Te Awamutu Courier - August 18th, 2011 - Te Awamutu Online

8284866AA A
QUALITY?
professional fi nish
guaranteed by highly
trained and qualifi ed
installers.
All products carry a
manufacturer’s
guarantee
Our Mobile Service
Will Floor You
We offer the best in quality and value for all your fl ooring
requirements – our mobile showroom can come to you!
■ Carpets ■ Vinyls ■ Floating Woods
■ Laminates ■ Solid Wood Flooring
■ All Floor Preparations
UK FLOORING
Call Sean 027 222 0410
Competitive Prices – Locally Owned & Operated
• m 027 222 0410 • see us in the Courier Trades & Services section
TE AWAMUTU COURIER, THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2011 11
Homestyle-Homestyle
Room tune-ups for teens
At some stage, that teddy bear frieze will have
to go. Interior experts offer their tips on decor
makeovers that won’t break the bank.
That cute ducky wallpaper or
nautical furniture set were great
for your child’s baby years and
just tolerable through primary
school, but a bedroom makeover is
hard to get around when headed for
the tumultuous teens.
Consider the four C’s — classic,
comfort, cool and colour — when
providing older kids with long-lasting
lairs. And keep in mind a
transformation does not have to mean
tossing everything and buying all new.
Spending selectively now may just
carry your child through the highschool
years and beyond, said design
guru Nate Berkus.
Jennifer Adams Meyers, an
interior and home products designer,
said furniture in distressed,
whitewashed and some darker woods
are hot trends in baby furniture,
boding well for use in a teen room
through sanding and painting.
FURNISHINGS
A completely new set of furniture is
probably not necessary, but a few
items might be — a bigger bed, for
instance. Another piece to consider
Enjoy Enjoy
investing in is a chest of drawers.
‘‘Go for classic lines, not something
too youthful,’’ Berkus said. ‘‘Going with
a vintage chest of drawers is a good
idea, like English mahogany or
Swedish painted.
Teens have different priorities from
little kids. They may not care much
anymore about vast floor space to
build Lego cities, for instance. Turn
over some of that real estate to a
couch and an overstuffed armchair for
reading, and to creating a hangout/
study nook worthy of having friends
over, even if it means going for a
laptop desk for homework over a
freestanding one.
Bedside tables can be painted
rather than tossed and even double as
desks, Meyers said. Consider keeping
a rocking chair with a new seat
cushion for a reading nook.
COLOUR
There’s no better way to let a tween or
teen take control of his or her space
than putting them in charge of palette,
but be prepared to accept whatever
crazy colour scheme they come up
with.
Besides walls, linens can add a
blast of colour and texture.
‘‘It makes sense to let them pick,’’
Berkus said. ‘‘They have a shelf life.
They can only handle so many washes.
Thematic is fine.’’
Wall art is huge to many teens.
How about a collection of colourful
album covers from the 60s, a surfer
scene, or framed memorabilia such as
photos of friends and family mixed
with your child’s own artwork? How
about hanging skateboards or lacrosse
sticks?
Let them dress windows in wild
designs and colours. Curtains come
funky and cheap these days, or buy
inexpensive shades they can paint
themselves.
Chances are your little kid already
had some throw pillows. Those can live
on with new cases that accent the
scheme. Teens read and study in
strange positions, so a reading wedge
or a body pillow that can be scrunched
for comfort while working on a laptop
would be a good addition.
STORAGE
Big kids may be more attached than
your outdoor area all year long
Create additional indoor space by enclosing an outdoor space
with clear curtains. They provide excellent shelter from the wind and rain.
New Zealand made for New Zealand conditions.
Call your local agent Don on 0274 250 090
for a FREE measure and quote
Through his innovative approach and building background Don can
custom create to suit your objectives, be it within the
education sector, at your home or a
commercial or farming
environment.
you think but too
embarrassed to say
that they would like to
display some of their
growing-up stuff.
In the new room,
that baby chair
collecting dust in the
corner might be more
palatable with fresh
paint covering the
bears or ducks. Reserve
shelf space for a
favourite doll, toy and a
few old books, but not front and
centre. Consider spacing mementoes
between stacks of books, CDs or
magazines. Offer storage in another
room for anything else they might
want to keep.
Wardrobes are a sticky issue. Big
kids have bigger stuff, more clothes,
more shoes, more sports equipment.
Don’t forget to mount a full-length
mirror on the back of a closet door. It is
a cheap, easy way to more quickly
extract a teen girl from a bathroom.
Replace toy baskets with storage
boxes than can be piled into a pyramid,
or collapsible crates with handles in
fun patterns and colours.
7 8 6 7 4 2
www.sunshade.co.nz
PRICE?
We will beat any
genuine quote on
the same or
similar product –
GUARANTEED!
8284070AA