Teenagers' rooms often tend to reveal most things they are passionate about, with little to no subtlety exercised in the matter of disclosure. Posters, bed sheets, pillow cases, curtains, even the colour on the walls - almost all of it goes to celebrate the things that they love or admire. 

However, as they grow out of their teen years, most of them begin to stow away those band posters, cartoon-inspired bed sheets, stuffed animals and other toys and start replacing them with more mature alternatives. 

The most predictable changes are usually in terms of size – a larger bed, wardrobe and bookshelf are a must. There are also quite a few common additions to the room such as a bed-side table, a dressing table, a multi-plug,  lamps, speakers, and most importantly a wall or an abundance of frames filled with photographs. 

When it comes to decorating their rooms, the focus shifts towards essentials and mementos as people grow older. 

For girls, this shift in priorities is often paralleled with additions in the appearance  department which means more make-up, jewellery and other accessories (such as bags, shoes, etc.) and subsequently, more boxes or just area dedicated for these purposes.

One extremely important factor, however, is affordability, when it comes to renovation. Acquisition of commodities like furniture can be quite an expensive investment unless you know where to look to keep matters within your budget.

The thriving online marketplaces these days such as bikroy.com, clickbd.com, olx.com, ekhanei.com may prove quite helpful as they offer exceptionally reasonable deals on both new and second-hand products. You can also sell your discarded items on these sites to make it a win-win situation.

Although the majority of these changes in room décor seem vital to most as they grow older, others believe that certain things should never change and stay as a reminder of their childhood-self. 

Madiha, a recent graduate from Sunbeams said "There are some things in my room, which I don't think I will ever dispose of such as my favourite purple blanket, which was given to me by my best friend when we were ten years old (although the blanket is worn out and too small for me now), and the 'kolbalish' (side pillow) I inherited from my mum. They are irreplaceable on sentimental grounds." 

As they say, growing old is compulsory, but growing up is optional. So, at the end of the day, it is up to you to decide whether or not you want to jump on the bandwagon of clichéd changes associated with "growing up" or just be your own person.

By Aporajita Mustafa
Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed/LS Archive