Super Cool Space Cocoon:

Designing a space for a teenager has its unique challenges, but in the end, the delight of a kid’s sincere appreciation is both contagious and inspiring. 

Daniel, a 15 year old boy, was self-conscious about his bedroom. The room still had leftover furniture and wallpaper from the time he was a baby. Daniel wanted his room to be ‘cool’ and ‘modern’, but he didn’t know how to go from what he had to what he wanted. With some coaching, we were able to help Daniel discover and communicate the kind of bedroom he would really love. He responded mainly to grays and blue hues, and was adamant about having a large poster of outer space. He needed a desk to work at and a replacement for his old rocking chair.

By far, the most eye-catching element in the room is this spectacular photo-mural of the Witch’s Broom Nebula. It took the photographer over 360 hours of exposure to capture the red and blue colors out of the dark outer space. Because the bedroom is mostly cool grays and blues, we designed the lighting so it provides a warm and inviting glow in the evening. We opted out of the conventional bed headboard and filled the lower part of the mural wall with soft, upholstered faux leather panels in a silver-gray color. We chose a contemporary night stand with a glass top and white gloss finish for sleek and clean look. We suspended a floating pendant above the nightstand, which provides night-time reading light, and gives off the fun feeling of an intergalactic spaceship, traveling through the space. 

Since Daniel loved his old rocking chair so much, we offered him a cocoon-like swivel chair. It may not look that big, but Daniel who is now 6’0’ tall can climb in completely, tucking his legs inside and read for hours. When he really wants to tune out, he swivels the chair to face the ‘spaceship lights’ on the wall, these recessed, linear LED fixtures are dimmable; provide a pleasant glow and an unusual look. The modern glass table houses a fully integrated wireless HiFi speaker system, shaking the room with music when his parents aren't home.

To complete the color scheme, we refinished the oak hardwood floor to ebony black and balanced out some of the more sleek elements of the room with a fuzzy shag rug. We experimented with accent paint to accentuate the digital clock Daniel selected and painted parts of walls. For those lazy Sundays when Daniel gets to sleep in, we made beautiful silver-gray black-out drapes with sophisticated brushed aluminum hardware.

For days when he is hard at work, we selected a contemporary desk in a gloss white finish, and a comfortable white leather chair. We added white display shelves for all Daniel’s sports trophies and futuristic books about space, mind, matter and consciousness. To capture his ideas, we installed a silver running board above the desk where he can save post it notes. 

Now, Daniel is excited to invite friends to his room. He doesn’t love doing his homework anymore than he used to, but he does love having a cool desk when he can play games on his computer. He absolutely loves his new reading chair, and the Witch’s broom mural amazes everyone who enters the room. When we asked what he likes about his room now, he smiled joyfully and said “EVERYTHING!”