7 Things Every Teen Had in Their Bedroom in the Early 2000s

Before the era of Pinterest and TikTok, teens had magazines and television to tell them about the latest trends. We might not have been able to afford decking out our rooms the way the teens on TV did, but we did our best to emulate the designs and decor.

The early 2000s were a crazy time for kids and teens with Y2K, 9/11, and other events, so having a personal space was important. Those bedrooms became sanctuaries for teens to express themselves and explore their identities. However, these seven items were likely to be found in the bedroom of a 2000s teen, no matter how unique their rooms were.

1. Glow-in-the-Dark Stars
2. Lava Lamps
3. Beaded Curtains
4. Inflatable Furniture
5. Band Posters
6. CD Player/Boombox
7. CD Towers

Glow-in-the-Dark Stars

As a 2000s teen, it seemed like everyone you knew had these glow-in-the-dark stars on their ceilings. The stars were made of plastic and could be attached with double-sided tape that came in the same package. That tape wasn't the greatest adhesive, and you had to deal with stars falling from the ceiling often, but it was so fun to look up and see a night sky you created on your bedroom ceiling.

Lava Lamps

Most people associate lava lamps with the hippie culture of the 1960s, which makes sense because that was when these lamps were invented. But Millennials will remember having their own lava lamps in their bedrooms. Lava lamps exploded in popularity again in the late 1990s, and by the 2000s, they seemed to be a staple of home decor for teens.

Beaded Curtains

These were not the wooden beaded curtains made popular by hippies in the 1970s, even if we did have the lava lamp nearby. The Y2K beaded curtains were colorful, sometimes iridescent, plastic, or acrylic. They were often shaped like butterflies, stars, and moons, or circles of different sizes. You could hang them in your doorway or in place of your closet doors. They added a bright, sparkly vibe to the room, and you could hardly resist running your hands across them.

Inflatable Furniture

Why were these inflatable chairs and couches so popular? They were not very comfortable, and they were noisy when you moved even slightly, but the translucent balloon furniture was a must-have item. The most common colors were blue and pink, but they had purple, green, orange, and red as well. Some even had patterns like stars or butterflies printed on the plastic. You felt really cool owning one of these chairs, but you felt less cool when it stuck to your skin as you tried to stand up.

Band Posters

You could have gotten a poster of your favorite band from the store or from a concert, but the most common place to find posters and pin-ups was the teen magazines. Papering your walls with magazine posters from Tiger Beat, J-14, or Twist was all the rage. Girls had boy bands like NSYNC and Backstreet Boys on their walls, and guys had Blink-182, Linkin Park, or even Britney Spears.

CD Player/Boombox

In order to listen to your favorite bands, you had to have a CD player. The iPod was released in 2001, but most teens couldn't afford that. A CD player or boombox easily played CD after CD, until the batteries ran out. A lot of models also had a cord that you could plug into an outlet. The 2000s boombox was smaller and rounder than a boombox from the 1980s, and when marketed to teens, it often came in funky colors.

CD Towers

To go along with your boombox or CD player, you needed a storage solution for your growing collection of music. CD towers allowed you to keep the case and the CD together, stacking them in the slots of the tower. Some were made of metal, while others were colorful plastic to match the bright shades of the rest of your room. Others even attached to make an incredibly tall tower, though they often couldn't handle the weight of CDs at the top when connected. Better to have multiple shorter towers than one that topples over constantly.

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