How old is your son? And can we see the whole room?

My son is 19 and away at college. We've been working to give the room a more adult look and recently updated the furniture with nicer items. Previously, the room had Ikea furniture that I didn't have to worry about teenage boys destroying! We also took down tons of childhood posters and memorablia, before painting. I'll post a few more pictures when I go home. Thanks for your response.

I would try a pop of a blue Linen or twill curtain.

Curtain panels are going to be a problem with the side table. Shutters would look stunning in that room.

Will he be keeping the shades up during the day? A double rod with sheers and blue or linen curtains (as Robin Reyes) suggested would give daytime privacy as well as decorative pattern.

A 19 year old is a young adult. He may have very definite opinions on the lamps and curtains. A small decorative pillow is not likely to be appreciated, IMHO, while the nice big new pillows will probably appeal to him a lot.

Sorry but that space looks like a granny bedroom no 19 yr old I know would like that decor. Ask him what he wants first then come back right now this is a room you want .Did you ask him he wanted the memoribilia removed this is his space ask questions.

Here are a few more pictures of the room. I'll eventually replace the bookshelf and entertainment stand with nicer furniture, but this is the way it looks now.

Our son was ready for a more updated look and liked the bed and bedding. He is in school 10 hours away and therefore home for holidays and will likely be studying abroad this summer. When he is home he wants his books, tv/Playstation, and a couch for friends to crash. The rest is negotiable.

I don’t think drapes are the solution until you address the overall layout of this room and color scheme. Seems the sofa and carpet don’t harmonize well color wise IMO and I noticed this in your ideabook that might work for layout.

The TV really needs to go on the opposite wall and if you use comfy swivel chairs like this arrangement he and a friend can comfortably hang out. The TV placement where it currently sits will fight with any drapes and just create more awkwardness. Once you get the chairs picked out that will help determine drapes. If you said no way to ditching the sofa then I’d say just leave the windows as they are until your son moves out after college and then you can rethink the whole sofa thing. Good luck!

How does your son feel about losing his childhood room? You've basically turned it into a guest room.

Years ago, there used to be a column in House Beautiful by a wonderful woman, Dee Hardie. Oh how I looked forward to her monthly column! Everyone wanted her for their next door neighbor/best friend.

She told how she redid a daughter's room when she went to college - it was to be a very grown up room now and a big surprise. DD came home from college, saw her new room, and burst into tears, yelling at her mother, "You've just taken away my entire childhood!". Of course, Dee was devastated - just didn't think of it that way.

My DD is now 46 and her bedroom still has varsity letters on plaques, a chair with stuffed animals, and many other things from her childhood. I think she'd be shattered if I removed them. Her boys love seeing all her old things. It's her room and will stay that way until she dismantles the house to move me out - either to the nursing home or the graveyard!

I don’t know why people assume the OP hasn’t had a discussion with their son about this. Can we leave it to purely design direction so we don’t scare posters away? Sheesh.

I don't know. I have 2 college grandsons, 18 and 20, and another one 25 and out of college. This would not be a room they would want to come home to. While a lot of their childhood mementos may be gone from their rooms, it has been replaced by college and sports memorabilia, still casual in decor, not middle-age adult. Of course all kids are different. What are your son's interests and hobbies? You said he liked the bedding which is surprising; it is quite feminine for a 19 yr old young man. Drapes and sheers would make it more so. Have you actually sat down with him and gotten "his" ideas"?

got email sale from Kohl's showed 40" panel in a blue or blue-grey idk...not too narrow for his? 2 chairs ok, but if tv is better there, I guess sofa is too!

I think it’s an awesome room for a 19 yr old college kid to come home to. Big bed, big couch, mounted tv and mom. I’ve got two 6 ft tall 16 yr old boys that would love that room. as a matter of fact they each picked out bedroom furniture for their bedrooms for our new house after outgrowing twin beds and pottery barn quilts and picked out adult stuff much like this. I’m no designer but I’m putting black out Roman shades on their windows. College kids like to sleep in. I like the bedding but pick out a couple of plush, large throws. One for the bed and one for the couch.

these are my last two Kids. College kids aren’t that picky. They just want a warm, comfortable place to come home and sprawl. Good job imho.

Btw my middle dd studied abroad at Bond Universit...worth checking out!

Personally I agree with thinkdesignlive--

I just think anglophillia got off topic and put in some non-design advice that just did not belong here.

There is nothing wrong with her design ability

I think the room is lovely. Going back to window treatments, I like the idea of Roman shades, but I see you already have functional blinds so in that case I would entertain panels just to "dress" the windows.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I agree that the room has a bit of an identity crisis. For the 8 years we’ve lived in the house our son had anything he wanted on the walls & we were always “that house” with tons of kids in & out all the time. He has a huge collection of baseball memorabilia, which I moved (with his blessing) to a small bedroom that is now a home gym. He was home when we did much of this over the summer. He is a musician, but his instruments are at school. I promise he doesn’t feel mistreated!
I do like the idea of Roman Shades for the room & will look at some options.
I plan to eventually replace the carpet likely with the hardwood that is in the rest of the house.

The forum is pretty much anti drapery...

How about a menswear type fabric? I feel like the room could use some pattern and some more fabric. Grommet if they will be stationary, ripplefold if you want something to open and close easily.

I also thought something like navy drapes or a striped pattern might work. The Roman shades I looked at were striped as well.

Louise, you don't need to defend yourself or your son here! Please don't...

I agree with thinkdesignlive...this is a forum for design. Other comments are not well-intentioned, imho. And I, for one, am glad that she commented on it (otherwise I would have been the "school marm" who would have pointed out how rude it is to comment on someone else's parenting...If you won't do it face to face...don't do it while hiding behind the screen....)

I like the idea of navy...what about a pinstripe fabric?

I actually think the room looks pretty great, and if 19-y-o son is on board, so much the better. Love the bed; has a bit of a British Colonial feel.

I do think curtains would finish the room. And unless the TV gets turned so he can watch it in bed, it looks a little high. If you keep it there, I would put a wide dresser underneath. Lamps could also be taller. They look a bit stunted next to that bed.

Thank you for these ideas! I do plan to get a larger piece of furniture for below the TV. I would be open to swaping the lamps for larger, less feminine ones. I did consider centering the bed between the windows and placing the TV on the opposite side. If I did this, I might do a couple of chairs where the bookcase is now and move the bookcase. May have to play a bit more with layout options.

I LOVE the picture that @thinkdesignlive pulled from my ideabook. Months after adding that picture, I was on FB Marketplace and someone was selling the same Drexel Heritage bed and Restoration Hardware end tables for pennies on the dollar. I couldn't believe my luck!

@Ilovered wow, Bond University looks amazing. Our son will likely be in Russia this summer for 6 weeks as part of a language immersion program. Then, I hope next summer he has an internship before he graduates! He wants a comfy bed, but beyond that he is pretty uninterested in the design of his room. His grandparents use the room more than he does now.

Just for reference, this was his room before:

Louise I like your last idea. I don’t think the TV works there unless it’s centered regardless of what’s below it. Knowing the bed will be an obstacle to that and to TV watching I do think moving it is the best for the room.

I like the room. Blue would be a nice touch. Your son will be moving on (and away) with his life soon anyway.

I didn't know drapes had a gender.

Wanted to post an update for my son’s room. I rearranged the room as several of you suggested. I ended up getting rid of the couch and replacing it with a comfy chair and ottoman. I went with navy drapes that have a heavy cotton weave texture. Below are a few pictures:

Thanks to everyone who weighed in and gave advice. :)

That looks great.

Very nice! I like everything about the new arrangement, drapes and furniture.

Much better outcome than what you started with!

You could put a foam mattress under the big bed for his friends who couch surf?