film. What was the filmmaker's intention? I felt that maybe he was speaking to the cult of celebrity. Dylan has transformed himself so many times in so many different ways while always remaining this cult figure to his fans. Or maybe it's simply about the music, showing how each of Dylan's personae infused the music each made.
All in all, the film seemed to be made out of love which is enough. I'll tell you that it inspired me to re-watch Pennebaker's Don't Look Back and download my Dylan CDs to my iPod.
I wonder what Dylan himself thinks of it?
Musings on Christmas Trees
I like to put up my Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving because it's a nice long weekend and it's usually the last weekend before Christmas that is not jam packed with various social gatherings. Talking to my father on the phone the other night, he was appalled to discover that I had already put it up. My parent's divorced when I was very young, so I don't really remember what the Christmas season was like with my dad around. My older sister however does remember and when I told her how sickened our dad was about my premature Christmas tree trimming, she laughed, and said that as a kid she would get really upset with dad because he wouldn't go get their tree until about a week before Christmas and by then she would be dying for one! That just isn't my style. I like to have my tree up the entire month of December because, as I told my dad in explanation, it's pretty and it makes me happy. I want to enjoy the tree for as long as I can, not put it up one week before Christmas and then just have to take it right down again. Granted when my dad did that, it was back in the day when people still bought real trees. As a matter of fact my dad still gets a real tree for his house. I, alas, have a fake tree. But it's kind of small and charming and once it has all its lights and jingle bell garland and my eclectic lifetime collection of ornaments on it, you can't tell.
In the evening there is nothing better than relaxing on the couch watching movies or listening to music with only the cheery glow of the Christmas tree to light the room. I am finicky with my decorating of it too. I am never finished. I'll see a hole and move this ornament there, or see too many red colored ornaments in one spot and have to switch them out with other colors, or decide that this ornament is too pretty to be hiding here and move it to a more prominent position. And don't get me started on the trials I've been through in finding the right tree topper this year! Last year I had an old fashioned glass one, but this year I really wanted a star, preferably one that lights up. Well, after going to about a dozen different stores, and after two failed attempts and returns, I finally found the perfect tree topper at Walgreen's for $7.99! Can you beat that? It's a star that looks almost like a snowflake with 11 white lights and it's perfect.
There is this one Disney cartoon short that really captures for me the magic of a Christmas tree. It's called Pluto's Christmas Tree and in it Mickey and Pluto inadvertently cut down the tree Chip & Dale live in for their Christmas tree. Then there is this wonderful sequence of Chip & Dale wandering around inside the brightly lit, decorated tree. I always wished I could be tiny like that and walk around inside a lighted tree among round glass ornaments and candy canes.
So my dad and anyone else who wants to judge me for putting up my tree so early can go right ahead. It makes me happy and that's what counts. Now picture me sticking my tongue out.
In the evening there is nothing better than relaxing on the couch watching movies or listening to music with only the cheery glow of the Christmas tree to light the room. I am finicky with my decorating of it too. I am never finished. I'll see a hole and move this ornament there, or see too many red colored ornaments in one spot and have to switch them out with other colors, or decide that this ornament is too pretty to be hiding here and move it to a more prominent position. And don't get me started on the trials I've been through in finding the right tree topper this year! Last year I had an old fashioned glass one, but this year I really wanted a star, preferably one that lights up. Well, after going to about a dozen different stores, and after two failed attempts and returns, I finally found the perfect tree topper at Walgreen's for $7.99! Can you beat that? It's a star that looks almost like a snowflake with 11 white lights and it's perfect.
There is this one Disney cartoon short that really captures for me the magic of a Christmas tree. It's called Pluto's Christmas Tree and in it Mickey and Pluto inadvertently cut down the tree Chip & Dale live in for their Christmas tree. Then there is this wonderful sequence of Chip & Dale wandering around inside the brightly lit, decorated tree. I always wished I could be tiny like that and walk around inside a lighted tree among round glass ornaments and candy canes.
So my dad and anyone else who wants to judge me for putting up my tree so early can go right ahead. It makes me happy and that's what counts. Now picture me sticking my tongue out.
FRENCH BEDDING for TEEN GIRLS
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I am often asked for French bedding which is in actuality, Paris apartment style bedding ideas, for preteen girls. When it comes to French style bedding, what could possibly be more Parisian than a chic Fleur de Lys design? There are various prints that will forever be associated with France like French toile bedding fabrics, but everybody doesn't like busy, formal print. Preteens are often against floral prints of any kind so what are we left with that will have a French feel? I would say that Eiffel Tower and Fleur de Lys motifs would be our best options.
Picture luxurious silk shams and comforters with this lovely traditional motif printed in any color or this might be your chance to jump into monochromatic black and white bedding.
Here's an idea for how to make any solid color bedding set into a funky, fabulous French bedding set at a very cheap price!
Here's how to make your own inexpensive girl's French theme bedding for your teen.
Pick up a solid color comforter or duvet cover. Pillow shams or a duvet cover will be easier to work with for a beginner. Unless you are an advanced stamper, you may not want to experiment on a solid white or an expensive piece of fabric.- Buy a large Fleur de Lys stamp and a small Fleur de Lys stamp
- Get some black (or whatever coordinating color you want your motifs on your bedding to be) fabric paint
Spread your fabric on a smooth surface, make marks with a pencil to help you space your designs and stamp!
If you prefer, you can substitute Eiffel tower graphics for the Fleur de Lys to make your own Parisian Eiffel Tower print French bedding set.
When you finish, you will have a lovely, sophisticated set of bedding that will make you think of Paris each and every time you walk into the bedroom.
I once used this decorating idea on a pale pink duvet cover and sham set. I was able to give a a used comforter set a makeover and the results were stunning! We came up with a really cool set of pink and black bedding that you couldn't find in stores! I attached some black pom pom and fringe trim to a few accent pillows and arranged some pink French poodles with rhinestone collars on wall shelves to pull my poodles in Paris decor together. If you aren't a dog lover, exchange the poodle decorations for some Eiffel tower decorations or anything else that means "Paris" to you!
Return to Tween and Teenage Girls Bedding and Bedroom Decorating Ideas for more advice on French decor for kids.
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