Paint Color Ideas for a Teen Rec Room

Chalkboard Paint

• Use black chalkboard paint to encourage your teen’s creativity and self-expression. While chalkboard paint is also available in green, black matches many of the bold colors teens like. Instead of painting the whole rec room black, use the chalkboard paint on just one wall. If your teen insists on using the paint on every wall, consider painting an entire wall with chalkboard paint and painting different shapes on the remaining walls of the room using the chalkboard paint, framing the black shapes with a metallic color.

Theme-Inspired Colors

• If you are decorating the teen rec room based on a specific theme, use the theme to inspire the colors. For example, if the rec room has an aquatic theme and a large aquarium, consider using an aquatic-blue paint. For rooms that are sports-themed, use paint colors that match your teen’s favorite team. If the teen rec room will serve primarily as a game room, consider painting the room in ways that reflect your youth’s favorite game. For example, if your teen loves the game Monopoly, paint a large border on the walls that looks like the different spaces in the game.

Blue and Green

• The colors blue and green are naturally calming colors that both boys and girls often like. By using lighter shades of either color, your teen can come home to a rec room that looks relaxing, but is not so dark that the room will appear smaller or encourage a nap when it is time to do homework.

All-Black Alternatives

• Many teens like the color black and may express the desire to paint all the walls in a rec room this color. Before dismissing the idea, help your teen think of color alternatives that match black elements, such as a black accent wall. Ideas can include light gray, red, teal, turquoise, purple, white and pink. When you paint the room one of the alternative colors, you can incorporate black paint by painting a border on the walls, adding stripes or using stencils to create a pattern. Another option is painting the wall one of the alternative colors, but hanging black decorations on the wall, such as a mirror in a black frame, metal wall decorations or sconces.