With a teenager in the house, it can be a wonder if you ever get to use your bathroom. And it’s not just girls with makeup — both genders spendmore time grooming during these formative years. If you have a few available bathrooms, letting your teenager have one of his or her own can prove rewardingfor the both of you. Decorate the space to match your teenager’s tastes in order to make the space completely his or hers.

Get Your Teen to Help

The first rule of handing over a bathroom to your teen is that he or she helps you redecorate it. Sometimes, teens procrastinatewhen it comes to housework, but remind yoursthat the reward is getting an individualized space and no longer quarrelling with the rest of the family over use of the bathroom.

You also want to know exactly what your teen wants in a bathroom. If you just do the work on your own, your teen could be less than thrilled with the result, so make the redecorating a joint venture.

Be Bold

Teens aren’t afraid to flaunt their style, so choose bold colors for the walls, towels, shower curtain and toiletries, such as the soap dish or dispenser. Let your teen pick the color. “Bold” doesn’t necessarily mean something like hot pink or neon green, although it can. It can also mean a bright, intense shade of any color, from blue to yellow.

Install Sleek Fixtures

If you can afford some remodeling, focus on the less expensive installations that won’t require you to rip up floor tiles or open the wall. Install new, small bathroom fixtures such as the shower head, sink faucet, bath faucet, drain leverand mirror

Opt for sleek, chrome designs to go along with your bold colors. At the same time, if your teen wants something like a classic, antique-looking faucet, and you have the budget, go ahead and install it even if it clashes with the boldly colored walls. After all, this is a bathroom for your son or daughter to enjoy as a teenager. You can always redecorate the room to be more muted and synchronized later on.

Decorate the Floor

If you can change the flooring tiles to match the bold color scheme in the bathroom, do so, but remember that in a few years, you may want to redecorate the room in a softer color scheme. Swapping out the tiles twice in a decade’s timeis impractical and wasteful.

For a temporary solution, cover the floor in a bold array of rugs and bathmats. You might also want to look into funky, water- and slip-resistant padding for the floor, like the type used in children’s playrooms.

Don’t Forget Function

Design shouldn’t be your only focus when it comes to redecorating your teenager’s bathroom. Part of the reason the typical teen spends so much time in the bathroom is he or shelikely uses a lot of grooming products. So many grooming products can translate into a lot of bottles, jars, tubes and spray cans.

Rather than encouraging your teen to keep their toiletries on the sink, on the toilet or in the tub, look for ways to add storage to the bathroom. Under the sink is a great starting place, either in a built-in cupboard or in baskets under a wall-hanging or pedestal sink. If you have the space, add a shelving unit or a cubby in the bathroom for more towels, toiletries and spare toilet paper. Outfitting the space with organizing trays is a must if your teen has a lot of small cosmetics or bottles.

Decorating a bathroom exclusively for your teen’s use can be a fun experience for the both of you. You don’t have to spend a lot or do a lot of remodeling to make the room theirs — and you don’t have to be a slave to coordinating décor, either. Just remember to keep the room bright, fun and functional, and it’s sure to be a success.

About the Author: R.J. Yeun is a contributing writer and home décor blogger. He uses websites such as DecorPlanet.comfor his own home improvement projects.