It's My Room and I'll Paint It If I Want To

Inexpensive and dramatic. Two words that describe paint — and the cost and impact required in most teen room makeovers. And best of all, you can always paint again next year when new inspiration (or maturity) strikes.

Here, paint and color expert Aimee Desrosiers of California Paints shares three ideas for using paint to add punch to a teen's room:

1. For a big-whammy effect without redoing the entire room, paint a bold band of color using a laser level and painter's tape. Run bands horizontally around the entire room, vertically on a wall or on both the wall and ceiling.

2. Give juvenile furniture a little attitude adjustment with a cool paint job. Paint handles and knobs a different color for contrast. Paint makers now provide small sample jars of paints, which are perfect for this kind of detail work.

3. When a wild color scheme is out of the question, perhaps because of a squeamish parent or because the teen's room can be seen from other rooms in the house, why not paint three walls with a tame color, reserving the wall that houses the room's door for creative expression? The end result: Teens have the color they want without intruding on adult decor.