Rated T for Tween

The tweens of America have spoken: It's two thumbs up for orange! The juicy color rules in Take Three. But bold as orange is, the room has a sense of calm. The mellowing started with a general depatterning. Two-tone walls turned one happy hue, and a solid-color rug stepped in. The teal shag has attitude and fills another tween desire: a soft hangout on the floor.

A new floral fabric takes over the lead role on windows and the bed. Don't worry if the old cast isn't always a match -- coordination, rather than complete synchrony, is the key.

 

The desk enters the computer age (and an era of all kinds of gadgets). With the side shelves removed, the desktop rises to allow more legroom. Circles that once led the design square off with grids. The message board and display cubes take their cue from the cork-covered wall.

 

Painted cork squares turn the wall (and the one opposite) into a bulletin board. The rings that once circled the room get prime billing above the bed.

 

The shelf unit with doors returns, concealing any holdovers from the tween's girlish past in a deep armoire. Hip metal storage buckets emerge. Peel-and-stick dots dress up the door.

 

The striped shades find a new pal. The mod orange fabric brings the room full circle: The floral crib bedding had a few bursts of orange.