Make your teenagers happy with the look of their bedrooms - allow them to
decorate it themselves. Give your kids a sense of autonomy and watch them take
on responsibility - it may pleasantly surprise you. Here are some suggestions
that can change the look of a room with relatively little expense.
Painting a bedroom is an excellent way to change its entire appearance with
minimal cost. Add interest by using deeper and stronger colors rather than
neutral ones. Try painting the ceiling for a change. Stencils, rag-rolling and
sponge painting add texture. Ask your local paint shop about different
techniques.

Consider blackboard paint for a section of the wall - or all the way around the
room. This allows them to express their creativity (or do their homework) -
especially if your teenager enjoys drawing. If you have the time or inclination,
or if your teen is particularly good at painting, a mural might be something to
consider. A logo of a favorite sports team can take up an entire wall (go
Canucks!).

Some teenagers are pack-rats and accumulate a mountain of assorted treasures.
They may not have enough room in their closets for all their stuff, so it ends
up under the bed and all over the floor.

Shelves are one solution - and they don’t have to be expensive wooden ones
either. Get creative and think of different types of crates and cement bricks
that you can spray paint in neat patterns - just put a wooden board across the
top.

For teenage girls, fabric hung from the corner of the ceiling in loops can make
the room look classy. If it is secured well, it can also be used as a place for
arranging stuffed animals. Find colorful scarves at local thrift shops, or
perhaps stored in the attic.

For teenage boys, t-shirts that remind them of soccer teams or Disneyland can be
hung on the wall. A plain t-shirt signed by all of his friends will add a
personal touch. Add a group photo next to the shirt to attach names to faces.

Pillows can be made cheaply. Use them as decorations on the bed or for friends
to sit on. Sew your own pillows by cutting out logos from old shirts and sewing
them together, using an old sheet as a backing. Stuff the pillow full of cotton
and stitch it up. If you don’t have old shirts, buy end of stock cloth at any
fabric store.

No teenage bedroom is complete without posters of the newest band, favorite
sports team, or hot actor. Framed pictures of friends look nice if arranged in
an original way. Opened Oriental fans attached to the wall at different angles
add character.

Have your teenager’s favorite quotes, funny sayings, or pleasant reminders
plastered on their wall. Cut out comic strips and tack to the walls - this may
keep visitors in the room longer than your teen wants them there. But they say
laughter is the best medicine - so it can make your teen’s room a healthy place
to be!

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So you’ve got Spring Break coming up and the Easter Holidays around the corner too. This is a great time to give your interiors a lift. Certainly you probable already planned some Spring cleaning, but really make it count and clean out. This is a perfect chance to get rid of clutter and give to those needing more. April is the showcase month for the Atlanta Furniture Bank’s charity event Chairish the Future. Funded by generous donations from major manufacturers, corporations, and individuals, the furniture bank is a hopeful repository of all types, sorts, sizes, and styles of furnishings, many in need of some repair. For this event, primarily chairs (though some other pieces are included) are donated by the bank to artists, designers, and architects around Atlanta. These talented folks then redesign and redecorate the pieces and they are displayed at Atlanta’s Lenox Mall (April 8 - 14, 2006) before being auctioned. The proceeds benefit many of Atlanta’s homeless citizens. (Your city may have a similar event.)

While you are cleaning up and sorting it all out, take a moment to review your furniture. Are they still all your favorite pieces? Perhaps you’ve got one or two that are bit worn around the edges, frayed at the seams, or you just really want a change. This is a chance to provide valued used furnishings to others, get a tax write-off, and give yourself an excuse to splurge on a new piece or two. The Furniture Bank of Atlanta needs your castoff furnishings! Of course, you might want to check out what goes up for auction, in case chairs are your bag. Personally, I collect them! At last count, I have 6 spare chairs, 2 benches, and 2 poufs all in my living room with my sofa, tables etc. Yes, it is a bit crowded, but great for those entertainment opportunities, and very flexible. My mini-chair collection is a bit larger, but fits on a bookshelf, so easier to manage. So take a look around, what furniture pieces are you collecting?? What do you need in your room that will add function, fun, and bring a smile??

Almost every room benefits from a single piece of furniture included that is a bit unusual in shape and form, and can be moved easily to accommodate extra guests. It could be a chair, a bench, a stool, a pouf, an ottoman, or anything you can sit on, even a bicycle in the corner. Speaking of which, sometimes it is best if the extra piece is mobile on wheels. Be careful, if you have children, this may become an interior mode of transport, scooted room to room!

Some of my favorite examples are a cardboard (yes, that stuff that boxes are made of) rocker a client found. Astonishingly comfortable, very sturdy and velvety with wear, a wonderful surprise. The hidden recliner in leather is also a good option, satisfying the men in the family with their LazyBoy dreams, while still fitting in even the more formal of rooms because it doesn’t look like what it is! Storage ottomans are always a good bet, providing secret space for games, a snack stash, or even too many remotes (go universal!) Again, my collection is eclectic enough to include a clear acrylic chair (a bit disconcerting to sit on though), a chair with bells in the back stiles, and still another with a twine woven seat. It adds interest, texture, and curiosity and best of all, still functions.

‘Tis the season to clean out and clean up! Take advantage of a Spring Fling getting out the old furnishings and welcoming some new pieces. You’ll have a fresh perspective, and a great excuse to entertain.
© 2006 Melissa Galt

Melissa Galt, Lifestyle Designer, Speaker, & Author, is the owner of Melissa Galt, Inc., a full service interior design firm based in Atlanta. She has been decorating clients’ homes all over the Southeast for more than a decade, making their interior visions come true. She speaks to audiences nationally, on how to use design as the catalyst for “creating the life you’ve always dreamed of”. Melissa is the creator of Design Destinations, a free monthly guide to designing your signature life. To sign up for her FREE monthly newsletter, visit http://www.melissagalt.com/

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If you are someone who loves to decorate you are going to love this article. There are so many ways to decorate things and decorating your mailbox that should be fun. You can have the trendiest mailbox on the block. The greatest thing about decorative mailboxes is the fact that you have the ability to express what type of person you are and your feelings in the way that you decorate yours.

Most people like to decorate their decorative mailboxes according to the season but why stop there. If you are someone who is happy all the time smiley face your mailbox. If you are Greek put the Greek gods all over your mailbox. Something that you see on most peoples decorative mailboxes is their family’s last name in regular old boring colors and letters so the mailman does not accidentally deliver your neighbors mail to you. You can be that special person on the block that puts your family’s last name on the mailbox with the lime green and shocking bright pink letters. It will make your mailbox stick out like an infected sore thumb, but will guarantee that everyone who passes by it will stop to look at it!

There are many people who will come home from work and be cranky but they can take out all of that in drawing, coloring and decorating. This can just be hobby to some, but for others it is a stress reliever and can get everything off of their mind. See how great decorative mailboxes can be?

Many stores sell the materials you will need to use for decorative mailboxes, but you can use any old materials that you may have lying around in your house. You can use cotton balls and color them with a marker or paint then glue them on your mailbox. This is a very easy idea to use.

Some people are so dedicated to the hobby of creating decorative mailboxes that they have even started groups that will just decorate mailboxes. A group in Kansas City was started three years ago called the “Decorating Grannies.” Yes, it is what it sounds like, a group of old ladies that lived in the retirement home decided to put ads in the newspaper and hang up flyers letting people know that for a very small fee they can have their mailboxes completely re-decorated by the coolest group of grannies ever. The money that they raised was donated straight to the retirement home to sponsor more activities that the oldies want.

If this story inspired you and you like decorative mailboxes then maybe you should try doing what these grannies did. You could be known as the hero of your community if you donate the money you need to maybe build a new playground for the kids or even buy new plants to grow around the area. The whole entire neighborhood will appreciate what you did and you will feel good about yourself and all of your friends will too.

Mailboxes HQ http://mailboxes-hq.com/ contains information about mailboxes from designer mailboxes through how to keep your mail safe from criminals.

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