LIFESTYLES Creating fab hangouts

Essentials include a TV, VCR, radio and computer.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
What makes for the perfect bedroom? It can't just be four white walls and a bed. Where's the coolness in that? No, it must have all the essentials. But what exactly constitutes "the essentials"?
"You have to have a TV," said Dave Ward, a freshman at Hubbard High School. "You need to be able to watch things like 'Jerry Springer,' so you need a TV.
"And there has to be someplace to sit," he continued. "Like a futon, or a bean bag or something."
Hanging out with everyone trying to sit on just a bed doesn't cut it, agreed HHS sophomore Mike Hoffman. More space is needed, he explained, to kick back and watch a movie on the VCR or to play games on PlayStation 2 (more "essentials").
"And you gotta deck your room out and make it look fab," Ward said. Which, in his and his friends' opinion, includes black lights and posters.
Getting help: For Ward, creating the perfect room takes time and the help of relatives. He started collecting pieces for his room, including a futon that was passed to him from his grandmother.
"Some of it was stuff my grandma had and I saw it and liked it," he said. It makes for the perfect place for him and friends like Hoffman and sophomores John Nutter, Will Panning and Paul Silvidi to relax in. He admits there is always room for improvement.
The ideal accessories include a big-screen TV and deep, plush carpets -- "like from the '70s," he said. And of course, there has to be the right music: Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Doors and Tom Petty are a good start.
Although teen-age girls may disagree on the music and carpet, they concede that plenty of seating and things to do are needed for the perfect room.
For Lisa Brown, a sophomore at Niles McKinley High School, and her friends, some type of sofa or futon are also needed in addition to the bed.
"You don't want to try and cram everybody onto the same bed," she explained.
Add to sufficient seating a big stereo system with a CD player and radio and a computer with Internet access so you can chat with friends who aren't with you, and you're well on your way to perfection.
"And you need a TV and VCR, because if there's a big group, it's easier to watch movies," she said.
Almost perfect: Brown's description of the perfect room comes close to fellow sophomore Amy Metea's actual room. The pair and several of their closest friends congregate in Metea's room several times a week, often for several hours at a time.
"At Amy's house, hers is the only room on the second floor, so when we go there, we don't really get bothered," Brown said.
Metea said her collection of electronic necessities started shortly after she moved into her room.
"We moved into this house when I was in the second grade, and I was scared to be up here all by myself at first," she said. "But when I started coming up here to sleep, my parents got me the TV."
Since then, she has added a stereo system and a computer, as well as her own personal touches throughout the space.
"It's got purple walls with blue trim and a purple carpet," she notes. To that, she has added hanging fish decorations on the ceiling, a collage of Lance Bass pictures on the door and knickknacks on most available spaces.
Metea's room has become the ultimate spot for her and friends to veg in for a number of reasons.
"If we all get together and talk about going somewhere, if someone doesn't have the money, then usually no one else wants to go," she said.
"Plus, we have everything here -- the TV, VCR, computer, radio -- we don't really have to leave the house to do anything. Everything to do is right here."