Room of the Day: Miami Beach Style for a Virginia Teen Hangout

Don’t let the glam look fool you — this spare room for high schoolers and their friends can be cleaned and neatened in a snap

Fred Albert July 1, 2014

Houzz Contributor. Fred has written about architecture and design for many Web sites and magazines, including Houzz, Metropolitan Home, House Beautiful and Style 1900.

Houzz Contributor. Fred has written about architecture and design for many Web sites... More

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Kathy Corbet had better things to do with her time than clean up after her teenagers. So she decided to give them a space that was theirs alone to do what they wanted with.

The Richmond, Virginia, interior designer turned a spare room in her 1950s brick Cape Cod–style home into a hangout for her daughters, Carolyn, 16, and Emme, 15. With a blast of color and finishes that can resist almost anything, the room accommodates kids, pets, homework and video games with equal aplomb — and can be cleaned up in a snap.

Kathy Corbet Interiors

Photography by John Magor

“I wanted them to have a place where they could come with their friends … instead of going to the mall,” says Corbet. The designer was attracted to the glamour and fun of South Beach and made that Miami Beach enclave the starting point for the room’s design. Although she took charge of the decorating, she made sure the girls were involved. Every choice offered several options, and the girls were allowed to pick. (Even husband Bill got to vote on colors. “Otherwise he only cared that he was getting a huge projection TV,” says Corbet, laughing.)

Benjamin Moore’s Coastal Paradise washes the room in a spirited wave of aqua, complemented by a white painted floor and a Surya rug that hides dog hair. The Zuo Modern Contemporary sectional is covered with durable imitation leather. “I’ve Windexed brownies off of it,” raves Corbet. “It’s incredible. For a room that looks so fancy and glamorous, it’s easy to care for.”

Side table: Roost; ceiling light: Anemone, Robert Abbey; rug: Rhapsody Collection, Surya; wire table: vintage

Kathy Corbet Interiors

The girls wanted a big-screen TV in the room, but Corbet insisted on a projector TV instead, figuring that the 4 or 5 inches a set would protrude from the wall would be enough to make the narrow space feel pinched.

Sixteen-year-old Carolyn, a technology wiz, researched projection systems and selected a high-definition Optoma projector, which shines a picture 90 inches across onto the opposing wall. Originally, Corbet applied a special wall paint designed for projection TVs, but found that ordinary Kilz primer actually improved the picture. “We lived in that room during the Olympics,” she says.

Muralist Diane Williams of Art 2 Di For painted the border, which was inspired by waves and adds a loopy sense of fun to the room.

Kathy Corbet Interiors

The window treatments seem inspired by waves as well. “I wanted them to be simple, and I didn’t want them to contrast with the walls,” says Corbet, who fashioned valances from a Pindler & Pindler linen trimmed in studded leather. Roller shades tucked behind the valance help control the light.

Kathy Corbet Interiors

The ground-floor room was once a master bedroom. Corbet turned the old closet into a homework center, so she (and dog Scout) can keep an eye on the girls while they’re studying. Best of all, when friends come to call, all they have to do is close the doors, and the clutter is out of sight. “I can get that room party ready in an instant,” the designer says.

Chairs: Palecek

Kathy Corbet Interiors

A subwoofer rests on the floor next to a child-size Ghost Chair from Kartell.

Kathy Corbet Interiors

The girls can keep track of video game competitions thanks to a peel-and-stick dry-erase board that’s adhered to the wall.

Although the room is seldom completely clean, that doesn’t bother Corbet. Her daughters enjoy spending time here. So do their friends. And that’s what really counts.

Dry-erase board: Whitey Board

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