At 16, gals would rather do it themselves... I agree witht the paint-it-white scenario, but then hold off and see what the two of you can come up with together. Set a budget (always a good teaching moment) and see what you can do... decoupage, sparkles (perhaps too old), paint, paint effects, chalkboard paint, cork board sections... you might glean a bit of insigt into the mind of your growing girl.

i like the white too, depending on the girl, maybe with jeweled pulls (since it sounds like the color is tiffanyish). Since it is a teen, the dresser would be really cool in bright orange, purple, dark teal, or black chalkboard paint! My best advice would be to let her pick :)

Set some guidelines and let her run with it. Besides budget, you might suggest NOT painting things that can't be un-painted, like the wall-to-wall carpet (sorry, I saw that on "Trading Spaces" years ago). Most things can be un-done, although another thing you might teach her is that she needs to think long-term, meaning that, even though she might get sick of her wall color next week, she has to live with it for a long time. My daughter wasn't allowed to paint her apartment, so I made stretchers (like people make for their painting canvasses) and stretched brightly colored fabric over each. You can do the same with canvasses or frames that you buy at the thrift store. Anyway, I think that letting her be the project manager will work wonders for her self esteem and for your relationship.

Definitely let her pick it out, it will go a long way to making it feel like home for her. (Also, it could save you the potential embarassment of guessing what's "cool" to a teen)

I echo the white idea. To help with the "design" process you might want to find some room images online, print and then let her pick out one she likes the best to use as inspiration. That way you can make selections that you are comfortable with while stilling giving her the control on the final direction.

With aqua walls and a zebra-print comforter, I’d go with high-gloss black paint for the furniture. Then I’d decoupage mod aqua/black/white or zebra print paper on the dresser top.

I think you would get lots of great responses if we could see a picture. I am invisioning my own awful 80s bedroom set from when I was a kid. Mine was light brown with a gold metal detail- eww. One thing I would do is skip the headboard of the bed or upholster it to make it less matchy-matchy. I would not do black accessories with a zebra print bedspread because zebra+aqua+black+80s furniture= SO 80s! Maybe add in another color that compliments the aqua- green, perhaps?- and add accessores in that color. I agree with painting the furniture white- maybe some readers can suggest what kind of primer to use. Since I am still picturing my own 80s furniture, I assume its not solid wood that you can strip and paint but rather you will have to go over some sort of laminate surface. Anyway, I hope it's a fun project for you and your daughter.

my son got twin beds. eventualy we want to move the other twin bed to my daughters room. the beds are ranch oak and have a western look to them. i am thinking i could simply sew a square over them to cover it. or even use a quilt to give it an upholstered look. i could see the head board being covered in glitter or swirled up yarn. even hot glue pom poms on it??? i would hate the glitter...waking up with glitter all over me? but you never know what a teen will like. did you see the hot pink reddish dresser that was chalk board paint??

Have you thought about painting it red? Red and aqua are gorgeous together.

The spray paint that's designed for plastic can cover laminate furniture, if your 80s bedroom set is less-than-wood.

black!