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Budget Teen Boy Bedroom Reno – Our Makeover Plan

How do you do a Budget Teen Boy Bedroom Reno with little to no money? Here’s our plan to makeover our son’s bedroom on a tight budget in just 6 weeks time.

Budget Teen Boy Bedroom Reno - Our plan to create a makeover for our son on a tight budget

WARNING! Scary photos ahead! Photos filled with teenage mess so bad that you quite possibly can smell the stench through the screen.

Or if you have a teen son under your roof, then you may feel right at home.

There comes a time on the parenting journey when you start to see your baby bird try to stretch their wings to get ready to fly, pulling away as they prepare to take on this big world by themselves. That’s what I started noticing with our oldest son.

My gentle giant.

We’ve lovingly given him this moniker that he wears proudly. At 14 years of age, he stands at 6 foot 5 inches tall with his heart on his sleeve. This separation began this past Christmas, when he asked for a game room instead of gifts. A room to hide away in just as any teen wants to do. We find him choosing that space instead of family time more often than not.

Recently, he came to me and said, “Mom, you’ve made over most of the downstairs, but haven’t really done anything upstairs yet. Can your next room reno be my room?”

Be still my heart! My son is asking for me to hang out and help him create a room for him?! Trying to hide my obviously giddy glee from scaring the idea out of him, I nonchalantly said, “I dunno… We’ll see.”

Of course, I was immediately online looking up ideas, but he didn’t need to know that!

When we first moved into our Almost Farmhouse, the only makeovers we did in his room was remove the window treatments, install a ceiling fan and freshen the paint.

Moving closer to family - we are so glad to be back in Tennessee. This is the upstairs boys room
Budget Teen Boy Bedroom Reno - Our plan to create a makeover for our son on a tight budget

After hours of searching online, I was so excited to totally flip and trick this room out with such grandiose plans.

And then life happened. I shared earlier this week how Trent’s job hangs in the balance, and any decor budget right there along with it.

But instead of feeling discouraged about not being able to replace the carpet or creating an awesome feature wall, my creative juices went into overdrive to find a way to give my son the room he wants for the few remaining years he’s under my roof.

Budget Teen Boy Bedroom Reno - Our plan to create a makeover for our son on a tight budget

Here’s our plan for this Budget Teen Boy Bedroom

First – the MUSTs – the repairs we have to tackle that go above and beyond the fun decor stuff.

  • Repair the Bifold Closet Doors. They have fallen off the track and one of the pegs has broken. We need new hardware to hang those doors back up.
  • Fix the Closet floor and build a better closet system.
Budget Teen Boy Bedroom Reno - Our plan to create a makeover for our son on a tight budget

All the closets in this home had a weird, angled shoe shelf installed in the floor, making storage impossible. We removed that oddball a few years ago, but never repaired the exposed subfloor underneath.

And since Mr. Gentle Giant is sooooo tall, the distance between the top and bottom bars makes hanging his long clothes almost impossible without snagging the clothes from up top. We’re planning on redesigning the closet layout to fit his clothes.

Budget Teen Boy Bedroom Reno - Our plan to create a makeover for our son on a tight budget
  • Fix the door to the room. As you can see, it’s currently taped together. We aren’t sure why, but the glue has separated causing the door to fan out from the frame. This should be an easy fix.

So those are what has to be tackled for sure, but now for the NEEDs.

Budget Teen Boy Bedroom Reno - Our plan to create a makeover for our son on a tight budget
  • Fix or build better bookshelves. These are two side shelves that we temporarily screwed together to create storage for him. The center unit is what we used for our Mudroom Makeover we did a few years back! By the way, can you guess which one is my son’s self-titled “Nerd Shelf”?
  • A new dresser. Hopefully I can score something at a garage sale or goodwill to keep it on the cheap, but his current tall dresser doesn’t provide enough storage for his man-sized clothes.
  • New Paint. My son wants a very dark room. In fact, he first requested black which was vetoed. To give you a taste of his humor, he said in full sarcasm, “I want my walls as dark as the thoughts in my mind.” He’s anything but dark and already has us laughing. This is going to be so fun!
Budget Teen Boy Bedroom Reno - Our plan to create a makeover for our son on a tight budget
  • Finish the faux brick corner. We had some extra brick paneling laying around and I thought it would be fun to add to this jut out in the corner of the room, but we never got around to finishing it.
Budget Teen Boy Bedroom Reno - Our plan to create a makeover for our son on a tight budget

Do you notice anything missing?

Usually, I share a design plan that I have in mind. This room does not have one.

Not that I haven’t tried! It’s the fact that the idea and the bottom dollar don’t line up. I’ve been back to the drawing board a half-dozen times to create something, and you know what? It’s not working this round. So guess what we’re doing?

Budget Teen Boy Bedroom Reno - Our plan to create a makeover for our son on a tight budget

We’re winging it!

Lots of repurposing and creative stuff is going to have to happen in order to create this room. I know I have to address bedding, lighting, and storage while creating an aesthetic feel that suits our teen.

But here’s what I don’t want to miss  – the memories I can create by doing this with my son.

We only have our children in our charge for a little while, and as they get older, those tender moments grow farther and farther apart. I’m going to try to make this a fun experience for my boy while finding opportunities to build a bond that will last a lifetime.

And I’m already seeing it happen! So will you follow along with me for these next six weeks? I promise to share any juicy details that are sure to tug at anyone’s heart strings! And hopefully this might encourage you to create a space with your stinky, angsty, hormonal teen and find a moment or two to share.

I always enjoy linking up to the One Room Challenge each Spring and Fall, and with our current circumstances, I almost passed it up. Boy, am I glad that my son asked me to do this and I hope that it not only turns out to be a fun Budget Teen Boy Bedroom makeover, but that it also leaves an indelible mark on his heart.

This is my fourth time participating in Linda’s ORC and I always leave amazed and wowed by what everyone accomplished in a short period of time. This season, we aren’t knocking out walls or making huge renovations, but it’s sure to be a fun journey doing this together with my son.

Be sure to head over and find other blogs to follow along on their journey.  You are sure to be inspired.

Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Final Reveal

Don’t miss another post! Join my email list so you get all the latest updates!

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To see our other rooms we’ve made over in the past – check out the pics below!

Vintage Inspired Laundry Room

Vintage Farmhouse Powder Room

Making Over Our Master Bedroom

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26 Comments

  1. How exciting for your son! I look forward to seeing how you make it all work!

  2. Thanks Tash – I appreciate the encouragement. We are soaking up each and every second with this young man during this project and I think it’s important that he learns the art of penny pinching as well!

  3. Hey hey sweet Carol! Thank you for the encouragement! We are excited to make over this space for him – and I appreciate you cheering us on!

  4. Thanks Jamie! His room is huge which is perfect for his supersized frame. Excited to see your reveal!

  5. Thank you sweet Krista! This is going to be fun making this room over with my son!

  6. Such a nice project for you and your Gentle Giant to work on together. 🙂 Enjoy every moment! Sometimes the best designs are born out of the need to be creative with a limited budget. Can’t wait to see how it all takes shape!

  7. Jen, lucky boy! I predict that this ORC will be amazing. Because it has to be for a great kid. Nothing sparks creativity like a low budget. Anyone can do great design with $$$. It will be much more fun (for us observers) to see what you come up with this way. You go girl!

  8. I have to be honest, I’m kind of jealous of his room now! I can’t wait to see it made over. It’s huge! And it looks like he’s musical just like my 14 year old. I’m so glad that you stopped by and said hello. Looking forward to following along with you, too!

  9. So exciting Jen! You’ve done such a stunning job on your ORC rooms in the past, I can’t wait to see how yours comes out!!

  10. What a great space! Looking forward to seeing it transform! Cheering you on! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

  11. Thanks Mary! We are looking forward to this fun time with our boy as well as teaching him the fine art of penny pinching!

  12. Thanks Jen! I read my post to my husband and he got teary-eyed at the thought of him leaving. This is going to be a special project that I think all of us will love!

  13. Thanks Christina! He is a sweetheart – trying to soak up every second of this makeover!

  14. I think it is wonderful that he asked you to do this, normally at that age they just want us to stay away. He has a wonderful space to work with and I can’t wait to see what you do!!

  15. Yeah, I have the two boys so that was not scary at all 🙂
    Looking forward to seeing the makeover

  16. I have a 14 year old too! It’s such a fun age. I can’t wait to see what you do in his room.

  17. Jen I think the makeovers that are done on the fly are sometimes the best because they free you up. I also have a teen that loves dark and has black thoughts too. Never a dull moment In our case because I had no definite plan we ended up with an ombre wall which I normally would have nixed too but instead it freed us. And the room is so much better for it. Miracles can be worked on a shoestring budget.

  18. This will be a fun upgrade for him, a nice transition into an adult room before he heads off to college in a few years. The closet will make a world of difference to him, I am excited to see your design journey!

  19. What a cool space, and he wanted you to do it! He sounds like a sweetheart too. Can’t wait to watch the progress.