Hilary Farr Turns A Playroom Into A Teenage Paradise (& How To Replicate)

The day will come for every parent when your child no longer wants to use the playroom you designed for them to enjoy throughout their youth. The activity tables, decorations, and developmental toys start to gather dust as your tween/teen begins spending more time in their room. In an episode of HGTV's "Love It or List It," Hilary Farr showed us exactly how to turn a playroom space into a teenager-appropriate oasis that will become your kid's favorite place in the house. As a bonus, if you follow Farr's great ideas for a teenage hangout room, you will no longer have to fight your kid for TV time.

Farr used age-appropriate décor, funky accent pieces, and just enough furniture and entertainment options to make this outgrown playroom ideal for the episode's featured family's son. The room was such a hit with him that he remarked he would basically never be leaving the awesome basement hangout going forward. As always, Hilary Farr worked with a small budget to make big upgrades to help her family's dream designs come true. We'll walk you through what she did so well in this space and how to do it yourself. Trust us, follow this advice and you'll definitely be one of the cool parents.

Think about the things you wanted in a hangout space when you were a teenager. You probably didn't need much beyond a place to talk with your friends, have a snack, play a game, and watch a movie. Farr added a comfy sectional, a coffee table, entertainment center, and a television to a small basement room to check off all these wants. With such a small room, it's important to not overwhelm the space, as this can feel super stuffy — not really the place you and your friends want to unwind after school. Keep the pieces limited. While your child's playroom may have been loaded with lots of toys and furniture pieces, the teen version doesn't need much more than a comfy place to sit, play a board game, and a television.

Farr also smartly used compact but full-size furniture over a tiny loveseat or kid-sized chairs, which maximized the use of the space, provided plenty of seating, and made the room feel grown-up and sophisticated. If you're working in a tight space, as Farr was, follow her guidance and learn how to mount a television. That will keep the surfaces open and free for homework, snacks, and games.

When you're picking out furniture for a teen's lounge area, you don't need to add high-end pieces or fancy antique furniture that will inevitably end up covered in soda stains and fingerprints. Instead, look for unconventional pieces that work with your teen's style. Instead of a fussy entertainment center, Farr used a darling console table that looks like school lockers. It's functional and great for keeping gaming controllers, board games, and craft items organized behind closed drawers and feels specially chosen for a teenager's hangout.

Farr was also smart in her choice of decor. Instead of oil paintings of old-fashioned landscapes, paperweights, or sculptures, she mounted guitars on the walls, added geometric print throw pillows to the couch, and fun trinkets to the tabletops. For inspiration, check out our guide to the trendiest teen bedroom decor ideas. Don't just splurge on generic pieces though — tailor the room to what your teen enjoys and appreciates.

Farr also added an LED light strip to the border of the room's ceiling, which could be controlled from any smartphone or from a special remote, allowing the user to turn the lights on and off and change the colors. LED light strips can also be added under the entertainment center or behind the TV for extra ambiance. They're super affordable and available from Amazon for around $20 — a great, budget-friendly way to make sure your teen's hangout space always feels like theirs.