What Recession Mum? (Homes and Interiors)

Despite the recession, there are many simple, cheap and easy ways to spruce up your son’s or daughters bedrooms without feeling the pinch.
Being creative and wise with storage space and cheap accessories can improve a room instantly without breaking a sweat – or the bank.

If you shop around, many high street department stores also have regular sales and discounted bits and pieces that may be useful.
And then theres stores that focus on selling affordable products for the home, such as Dunelm, BHS and of course, IKEA.

This week we’re focusing on a bedroom makeover for a teenage girl, suitable between the ages of 12-20.
And here’s the challenge – the budget is £40.
However low or high the budget of revamping a bedroom, there’s a few top tips to remember.

For a vintage feel within a bedroom, mix and match fabrics, colours and ornaments. Chandeliers also complement a vintage inspired bedroom, and can be picked up cheaply from a range of interior stores.
However, this style of bedroom is not always suitable for teenagers as it can become cluttered.

A fresh, modern feel for a young person’s bedroom is a suitable alternative, with plenty of storage space, and a clean ambience (even if their room isn’t always spotless!). A crisp feel to a bedroom also creates peace and tranquility; perfect for clearing their mind for a good nights sleep or letting them focus on schoolwork.

White is a great colour a bedroom to make it feel more spacious, clean and modern. A 2.5l tin of Dulux pure brilliant white paint can be bought from Homebase for around £10.

IKEA is a great place for buying décor and fittings for a room, and suitable for anyone with a low budget.
Blue is a tranquil colour that complements bright white walls, so a blue striped quilt cover and pillowcase set from IKEA would be ideal for the bedroom, and at £12.99 is an absolute bargain.

To create the illusion of space and light in a room, mirrors are a superb alternative to windows if a bedroom is dimly lit – and what teenager can live without a mirror?
IKEA’s wiggly mirrors are long, and stylish and at just £6.99 each, the bedroom would have a much lighter feel.
Similarly, adding a bedside lamp to a bedroom gives a calming atmosphere and adds light when it’s needed, whether it’s for bedtime reading or just for comfort. A small, cream table lamp would fit well in any bedroom regardless of colour, for the tiny price of £2.59.

Seeing as clearing out pockets is the cleanest teen’s go, the perfect solution for instant storage space is IKEA’s blue clothes tidy, therefore providing more space in a wardrobe for other possessions. The tidy is just £2.49 and hangs elegantly from the ceiling storing folded clothes, shoes and more.

Finally, if you want to give your daughters room a final touch, IKEA’s blue striped rug is the perfect finish and at £4.99, you can’t go wrong with it.

Teenagers have their own ideas about what they want, so if this isn’t up to ‘their’ standard, then maybe take them along to the Ideal Home exhibition, which is on every year around the country. There’s plenty of inspiring and exciting accessories and decor to see, which would fill you both with ideas for a theme.
Encouraging teens to mastermind their own bedroom make over is smart, and allows them to add their own creative flair to your home.