What Does/did Your 10 Year Olds Bedroom Look Like?

Updated on May 09, 2016
C.S. asks from Saint Louis, MO
14 answers

My daughter is 10 and through the years has gone through many different phases. With that her bedroom is big mix of different phases of life.

She still has her hard cover bedtime stores on the book shelf, a few paperback books, a couple of princess wall hangings, most of the flowers are gone from the wall, the black and white paisley bedspread is still covering her bed, trophies now line the shelves, and add a little bit of star wars and you have a big mess.

Does or did your 10 year old have a theme?

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So What Happened?

What fun responses. Thanks everyone. It turns out she is normal, ha! I think she would redecorate it if I let her, but so far she has changed it every year or less. Based on your responses, she is right on track and not deprived of a cool room.

Keep'em coming, I had fun reading them.

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H.W.

answers from Portland on

It sounds like her room is uniquely hers, which is great.

My son is nine and it's the same thing, more or less. Right now there is a Hex bug 'workshop' going on (he takes them apart and then rebuilds them) in one corner, Legos in another. Tons of books (Kiddo loves to read). No theme: Star Wars, Minecraft and robots coexist with his own art creations and those which were made for him by a few artist friends when he was born. A full-sized bed with a patchwork quilt, perfect for morning snuggles or going-to-bed chats. It was the room he was born in, so maybe that's the theme?: it's HIS room. :)

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J.S.

answers from St. Louis on

Wish I could post pictures, you would feel so much better about life. Oh themes, thought you meant filth. My daughter is odd, also now 15, she loves to read but she also loves to donate the books to her school library when she is done reading them so we don't have bookshelves. She does have one of those one person hammock chairs in her corner that she likes to read in. The last theme we did was when she was eight. Now she just likes crazy colors on the walls.

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A.G.

answers from Dallas on

That sounds just right! My youngest is 12. His 10 year old room was still full of Lego masterpieces and the books were a mixture like you described. He still had big dragon quilt hanging on the wall over his bed.

Over the past two years it has transitioned to an older boy's room. The dragon quilt has disappeared and Dallas Mavericks paraphernalia has taken its place. A record player and a bunch of records have replaced the Legos. The books are all novels, now.

It's fun to see the changes that take place in our children and in their rooms. :)

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S.B.

answers from Rochester on

Does she also have 8000 stuffed animals everywhere? If so, you just described all 3 of my girls around that age. It is a "theme" (in my opinion) - the "tween years"! For my girls 13th birthdays, we did a teen room makeover. New and updated bedding, culled through the stuffed animals for the most favorites (getting rid of the others to charity), the little kids books (donating to the local library), the barbies (mostly throwing those in the garbage). We created space for school and athletic awards, purchased cool throw rugs and lighting, and basically made an entire weekend out of it. It was a great way to usher in the teen years AND get the room entirely cleaned out.

I didn't think there was a lot of point in doing anything much with their rooms in the 9 - 12 years - my girls were still playing with stuffed animals and barbies one day and reading "big kid" books the next. It was hard for them to "see" the mess at that age. However, maybe your daughter is ready to do a makeover now - each kid is different.

Good luck!

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M.P.

answers from Portland on

She's in transition. Rooms need to have memories. What's important to kids is not usually what is important to adults. My 12 and 15 yo grandchildren have not had a theme in their rooms since they started school. Unless decorating your room however you want is a theme. I wouldn't say that they actually decorate. Their rooms are a mess.

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B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

When our son was little he had fire trucks on a throw rug and on valances to his windows.
In middle school the fire trucks got put away and plain navy curtains were used instead.
For high school he's just got a bit of this and that - no theme really - but then he'll be a senior next fall and we're less worried about his room and we're thinking more about his future dorm room - not any decoration worries but just what he'll need without filling up his little space with pointless junk.
Admittedly - I don't have a single bone in me with any decorating talent.
It's all I can do to keep ahead of the clutter - and I don't always win that battle.

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N.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Transition....

Seriously, no matter what she picks this year or next it will change a few more times before she settles on anything.

We waited and waited and waited for our girl to pick "the" wall color for her teen room. At age 10. She took nearly a year and kept coming back to one (to me it was awful) paint color. But she loved it. She had every accessory picked out, every curtain, bed covers, sheets, pillow cases, bathroom curtain, towels, everything.

I decided it was just paint and that I could shut the door.

She loved it for a year and maybe a half. Then she was tired of it. I can't afford to hire someone to come in and cover the color so it's going to stay that color for the summer. I let her move into a different room with a smaller closet and am currently using this room as something for me. I will pick a color that I like and paint it later this year. For now she's in a room with neutral beige(ish) walls. She has nothing as far as decor yet. I am not buying anything new but she even went down from a queen bed to a twin. So she's just weird right now. When she settles down a bit and decides what she wants in this room then we'll get some paint and do it up again.

It's just paint. It costs less than a hundred to paint it ourselves. She will love it a couple of years and then a couple of years after that she'll be out and in college, hopefully in college, and doing well.

But from age 10-13 her room colors changed daily and her "toys" and "stuff" was in transition all the time.

I actually caught her playing with dolls the other day because they were still on her shelf in her closet. It was sweet.

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M.J.

answers from Sacramento on

We just updated our almost 10-year-old daughter's room about six months ago. No real theme, just posters she likes (mostly kittens and puppies), a variety of knicknacks and books on her bookshelves, a display of her sports team pictures and trophies, and a forest w/animals theme bedspread. She wanted bright green walls (not my first choice, for sure!) so we painted them together. Figure we can repaint when it's time to sell.

At this age, it's about her discovering her own tastes and style, so I ran with what she wanted.

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S.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

Well my daughter is 9 and still shares with her sister, but yes it is a mishmash of books, flowery girly pastels, trophies, and lots of tiny things... figurines, jewelry, tchotchkes, random notes and bookmarks (my kid doesn't even like reading that much!) and still stuffed animals everywhere.

I'm looking forward to separating the two girls eventually and letting them redecorate. I think you are at about that age too.

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V.B.

answers from Jacksonville on

No, she didn't have a "theme" at that age really. But that is around the age when she started asking to do things to change up her room. She wanted her walls painted (from violet to black... uh.. no. Pick another color. She could never decide on one, so it's still violet, but now, at 14, she's thinking blue and brown). She added posters of Lord of the Rings, Superheros (big, big Marvel comics fan), and left the drawings she did as a younger person. She/we ditched some of the more little girl styled furniture right after Christmas this year (at 14!) and upgraded to more cubicle style (with the pull out bins), which is what she wanted.

I would probably not worry too much right now, but maybe look ahead to another couple of years and plan to re-do things then, when her more mature self will want it really different than what she thinks she wants now (at 10). Because it Will change.
You can do more modest/subtle/inexpensive changes now, though. And maybe change them again later if needed. A new quilt/bedspread. A new set of drapes/curtain. Add a more teen styled chair (our daughter got a bungee chair around then). Have her clean off her walls and only put back what she wants (store/save/take pictures for posterity the rest). Clean/clear off the dresser completely, and decide what she actually wants back, and what can be garage saled or donated. And so on.

But major furniture changes and paint... I'd probably wait another couple years.

But oh... the biggest difference is it went from semi-organized/controlled mess to a complete disaster 24/7/365. Complete with wet towels on the floor every morning that I have to fuss at her about every day.
---
After reading the other responses, yes! My daughter had a boat load of stuffed animals (around then we got under bed storage and put them all in there and under the bed). And her computer tower desk was covered with arts/crafts/boxes that she had made, decorated or assembled. Every nook and cranny, and then some. One corner has her keyboard in it and baskets of music books. That is still there. Only now she's added violin, ukulele, flute and clarinet cases....
It's a work in progress, like she is. :)

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❤.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

It looked messy.
Did not have a theme.
Had all the things she loved. Plus a mix of her young kid toys mixed with "I'm turning into a pre-teen
stuff". It took awhile to morph into a full teenagers room. Still messy. :) Some kids are just messy.
I brought in shelves and a desk to help.
It's ok if it looks a little mish mash at this age. Try bringing in organizational tools (bins, shelves,
clear shoe boxes etc.).
I think it's ok if she doesn't have a theme yet. I bet that will come later. She probably just enjoys
having "all of her diff stuff".

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S.W.

answers from Amarillo on

At 10 my grandson had a NASCAR room. I made him curtains, bedspread, pillows, floor pillows, pillow cases, and a few other odds and ends. Over the years the only things that are left pillow cases and the bedspread which became a wooby blanket. He is now 18 almost 19 and the bedspread has a special spot in his life.

So live with the mess now as it will change into another one. I recall having college pennants pinned on the closet door of area schools. Somewhere in there there were photos of current pop stars back in the day (the 60s). Near my late teen years I redid the room in paint, curtains and bedspread (dyed it to match a color in the curtain) which is how it stayed until I got married and moved out.

It is a place/space where they can express who they are even if it is something we would like to hide by closing the door. Our parents were after us back then to keep a "clean" room. It is part of growing up. Take some pictures and put them in the book so you can discuss them later in life.

Happy Mother's Day.

the other S.

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R.K.

answers from Appleton on

When we moved into our house in 2001 my daughter 15 wanted her room BRIGHT pink with silver stars on the wall and a dark blue ceiling with more silver stars. She moved out in June 2006, my Mom moved into the room February 2007, I haven't repainted it yet.
I thought it might be the only time she would ever be able to have her room exactly as she wanted it was then. So I let her have it as she wished. The only thing I said no to were the blinds she picked out they were way beyond my budget.
You daughter will decide on a theme or a style in a year or two. Until then she is growing from a little girl to a young woman. Remember it's just paint and when she moves out you can always repaint and redecorate. Until then enjoy these moments with her.

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N.P.

answers from Chicago on

that was the year my kid asked for her room to be redone -- we took down the castle theme stuff, that beautiful mural :( and then she picked out a theme that was Sari's because the material is so pretty, so we draped those over the ceiling of the room, got bedding in that style, some throw pillows, etc. As far as the stuff in the room, it was a mix of this and that.

My younger daughter moved into that room when she was 10, switching rooms with the older one, so the Sari's went away and it was a mix of pictures, posters and just stuff in there. But in a funny twist the older daughter, who was now 14 almost, got her room redone in a super bright yellow with comic book theme, perfect for that 5 yr old boy ... lol.. They are both girls, lol

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