Teenage bedroom walls: What happened to the poster?

When it comes to home décor, one of the first opportunities we get to express ourselves is by choosing which posters to tear out of magazines and stick on our teenage bedroom walls. Thankfully, it’s more acceptable than the earliest enhancements which cause parents a headache—drawing on the walls with a felt tip pen which refuses to budge no matter how much you scrub away at it.

By contrast, the worst (and only lasting) consequence of posters is the oily mark each blob of blu-tack leaves behind; the damage to the paintwork means the spot needs to be touched up or covered with a new beau. Sellotape is worse still, ruining posters and walls with every poster removed. 

So why was the humble poster so popular? The simplest argument is that it allows children and teens to match their bedroom to their personality. Adolescence is a time when we crave independence and a voice, and posters allow that freedom. This is particularly important at a time when the bedroom is a haven, a sacred space away from the pressures of school, annoying siblings and parents who seem to go out of their way to cause embarrassment. We all want the spaces we spend our time to be comfortable and representative of ourselves, and this is especially true for teenagers. 

Another advantage of posters as a first foray into décor is their transience. Buying magazines with pin-ups of your favourite celebrities is a more affordable and less time-consuming alternative to decorating a bedroom and, once a fad passes, posters can easily be taken down.  

Wallpaper is more of a commitment than posters, which can be changed around

Posters are a disposable art form and allow you to embrace multiple aspects of your personality. While paints and wallpapers can be limiting, with posters you can choose to place a Premier League hotshot next to a Hollywood actor or a cutesy puppy next to a popstar. They can be swapped around so the flavour of the month gets pride of place (next to the bed, obviously) and changing one or all of them can change the style of the room. 

My own walls were plastered in posters from a young age. Having a sister 11 years older I wanted to emulate aspects of her bedroom where she had posters of The Alarm, Kajagoogoo and Haircut 100 on display. My childhood bedroom proudly displayed a pair of Disney posters, a montage of ABBA pictures and one random image of Tracey Ullman in a playpen—she was one of my first crushes, long before I was aware of what a crush was. These morphed into Kylie and Jason as the 1980s progressed—visions with sun-bleached hair and faded denim—before being replaced by Take That and Spice Girls throughout the 1990s.  

At risk of sounding weird, swapping my posters around was a hobby during my teenage years. I’d dedicate hours to rearranging them on my wall, ensuring every inch was covered. I had plenty of posters to choose from because instead of spending my dinner money on food, I’d go to the newsagents on the way home from school and spend the cash on magazines.  

Although there were often specials made up exclusively of posters, my preference was for a traditional magazine I could read with a centrefold poster. It felt like more of a treat to find a new image of a favourite star when flicking through the pages rather than buying in bulk.  

Magazines have traditionally been a great source for finding posters

Looking back, the posters on my wall were an extension of myself and my identity. I knew I wasn’t straight and the fact I’d found Kylie more attractive than Jason alerted me to that. Although it wasn’t until adulthood that I found my label and started to identify as pansexual, being able to express myself through posters paved the way for my coming out. My bedroom walls were a safe space to gently explore my sexuality as well as being a chance to become more autonomous as I approached adulthood. My posters were important to me and to my development. 

Research conducted by George Home by Asda in 2017 showed just 7 per cent of teens have poster on their wall compared to 78 per cent in the 1990s, largely due to the “plain walls and fairy lights aesthetic” favoured by YouTubers and influencers. The experimental teenage bedrooms of Gen X and Millennials are gone, now bypassing the stage entirely and morphing straight into a more adult space.  

It’s sad to think young people are missing something that played such a big part of youth culture, but times have moved on. And who knows, if the love of all things retro continues influenced by shows such as Stranger Things, perhaps the poster will enjoy a resurgence in popularity? As someone who found so much joy in the posters that decorated their walls, I really do hope so. 

Read more: 12 Simple ways to update your bedroom

Read more: 8 Genius ways to make a small space feel bigger

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