When you were little, your mother decorated your room and that was fine when you were little. But as you got older, your tastes changed, and the pink pastels and unicorn decals started to get a little stale. You decided your next room would reflect your more grown-up preferences.

Now you’re on your own, and you’re blanking out on the blank walls. You’re trying to picture a room that would be totally you, but you’re having trouble getting past the unicorns. You can’t find anything “Pinsteresting” on the computer and consulting your mom might wind you up with something out of The Princess Diaries.

Well, we have some good news, your days of Pinterest surfing are over. And while we love dear old mom, you can tell her, (nicely, please) her services are no longer required. Here are some tips for personalizing a room that you’re a little less likely to outgrow.

Choose A Theme

There’s a reason that theme parties are so popular. Not only do themes give your guests something to identify with, but it also gives you a vision of the final product. That can be helpful when you’re buying the decorations and planning activities.

It’s the same with a themed room. Once you choose a theme for your room, it will guide your choices when it comes to painting and buying things for the décor. Here are some themes that you might want to consider for your room and tips on how you can design your room around them.

1. Seventies

To capture that seventies magic in your room, use bold paint colors for the walls. Think turquoise, yellow, green and brown or orange. Painting three walls one color and wallpapering the fourth will make your room look like you stepped into another era. Set down some shag carpets and set up some lava lamps. Decorate with bright florals and earthy pictures of mushrooms and you’re ready to boogie.

2. Minimalist

To some, minimalist decorating may seem like a contradiction in terms. After all, minimalism is about getting rid of possessions, not accumulating them. However, if you’re not so minimalist that you’re considering saying sayonara to your bed, there are ways to create a minimalist bedroom while you still hang on to some creature comforts.

The first step in creating a minimalist theme is to throw out your junk, or at least put it in another room (LOL). Then pick out a simple bed frame. This will be the focal point of the bedroom, so make sure it has a sort of stark appearance. Metal bed frames, box springs and platform beds all give out minimalist vibes. Once you get the bed in, you’ll have a better idea of the layout.

The next step is to get some neutral colored bedding (or make that neutral colored everything). Girls, think about the Nude Makeup Palettes with the soft beiges, creamy whites, and pale greys. Remember, you can add in color splashes later on, so don’t worry about things looking too somber. You’re just setting the stage now the forefront is yet to come.

Then choose your favorite piece of artwork and hang it. Choose carefully, because you only get one. This is minimalism, after all. Add a plant for some green and some oxygen and a single dresser to put a gooseneck lamp on and get ready to make the most of the least.

3. Fairy Tale

You may have grown out of your childhood bedroom, but that doesn’t mean you’ve left the ruffles and lace behind. Fairytale bedrooms can be very adults only. Here are some ideas for how you can combine a little bit of the steamy to get a whole lot of the dreamy.

• Choose a mix of the light and lively for your room, see white, pink and lavender for light and red, mauve and purple for lively. A combination of the two is highly recommended.
• Go to town on the throw pillows. A lady always needs to hold her head high and throw pillows always make beds look inviting. The more the merrier!
• Top it off than with the canopy. What better way to create your own private playground? If you don’t have the frame for it, fix a gossamer sheet over the top of the bed for a makeshift. Hang fairy lights for a little extra magic and let the enchantment begin. (unicorns optional).

4. Beach-ey

What could be cooler than waking up on the beach without sand in your hair? If your bedroom is “the beach,” every day is a beach day!

In order to capture the feel of the beach, the color blue is essential, but the mood you create can be all your own.

You may prefer a light blend of turquoises, light blues, and seafoam greens to capture the feeling of the tropics hung with patio lights and decorated with stars. Add some rattan and wicker chairs, and you’re ready for a luau.

Or, you may want to create more of a naval feel, using a dark blue with stark white trim, hung with pictures of ships and compasses, a distressed wood night table by the bedside. Nautical stripes, optional.

No matter which way you choose to go, every beach themed room needs treasure. Oyster shells, sea horses, fish, hints of coral, fishing nets, or whatever it is that floats your boat for the finishing touches. That’s beachy keen!

5. Bohemian

Are you into maxi dresses, Nehru jackets, and smoking out of odd looking pipes? Then you are boho! And what better way to personize your room than by channeling your inner bohemian?

When you’re creating your Bohemian Paradise, you may want to look for inspiration. We’re thinking of the villa Keith Richards’ shacked up in when he was hiding from British tax auditors in 1971. Mirrored French doors, girls in minis crashed out on velvet furnishings, and seventies armchairs galore.

Of course, your boho bedroom won’t come with the French doors, or the girls on the furniture, or Keith himself for that matter, but it should serve as inspiration.

The bohemian lifestyle is all about hanging out, and you can be prepared to do a lot of hanging out when you have a bohemian bedroom, and not only with your friends. Bohemian bedrooms make use of wall and ceiling space for hangings and draping textiles, and anything is game. Hang sparkly scarves and richly textured material hung from any place you think might work.

You don’t want anything too matchy-matchy, in fact, you may not want anything to match at all. One of the benefits of going boho is that you don’t need to buy fancy furniture or sets. You can even stack boxes to hold your most prized possessions for some funky fab.

Drapes are a must have, on the windows, and everywhere else. Drape windows with sheer fabric to add to the layered look. Place rugs and furniture at odd angles keeping the bed as the focus. That’s where the magic happens. Good luck and stay boho!

6. Modern Retro

When you look up antonyms for bohemian, you’ll find the word “modern” on the list. Modernists believe that everything in the home should serve a purpose, including the decorations.

Modern is all about clean lines, natural light, and simple accents. No gauzy fabrics hanging from light fixtures here. Everything in the modern bedroom should be functional, everything in the bohemian bedroom is more likely to be on the dysfunctional side.

When you decorate your modern bedroom, use bright colors and simple artwork with natural wood accents. The modern bedroom uses architectural elements as its primary decoration, so if you’re lucky enough to find a place with wood floors, you’re halfway there.

Add in splashes of color and use books and vases for decoration. Books can be read, vases can hold flowers, that pretty much qualifies them as functional. Make maximum use of natural light and use glass and recessed lighting to add to it. Light is functional as well.

So, open your window curtains and let the sunshine in. It’s a brand new dawn and you’ve got a room that needs to be put to use, or decorated, in modernist terms.

Tips for Decorating Your Bedroom

While it may serve as a good starting point, not every bedroom needs a theme. In fact, if you’re personalizing your bedroom, you might be the theme and have all the furnishings and decoration revolve around you.

Theme or no theme, here are some tips you may want to keep in mind to make sure your bedroom turns out the best it can. After all, you will spend at least 1/3 of your life there.

Choose A Subtle Color

Even if there’s a color that you love, if it’s too bold or dark, it may become overbearing. Soothing shades are a safer bet for the long term. Blues, greens, and lavenders are calming, and rich jewel tones set a mood of coziness and comfort. Consider a toned-down version of your favorite color to create a more relaxing atmosphere in the bedroom.

Keep the Bedroom Simple

After reading about all these wild themes, keeping the bedroom simple may be the last thing on your mind. The truth is that no matter what style you choose, no room should be without elegance and sophistication and some degree of simplicity.

Take, for example, ease of movement. Ideally, you do want to be able to move around in your room, so as a rule, try to leave at least three feet of space between the bed and the side walls and at least two feet between the bed and the furniture. If you find yourself having to walk around the bed to get from the closet to the door, you may want to start thinking about changing the layout.

Also, avoid clutter. Define clutter as anything that does not serve a purpose or is not a thing of beauty. Anything else is taking up unnecessary space and cramping your room and your style.

Don’t Overlook the Ceiling

Now you may be thinking, how can I overlook a ceiling? It’s the only thing I see when I lie in bed. That’s the very reason that you don’t want to overlook it.

The ceiling is the fifth wall, and no one wants to spend time staring at a blank wall. Painting the ceiling a slightly lighter color than the walls will help make the ceiling seem lower and give your room a more intimate vibe.

If painting the ceiling seems a bit ambitious, hang a canopy or chandelier above the bed. That’s bound to make things a little more interesting. Now things are really starting to look up!

Decorate the Windows

Modernist bedrooms may be big on natural light, but a well-dressed window can never be underestimated. Good window accouterments can make a beautiful day more beautiful while adding texture and color to your bedroom.

If you love the look of sheer curtains, you may want to back them with blinds or more opaque material that you can pull down to maintain privacy at night and block the sun in the morning. After all, your bedroom is your sanctuary.

Upgrade Your Lighting

Ask any celebrity and they’ll tell you what a big difference lighting can make. Overhead lighting is rarely flattering. Layering light sources will give your room a more intimate feel while taking off those harsher edges.

Use ambient lights to light the whole room and accent lights for the soft glow of illumination. Small reading lamps can be used to focus light for reading. A bedside lamp with a movable arm makes for a great reading companion.

If possible, install a separate light switch for each light. That will let you be more selective about which area your light is focused on.

No matter how you choose to decorate, we want you to wake up to find your interior decorating dream come true. Let us know how these tips worked for you.