Room of the Day: A Teen’s Bedroom Branches Out
This room's global bohemian style includes a chandelier inspired by a trip to India, and comfy spots to play and listen to music
Interior designer Jen Talbot always likes to skew mature when designing for teens, getting to know her clients well and finding things they’ll love for many years to come. This room was part of a whole-home redesign for a family of Indian descent, who had recently downsized and moved from the suburbs to the city. Their 16-year-old daughter is a musical talent who has a serious case of wanderlust, and Talbot worked with her to incorporate her favorite things and worldly inspirations when outfitting her room.
Talbot used to work for Anthropologie and is an expert in installation art, so she wasn’t the least bit daunted by creating a one-of-a-kind light fixture inspired by the tree in India. Her biggest challenge was finding branches in the forest that she could get through the door and into the room. She put several together and hung her creation from the ceiling with eye hooks and fishing wire. The lights are strung on a delicate copper cord that is unobtrusive. She then wrapped goose feathers in wire and hung them from the branches.
To conceal the lights’ wire on its way down to the outlet near the bed, she used black zip ties to hide it behind the tree’s “trunk,” the large branch in the corner. The lights are on a dimmer so that the teen can adjust the ambience of the room.
Firefly string lights: Urban Outfitters
To conceal the lights’ wire on its way down to the outlet near the bed, she used black zip ties to hide it behind the tree’s “trunk,” the large branch in the corner. The lights are on a dimmer so that the teen can adjust the ambience of the room.
Firefly string lights: Urban Outfitters
The teen scored the vintage sitar for about $75 at a market in India and is taking lessons to learn to play it. The drums are vintage and from India as well. Two wooden bookshelves give her plenty of room to store her albums, books and other favorite things, while the caramel leather chair gives her a comfy place to play and listen to music. “She’ll sit in her room and teach herself how to play different instruments for hours,” Talbot says.
A wool rug made in India gives her a soft spot on the floor to sit and play the drums. A stitched leather pouf, a light fixture with an African-bead-inspired chain and The Beatles’ iconic Abbey Road album add to the musical and global themes.
Shelves: Cost Plus World Market; chair: Restoration Hardware; Azi rug: CB2
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A wool rug made in India gives her a soft spot on the floor to sit and play the drums. A stitched leather pouf, a light fixture with an African-bead-inspired chain and The Beatles’ iconic Abbey Road album add to the musical and global themes.
Shelves: Cost Plus World Market; chair: Restoration Hardware; Azi rug: CB2
See more Rooms of the Day
Bedroom at a Glance
What happens here: A 16-year-old girl teaches herself to play instruments, reads, listens to her favorite albums and sleeps
Location: Chicago
Size: 360 square feet (33.4 square meters)
Designer: Jen Talbot
“This is an amazing family, and the parents have really fostered an environment for their kids to be creative and be whatever they want to be,” Talbot says. They recently moved to the city to be part of a more diverse population, to be closer to the culture Chicago offers and to give their kids a more well-rounded education.
The teen had recently taken an inspiring trip to India and wanted to explore where the rich and powerful experiences she’d had there could take her creatively. She was inspired by a tree she’d seen there and wanted to incorporate one into her room. Talbot translated it into a dreamy, forest-fairy-like chandelier over the bed. Textiles like the bedspread, stitched pouf and rug add layers of global style.
“We wanted to make her room cool and hip and not in a girly way,” Talbot says. They landed on an global boho style that’s collected and personal. The teen is a talented and passionate musician who loves to travel. The throw pillow that says “Wander” was the perfect accent. She and the designer sorted through her beloved collection of albums to find three covers to hang over the bed.
Bed and duvet: Urban Outfitters; Wander pillow: Society 6