Ideas for Painting a Teen's Room With a College Theme

Mascots

• Paint the walls in one of the college's colors with a large image of the mascot in the center of one wall, such as above his bed. The mascot could be painted on using a stencil or free-hand design, or use a peel-and-stick wall decal he can take with him when he leaves home. Darker walls will look best under a light-colored mascot image, while light colors will look best under a dark mascot image. For example, paint the walls navy blue with the gray bulldog if his college of choice is Georgetown University.

Team Colors

• Get creative by painting a pattern with her favorite college colors. Paint the walls a bright blue with gold stripes or polka dots for a UCLA fan. Create wavy patterns or simply paint half of the room blue and the other half gold. Separate the colors with diagonal lines on opposite walls; paint every other wall the opposite color, or paint the top half one color and the other half the second color.

Murals

• Paint a mural on the walls to create a scenic picture of the college campus or duplicate the images painted in the college's gym. The mural could imitate pennants or banners that hang in the school's gym or the mascot, helmet or uniforms of your teen's favorite sport. For example, paint the walls blue with murals of orange jerseys from football alumni if your teen favors the University of Florida.

Borders

• Paint the walls a solid color in your teen's college colors. Use a crimson red if he's an Ohio fan. Add a border of the college mascot, either painted on or by using peel-and-stick decals, wallpaper or real miniature pennants. Paint a simple border in the college's other color, such as black or gray for Ohio, if your teen doesn't want the mascot image all over his room.