A room for the first steps into adulthood

In the last episode of the second season "Home Idea with IKEA" visits a small and happy family of three where young Dāvids is longing for his own small kingdom to learn to be independent after spending long years under the constant surveillance of parents because of health issues. A makeover in Dāvids room is long overdue as it was once meant to be a nursery and hasn't much changed since then. IKEA Interior Designer Ieva is happy to create a room for a teenager as she believes it offers more chances for free expression and bold colour combinations.

When all you see is blue
The biggest piece of furniture in this room is a storage combination in blue and wooden hues. Even though it is good to have spacious storage solution, this can be deceiving. What seems to be an all-rounder, can end up looking much too big, especially if it takes up most of the longest wall in a narrow space like here. Another drawback is that such combinations have little to offer in a way of adjusting them to needs and shelves and cabinets do not always follow the best principles of functionality.

Work or hobby – both need space
The storage combination has a designated work place, but the size and location does not really fit the needs of this room. A small table is good if you only need it from time to time for checking e-mails or paying bills, but it is not a long-term solution for when more time is spent at the desk. Our host Dāvids is a passionate photographer and editing can take many hours. There is definitely a need for more space!

Where to start?
In this room, the storage solutions seem more improvised and not given much thought to. All kinds of different things are stored in the same shelves and the impressive collection of pocket calendars is kept in open boxes where it can be damaged by dust and light. Though there is a lot of stuff, not all the shelves are good organised. IKEA Interior Designer Ieva will face the challenge of finding enough space for everything in such a way that it is also comfortable.

A colour statement
Youth interiors can be bolder and even more avant-garde than those of other rooms in a home. Here, the Interior Designer has chosen to use some contrasts, taking both green and orange – Dāvids favourites – and a more neutral black and white combination as a background for spectrum colour accents that glow like jewels. To bring our even more accents, there are many lamps that allow for a very varied lighting landscape.

A spacious solution for a long and narrow room
In the new interior, as in the old one, the biggest piece of furniture is a storage solution. This time, it has been placed at the shorter wall and, when opening the door, it stays in the back. This really makes a difference as in this way, it is much more inconspicuous. For an airier look, the Interior Designer chose both open and closed cabinets. The mirror reflects the light coming from the window both providing more light and making for a lighter look. The spacious cabinets can hold many clother, shoes and other things.

A place for creativity
An interior should reflect the personality and this is especially true when thinking about youth interiors. It was clear from the start that this room needs a place for some creativity. Dāvids passion is photography, so Ieva set up a whole wall, framed by two wall lamps. There are memo boards for a changing exposition that can be fixed with magnets and some picture ledges for best photos in nice frames. At the lower part of this "creative zone" there is a sleek orange cabinet as an accent.

Order within and without
Closed cabinets are excellent for keeping everything looking tidy as they prevent the clutter from showing. For a real order though, it is not enought to shove everything in and forget about it. The inside of the cabinets has to be organised as well. An affordable and good solution are boxes in different sizes according to whatever has to be stored. For things that are used often, clear plastic boxes are best as you can see immediately what's inside.

Do not underestimate the walls
In small rooms, it is very important to use walls. Here some open shelves reach from above the desk till above the bed. The end closest to desk can be used for storing work-related things and above the bed is a good place for some decorative accessories or plants. A superb solution for small things that tend to get lost around the desk is a pegboard combination that can be completed with different accessories for an individual solution. This way, everything is at hand and found in no time!