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Looking for black and red bedroom ideas? See the finished room makeover for my teen daughter’s red and black bedroom – a European vintage inspired space. Get ideas for how to decorate a bedroom with the main colors red and black, and my tips on how to design a space for your opinionated teenager – that you will love too!

wood oak doors entering into bedroom

It is so good to be here sharing another finished space in our pole barn home, that we have built ourselves from the ground up!

teen bedroom with deep reds and darker colors

In this blog post I will include:

  • A video tour with my daughter as we walk you through the space and talk about each element.
  • Sources for all the items that have sources.
  • 5 tips on designing a space for your opinionated teenager that you can both love.
  • Inspiration for some pretty cool European Vintage inspired decor.

TOUR THIS ROOM WITH US ON VIDEO

This super cool room is for my teenage daughter, Rae. She has ALWAYS loved the color combo of black and red, with some whites, browns and greens to balance it.

teen girl bedroom in black and red accent colors

These are typically the warm colors she gravitates to for clothes, crafting and more.

red accent colors in teen bedroom

But if you’ve been with me very long, you know these ARE NOT the typical darker shades I gravitate towards.

wood antique secretary desk in bedroom

When she initially told me she wanted a red bed and black walls, all I could imagine was a Las Vegas sketchy hotel and I politely told her . . . “ummmmm . . . . sure. You can have that. When you move out of my house.”

I did mention maybe we could do a red accent pillows and a black throw blanket. Haha!

red and black bedding

But the more I thought about what she wanted, and the more I realized that I don’t have all that long with her in our home, the more I realized that I really wanted to create this space for HER. Not for me. Not for my blog.

For her.

Quick Tips for Creating a Red and Black Bedroom

  • Use a variety of textures and shades of red and black to diversify the space
  • We kept the white wall mostly white, but added some black paint on the lower half, so it didn’t feel so heavy
  • The window brings in a lot of natural light so it felt like a good idea to purchase black curtains to go with the theme
  • Instead of red bedding, we purchased bedding with neutral colors and chose a bold bed frame instead!
  • The area rug is a soft gray color which offsets the bedding and vibrant colors

5 Tips on Designing a Space for Your Opinionated Teenager

A really surprising thing happened as I began to plan and work on this space. I realized that I could take the elements she wanted and combine them with my knowledge of design to create a space that we both absolutely loved – even with the color scheme of red and black. I was up for the design challenge!

black bedside table

Tip #1: Listen to their wants

I made the huge mistake of shrugging off her preferences at first. I wasn’t really prepared for the fact that she now had major opinions on her space. She always just let me do my thing. Perhaps this is a teenager thing (wink).

guitar decor in teen bedroom

When I started to work with what she wanted, she was thrilled! Much better than the sense of resentment I was getting before I decided to listen. It’s really important that they feel like this is their home, and not just “my mom’s house”.

vintage bedside table in bedroom

Once she saw me making decisions that she wanted, our relationship was strengthened and she felt very excited for her new space. But how was I going to make it a space I loved too?

Next tip!

Tip #2: Find common ground

I mean, her personality is exactly like mine – for better or for worse. Surely, we could agree on some design decisions. I decided I needed to find the common ground – even if bold colors like black and red were not my go-to colors. After all – it is still my house and my blog 😉

What we absolutely have in common is our love for cool, old things. We love to go antique shopping together! We love finding unique items that no one else has. We love pieces with character, like this old shelf we used as a bedside table.

bedside table decor ideas

Once I built the base of the room in her preferences, we were able to sprinkle in texture and vintage items that spoke beautifully to the both of us. It was SO. MUCH. FUN.

antique store art

We both really wanted to try this Black Smoke Fresco lime wash paint from Pure & Original and knew it would add some excellent texture and old world feel to the walls.

bedroom design with red and black
black walls in bedroom

Tip #3: Shop together

I felt it important that I use this design process to connect and to teach her some things about interior design.

This meant I included her in almost all the shopping, especially the trips where we went into town, got ice-cream, and made memories.

red bedding

I know this room means more to her because I let her be involved, and I know we will both always treasure the room and the process.

Tip #4: Pre-select and refine their choices

I’m not totally sure what the image in her head was when she said “red bed and black walls”, but I can be 100% sure it was not the same image in my head.

Painting every wall black in this small space would certainly make the bedroom feel very heavy. I also knew the bed she wanted was over $2000 dollars – and that wasn’t going to happen.

bench in closet

It was important that I take my knowledge of design concepts and refine her choices. I also had to make them work with our budget for the space.

vintage art digital print

So for every item that was needed, I was sure to guide her while still letting her choose. Whether it was the art, rug, bedding, curtains – I would shop first online and narrow it down to a few options that I knew we would both like. In this way, the choice was still hers without giving her the world to choose from.

vintage art digital print

It also helped when I gave her an inspiration image that gave us both direction. I took what I knew she loved and I loved and found a red and black space that spoke to both of us. Otherwise – she may have ended up creating a Vegas inspired space! We could look at this image and both find inspiring elements as a jumping board for our decisions.

Inspiration for a red and black bedroom

Even though the initial images in our minds were completely different, we found a direction that put us directly on the same page. It was way helpful!

Tip #5: Surprise them

Do you know what teenagers love more than making their own choices? It’s to be surprised!

Mr. TIDBITS actually took the kids on a little trip and it gave me a few glorious days to myself to apply the finishing touches to this space. Because we made the main decisions together, each surprise I added was pure delight to her as she came home and admired it all.

I knew that she loved hunting with her dad, so I added bits of that in. I knew she found great pride in the obsidian knife she made with her uncle, so rather than sticking it in a box, I put it out on display.

dresser decor

I gave her a box by her bed for her scriptures and kindle. I picked out a lamp and added fresh florals to make the space feel extra cozy when she walked in.

vintage vase and bedside table decor

I added some new/old finds from the antique store, that she would have never imagined going well with the space, but I knew she would love.

european bust decor

This cool European bust, some carved horse bookends for displaying her Emily Dickinson collection, and of course a couple of plants that she thought I forgot she wanted.

carved horse bookends

I gave her plenty of bins, boxes and suitcases to store her stuff in, so she could manageably keep the space tidy even with all her precious “junk”.

vintage bedside table with black accents

I gave her a bench to sit on while getting dressed or to throw her clothes on . . . if we are being honest here.

hooks for closet

I applied a white board and cork board to the walls in her closet – which was one of her first request for her space. They aren’t always the best things to look at, but for a teenager, having somewhere to express themselves is super important! I was happy to have it in the closet rather than a feature wall in the room.

storage baskets for closet

I found the perfect spot for the cool secretary desk that she fell in love with at an estate sell. I added a diffuser so she could keep her space smelling and feeling peaceful.

old vintage secretary desk in bedroom

I made her bed and completed the look with some accent pillows and blankets.

red accent blanket
red accent pillow

All these little touches and more were so fun to add and surprise her with when she came back from the trip. She loved each change and stayed in her new finished room for a long time exploring.

holding hands art

It was mommy delight, all the way.

Now, I hope you’ve found plenty of inspiration for a red and black space, and for designing a room for your teenager. Be sure to watch the video to see us chat about each item. She earns extra brownie points for being willing to be on video with me! I just love this fun girl so much!

I’ve compiled all the sources on this nice shopping page for you to cruise through, if you saw something you really liked in my images.

shop this post

I’d love to hear what you think of this space! It’s not my typical kind of space, but I ended up loving the modern design challenge. I have a new appreciation for the color red now.

vintage dresser in teen bedroom

Next up is her 13 year old sisters room . . . and she wants pink walls. Oh boy – here we go again!

Thanks for reading! It’s really helpful if you can choose an image or two to share to your Pinterest boards.

You can check out this page to see more of space reveals in our new home. We have lots more to come so be sure to subscribe to my blog updates if you are not already.

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6 Comments

  1. I’m so glad you shared this…and the emotional/compromise side of it! I remember *so* wanting to do my room as a kid. No ho. Teal remnant bin carpet (tiny room) and white walls were my cell until I moved out. …and my parents promptly bought a bigger bed, uncovered the hardwoods, painted, and decorated. (what!?!?!) Now, I’m making plans for our kids’ new rooms (3 boys, 3 opinions but only 1 room and a 2 yr old girl who knows just what she wants. Ha), and it is *SO* good to hear from another momma who is working to make it happen while also making it flow with the house. Lovee your blog, your realness, your pace, your style . Keep sharing! 😁

  2. Wow! That turned out beautifully! Love the color scheme. You all pulled it off to give it a sophisticated vibe without the Vegas look. Lol. She will treasure the time you spent together to create a space she loves. Great job!

  3. Some years ago my daughter decorated a bedroom for her son in our holiday home. It was red and black! One wall was black on which she painted rockets ships and white stars. It looked stunning. I must admitI gulped, like you did, when she said said what she was going to do. The result was stunning and everyone else wanted to sleep in the rocket room. You have done an amazing job of your daughter’s room so congratulations!!

  4. It’s a wonderful space for your pretty daughter. I agree they aren’t the best color combination but you both did a great job of making it work. Enjoy your your room Rae and God Bless you.

  5. Gotta admit when I saw the “red and black” requirement I cringed and thought – Noooooo don’t do that to your beautiful home. I live in GA. where football is a religion – the GA. Bulldogs colors are red and black and trust me I’ve seen some pretty scary red and black rooms ! But what the two of you have done is just stunning. I wouldn’t know where to begin but you have mastered it. I can’t stopping scrolling through and analyzing every single layer of that room. Bravo!

  6. That looks very nice and I can tell Rae is thrilled with the room. You took me back to my teenage years when my mom asked me the same questions and I chose Jungle Green and Black. She did a great job and made my room reflect my personality at the time. Great job, Cami-you are a wonderful mom!