For this week’s Retro Deep Dive I’m going with a teenager’s bedroom during the 1980s. They were loud, personal expression of who we were and what we loved. It was our space to show off obsessions, crushes, bands, TV shows, and every part of our personality. Whether we were all about neon colors or moody rock vibes, our room’s said everything without us having to explain a word. I know mine did.
Let’s throw open the bedroom door and take a walk through the posters, furniture, and flair that made 80s teen rooms unforgettable. Posters were the foundation of our rooms. Most of us didn’t hang them carefully or frame them. We plastered them corner to corner with thumbtacks or rolled tape. They came from music stores, magazines, TV guides, and teen fan clubs. If we had a favorite band or actor, chances are they were watching us sleep from above our beds. Some of us covered our walls with Duran Duran, Bon Jovi, Madonna, Prince, Cyndi Lauper, or The Thompson Twins. If you leaned more rock or metal, it was AC DC, Guns N Roses, Judas Priest, Mötley Crüe or Iron Maiden. Some posters were so big they barely fit the wall. Others came in folded up magazine pages you had to flatten out. TV and movie crushes were everywhere. Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Kirk Cameron, Lisa Bonet, Alyssa Milano, Corey Haim, and of course Michael J Fox were bedroom regulars. If we loved a show or film, we found a way and a spot to hang it on the wall.
A lot of teen rooms had furniture that was handed down or pulled from department store sets. Bookcases doubled as cassette holders. Drawers were stuffed with friendship pins, band pins, Lip Smackers and who knows what else. On top of the drawers we usually set up our records. Whatever we could fit in them we put in. Headboards sometimes had mirrors or built in radios if you were fancy. I had the radio alarm set to my favorite music station and I'm sure most of us did too. The bedspread didn't match the wallpaper and nobody cared. We might have had Star Wars sheets or rainbow hearts or something you picked out just because it was loud and fun. Nightstands held alarm clocks with big red numbers, your favorite tapes, a stack of Teen Beat, Tiger Beat, Hit Parader or Faces and a landline phone if we were lucky. I didn't have one unfortunately. Bonus points if it was see through or had a cord stretched halfway across the room. Posters looked better under colored lamps or string lights. Lava lamps were everywhere and served no purpose other than being cool. I had one and so did most of my girlfriends. Some rooms had black lights or those glow in the dark stars stuck to the ceiling. You knew it was an 80s bedroom by the mood lighting alone.
Boom boxes were the sound system of choice. Dual cassette decks let you make mixtapes or copy your favorite albums. Some kids had full stereo setups with giant speakers and racks of equipment that took up half a wall. I had a boom box and a record player. Music never stopped unless your batteries died or your parents yelled to turn it down. Closets were packed with high top sneakers, shoulder pad jackets, jean jackets, mc jackets, acid wash jeans, band jerseys and tshirts. The floor had posters waiting to be hung, a few cassette inserts, maybe a homework assignment you forgot about, and a magazine you were halfway through. Under the bed was a time capsule of everything from birthday cards to stickers to a Walkman you swore you’d fix.
Teen rooms in the 1980s were not just about stuff. They were about identity. Every poster and every cassette on the shelf was part of your story. You did not decorate for likes or views. You decorated because it made you feel something. Because it was yours. Today those rooms live in our memories like visiting our own personal museum.
