How Becca upgraded her teen son's bedroom
Take a tour of Dylan's Ocean-coloured bedroom after a teenage-friendly refresh (with plenty of lockers, of course!)
Teenagers are known for breaking the rules. So it's pretty appropriate that Dylan's freshly spruced-up room breaks one of the old 'laws' of colour: blue and green should never be seen (who came up with that doozy, anyway?) With the co-founder of Mustard, Becca as his Mum, Dylan had the green light to lean into the colours of nature for this calming yet colourful space!
by the sea
For Dylan's bedroom, Becca had the paint colour matched to our Ocean lockers. It's a handy trick that gets the colour just right so the matching locker blends right in. "Ocean is the perfect shade of soft, grey-blue that changes with the light," Becca says of this gentle, soothing colour. "I've been loving the colour-drenching trend of painting the trims to match the walls so we went all in with blue all over." Want to do the same? Check out our blog on colour-matching your paint.
teen room must-haves
There are a few things that Becca considers essential in a teenage bedroom. One is a desk space — for obvious reasons! Becca designed Dylan's desk and had it custom-made to make maximum use of the wall space and to be the perfect spot for a Sage Shorty underneath. With the trusty Shorty to hide away all the study-related clutter, Dylan uses the shelving above his desk to proudly display his extensive Lego collection.
The other essential? A TV! Dylan's sits above his Ocean Midi, with all the wires and cables tucked neatly out of view and his console safe inside the locker. "With two little brothers in the house, it's nice for Dylan to have a bit of a retreat space in his bedroom," Becca explains. "Things can get chaotic out here so I don't blame him for wanting to shut the little ones out sometimes! Actually, I'm tempted to join him."
earth to Dylan
To ground the serene blue wall colour, Dylan's room uses a palette of earthy, rust-coloured bedlinen from Society of Wanderers with a trio of Olive Skinnys for a wardrobe. One for his clothes, one for school uniform and sports stuff and one for board games (yes, he has a lot!) With lots of beautiful block colours in the room, they added some pattern in the form of gingham curtains and a striped rug to tie it all together. By keeping the main features of the room pared back and uncluttered, Dylan's personal touches really shine — like his quirky blue Lego shelving and the vintage letterpress drawer mounted above his bed for those little treasures. The VJ panelling and picture rail were added to give texture and create a more balanced sense of proportion in the room, and nod back to the original style of the house.
The bed is a subtle star of the space. It's a compact plywood design that has a huge drawer (full of Lego of course) underneath. Bringing in some greenery in planters by Capra Designs gives the room that lift of life — and something else for Dylan to add to his chores list!
goodbye, clutter
As anyone without it knows, storage is the key to keeping clutter at bay! While Becca loves her home's character-filled cottage style, like many older homes built-in storage is nowhere to be seen. That's where lockers come in! "Mustard was born from my own storage needs. As a mum of three boys, I have to say that I love that I can throw things inside a locker and shut (or lock!) the door," Becca says. "Instant tidy, instant calm!" Plus, unlike most of their things, kids don't outgrow lockers. "I love that a Mustard locker will last a lifetime and still be useful as the kids grow up. It's an investment piece that works just as well in a teenager's room or dorm room" — case in point — "and hopefully will be that piece that they'll want to take with them when they move out!"
So, what does Dylan think of his new bedroom? In true teenager style, he was effusive with his praise and said, "It's good."
