When you brought your little princess home from the hospital, it was very easy to choose her bedroom décor. At that stage, your little bundle of joy did not care what color her sheets were, what was on the wall, or what you did with the floor space. Chances are that you decorated her room in a feminine style, with a pink area rug, floral bedding, with fairies and flowers on the wallpaper. And while your little girl was just that, she was probably quite satisfied with her little pink bedroom.

But when your daughter hit twelve and started those wilderness years known as “adolescence” or the “teenage years,” pink fairies and flowers suddenly became passé. The way that her room looked became important to her. In some ways, that has its positive benefits. You may have found (though sadly not always) that you no longer have to chase her to tidy up because she wants her room to look good before allowing anyone in there. On the other hand, she may have decided to go the “caveman” route and not emerge from her bedroom from when she comes home from school until it’s time to meet up with her friends.

Either way, pink fairies and floral wallpaper are out, and it’s time to find a décor that your daughter is interested in. And this time, she gets to choose it.

Some girls like to continue with “girly” colors, and will stick with pink. But instead of the soft pinks of their babyhood, it’s shocking pink with a mix of purple and a modern area rug with a bolder design. Other girls will jettison pink altogether and go for “cooler” colors, such as pale blue, turquoise, mauve, or purple.

Whatever the color scheme, there are certain elements that most teenage girls’ rooms have in common. For a start, no teenager’s room is complete without a large mirror, in front of which your daughter is guaranteed to spend most of her time. And don’t forget to expand her wardrobe by quite a lot as her interest in clothes continues to grow. Your daughter will need a dresser or a shelf at the very least to put her growing stock of makeup and hair accessories.

For all of these things, you don’t need to rush out and buy loads of new furniture. You can put up a hanging rail next to the current wardrobe to accommodate new clothing. Cover it with a snazzy looking blanket to make it look a little more elegant. Buying a new mirror is relatively inexpensive. Just jazz it up with a few cute decorations and a frame around the outside.

When it comes to the walls, let your daughter make her own choices of decorations and pictures. You can be guaranteed that she will follow certain phases that you will not be able to keep up with. Last but not least, make sure that she has enough room for her stereo, a place for her laptop, and an outlet for charging her mobile phone and ipod. No teenager’s room would be complete without any of these accessories. But, as the French say, le plus c’est change, le plus ce reste a la meme chose.