When you tell a young girl that she can have the room makeover of her dreams, what comes to mind? Magical unicorns? Fairy tale castles? Ponies? One certainly doesn't think of the Sex Pistols! Well, that's what sixteen year old Lexi Lehman of Manhatten, New York asked for when she won Teen Vogue's "Extreme Makeover" contest!
Before the makeover, Lexi's room was a painted a lovely shade of purple, but it was rather plain, sparcely furnished with a short dresser, bed without frame, and an old couch for her friends to sit on. The walls remained bare with the exception of two Sid Vicious posters (two of the most infamous: the "Drugs Kill" poster and the "Naked Cowboys" poster). Interior designer Miles Redd decided to incorporate the tenth grader's love of the Sex Pistols into the final design for the room.
"Lexi's style is preppy meets rock 'n' roll royalty. That's the impact I was going for," states Miles Redd. The room went from slightly drab to punky fab! Replacing the torn Sid poster above her bed are some very choice LPs, including the Sex Pistols' "Nevermind the Bollocks" LP and Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'. Lexi's once dreary mattress-bed has been transformed into a posh lounge for the sixteen year old guitarist. The old bedding has been cast aside for a Marimekko comforter, and new pillows decorate, providing flair and comfort. "The best ideas come from being resourceful," says Miles. "Take your old T-shirts and turn them into pillowcases. They're graphic, and because they're cotton, they're supersoft. Lexi's favourite group is the Sex Pistols, so we bought a Sid Vicious tee to use as the centerpiece." [The webmistress wholeheartedly agrees. ^_^ I own that shirt too. Squee.]
Also replacing the old "Drugs Kill" Sid poster are two more Sex Pistols LPs ("Psychotic Reaction" with Sid and John on the cover and "Pretty Vacant" with John and Steve on the cover). "Lexi had all these torn-up posters in her room," says Miles. "I wanted to give it a cleaner, tighter impact. By handing the albums in frames, she has the freedom to switch them out whenever she gets tired of one of the covers. And vinyl can be found so easily at flea markets or on eBay. It's a cheap, fun way to decorate your walls."
"I love music," says Lexi, happy with her Sex Pistols-enthused room. "My friends come over, and we play vinyl and hang out." Now, thanks in part to IKEA, there are more places for her friends to sit other than her old ratty couch. The webmistress's favourite part of this room is the new study space with a desk and some shelving, also from IKEA. On the wall abover the desk within arms-reach is a gorgeous portable record player by Columbia (retail price $195) with a mint-condition "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle" LP (behind the Blondie's greatest hits album) next to it [Squee again!]. On the shelves sit some of Lexi's prize memorabilia, including an original pressing of Cyndi Lauper's "She's So Unusual" and the first TomToms LP.
I was quite shocked to find all the Sex Pistols influence in my monthly copy of Teen Vogue. If Sid were still alive, I'm sure he'd be thrilled. For someone who used Vogue like a Bible, "Fashion-first Sid" would definitely be happy with his presence in Lexi's room (though I doubt he'd admit it because he claimed that "[he] could never be chic"). I, personally, like the way Lexi's room turned out in the end... that, and I own most of the stuff they used to decorate her room, including the pink and black checked Vans underneath her bureau. Please, click the pics to look at the scans and see how you too can have a groovy room such as this! This article was written by your webmistress, Fenderlove. All quotes come from the original article in the February 2005 edition of Teen Vogue written by Jane Keltner. Photos copyright Vogue and Roger Davies.
I hope you find some of the decorating ideas useful! Thanks for visiting!
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