Once they hit 16, you may find that their bedroom becomes little more than a place to crash and strew about clothes and they are a lot less concerned about what type of curtains they have. And yet, you may have little or no control over what lies within. As the bill payer, maintain some executive authority and start planning what you will do with the room when they go to college or get their own pad (assuming they can afford it).
By Kerry Young
Plan Ahead
Plan at least three years in advance – hard to imagine now, but in a couple of years they might have left home for good, so if you are redecorating, keep in mind that their room might soon be the spare room.
You cannot have too much storage – even if they leave home, they’ll still leave loads of stuff behind. Keep the storage practical for now – you can always downsize it as you begin to get rid of their stuff.
Sound Proof It
Door abit flimsy? A good, solid fire door will help keep noise down in the rest of the house, as will a nice thick carpet instead of floorboards. It works both ways – they’ll need peace and quiet to study, you’ll need protection from their ‘music’.
They might never leave. Or, to put it a better way, it might take them a while to save up a deposit for a flat/get a job/get used to doing their own washing. If this looks like being the case, it’s worth turning the room from a bedroom into a bed sitting room – at least that way you’ll get to watch your telly and they’ll get to watch MTV…
Have A Clear Out
If you can get them to agree to it and you’re redecorating now, have a good clear out of all the old stuff they a) don’t want and b) say they want but you know they won’t take them with them when they do move out. You’ll only have to do it after they’ve gone, so you might as well do it now…
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