I'm not really a fan of the PB furniture (the hard case goods) - I've seen them at the outlet and they get very dinged up. I think they're made with a lot of soft woods.... I think the Stanley Young America is decent quality, we got both our boys the Stanley beds. If you can get it at NC, you can get a pretty good price (less than PB stuff too).

This is a link to a website that has lots of instructions for copying the Pottery Barn style. Most of them are quite easy to follow.

Here is a link that might be useful: Knock off Wood Blog

We have a storage bed from PB Teen for our daughter and are pleased with the way it has held up and with their delivery/set up. We also have PB Teen bean bag 'lounges' or loveseats in our daughter's and son's rooms. Mixed reviews on those (2 separate chairs that are supposed to make a lounger, but there's always a gap) but they are cute and their friends seem to like them.

We got our son's furniture from Costco about 6 years ago (bunkbeds, dresser, nightstand.) It took a long time to arrive, but the quality is really good (e.g., drawer glides slide easily, wood does not ding.) We were happy with their set up. I swapped out the plain knobs for something more fun and will swap them out again when he wants an 'older' look.

Our DS is also 17. He has had the same furniture in his room for probably 8 years, and it still looks good, and will be fine as guest room furniture if he never comes back home! What he has is a very basic, almost Shaker style maple bureau and matching nightstand, and a bookshelf that isn't exactly matching but in the same wood tone. I bought all the furniture at a local store that makes good quality, basic solid wood furniture.

I have heard a lot of horror stories about Ikea furniture lately, including bedroom furniture. I'd stay away from them if you want quality.

We have found full-size platform beds online -- just do a search. My DS has a very basic, non kiddie-looking, platform bed in his room that we ordered online... but it was several years ago, so I can't remember where it came from.

Craigslist! Better furniture; better prices.

I appreciate everyone's suggestions.
Mitchdesj - I had thought about Ikea but wasn't sure about the quality. We don't have any Ikea stores here (Oklahoma) - closest one would be Dallas - so I would have to order online. Don't mind doing that, but I like to at least be able to see/feel something from a particular company to know how it is made before I order.
Miller88 - I appreciate your input about PB furniture. They have some great styles for teens, but I would hate to spend that much $$ for something that is soft and easily dinged/chipped. Might work for most teen girls, but I'm not sure about my son! I looked at the Stanley website and saw a couple of collections that look interesting. Sent them an email to see if there are any dealers in my area.
Pudgeder - What a great website! Unfortunately, no one in this family has much woodworking ability, and I don't know of anyone who might be able to build something for us. But I am going to bookmark the site for future reference.
Chicagoans - We don't have Costco here - just SAM'S Club. I wish we did!
Sueb20 - I agree - a neutral 'timeless' style would be a good choice. My son would probably like a platform bed - he tends to like styles that lean a little contemporary. I had done a little online searching and found some possibilities, but I was unsure about the quality of the furniture and about the reliability of the websites....
Sweeby - No question - most older furniture is much better quality than the new stuff. If I could find something on Craigslist, I would be thrilled. But I have been checking for weeks with no luck....
Would love to hear any other ideas.

As I find myself telling folks these days, have you checked out your local antique malls? or consignment shops? I would add thrift stores, but to be honest I find the thrift store furniture around me to be cheap, mostly dated junk that is priced at higher amounts than any of the antique malls that I'm in.

I am always really amazed at the great prices that people have on second hand furniture, most of it is good quality (all wood) not necessarily an antique, but built well, and priced CHEAPER than any store you'll go into.

and if you go and dont see what you are looking for, tell the shop owner or any of the dealers what you are hoping to find, chances are they have the means and connections to find stuff (it's their business afterall to buy what people will buy from them).

We had a similar dilemma with our own DS when he was a teen. I looked at a lot of different options, but decided to go with a daybed for a number of reasons.
1) Teens tend to spend the majority of the time in their rooms, lounging on their beds and on the floor. I wanted something that would hold up to a lot of flops and would act as a kind of sofa for him and his friends that came over to hang out with him.
2) I chose a single with a separate slide-out trundle (not the ones that look like drawers) in case company needed to sleep there. In my mind, two singles are more versatile than a double. The single gave him more floor space for a beanbag, floor pillows, a rug, and a small entertainment center for his tv, stereo, books, Nintendo, etc. It also gave him and his buddies room to sprawl ;^D
3) DS requested a room that would act as a den for him and his friends. A double bed in there would not have worked for that. He really enjoyed having this room all through middle and high school . . . and in college, when he came home for visits. It worked especially well then, as he loved bringing friends home with him to show them New Mexico.

A couple of things I learned if you do go the daybed route.
~ buy a good, sturdy one, without a back and arms. Guys tend to be rough on furniture at that age and he broke his first daybed frame horsing around. He disliked the arms and back, as he said he was always bumping his head and feet on the wood.
~ use a simple, easy to care for, machine-washable coverlet for the daybed. One with a small, dark print or a dark, plain one is preferable for guys.
~ large floor pillows with washable covers
~ ditto with pillows for the bed, so he can lean against them while sitting in bed. They will end up on the floor eventually, though ;^D
Lynn

You may want to check out Durham's Solid Choices Program Collection. I am planning on going that route for my daughter, since her room can also only hold a full. I have Durham in my master, great quality furniture.

Here is a link that might be useful: Solid Choices Program Collection

I think you have several good suggestions above and with my three kids I've incorporated many of them over the years in their rooms. Years ago we invested in the Stanley Young America line for my elder two. It has held up really well so it's definitely good quality and looks good also for many years. It is a tad pricy, though. When my DS became a teenager he really liked the IKEA line and they have some great options for storage, desks, bookcases, etc. Also he liked the black furniture so he has one of their deep black bookcases we fliped in the long direction. It is just ideal for all of his textbooks, etc. and the black coordinates very well with the solid birch bed and desk from Stanley. We've since added some more black accents with frames and coat rack as I didn't want to paint or invest in new furniture for him. I'm a great fan of CL and firmly feel some of the best furniture you can buy was made 30-40 years ago--it's all solid wood stuff and held the test of time and available for a fraction of the cost. Now for my youngest DD I've just purchased her all vintage 1940's furniture on CL and am painting it white. It's given me freedom to pick and choose the pieces that work for her small space and since they are all from the same era it works. So defintely give CL a good look before buying new.

I also agree with Lynn regarding beds. All of my kids have so much stuff they want to store in their rooms besides the beds that we've never even considered anything larger than a twin. DS #1 has storge drawers below, DD #1 has a captain's bed also with storage drawers and DD #2 has a daybed with trundle.

I second-the-motion re:consignment/antique stores. Consignment stores won't consign 'junk', so you can usually find fairly good, quality furniture in a variety of styles. The only down-side is you sometimes have to play the waiting game.

Antique stores will have Danish Modern, or often called, Mid-century Modern. It's all wood w/clean, slick lines and IMO, very masculine. Headboards are usually low, and dressers are with/without handles. Dings can be easily touched up w/Olde English. ;o)