The Library Teen Scene (Shh . . . )

House Calls Revamps Young-Adult Spaces At Three Montgomery Branches

Each week, readers ask us to solve their design problems in our House Calls column. One e-mail request stood out last winter: A makeover of the teen section of several public libraries in Montgomery County.

"Each branch has a designated area for teens," Bethesda librarian Kathie Weinberg wrote in December, "but these spaces are uniformly unappealing."

"Sometimes we are able to throw in a lava lamp or two, maybe a beanbag [chair], but we want to do better."

So we challenged four designers to redo teen areas in the Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Quince Orchard libraries just as they would a living room or dining room. What they envisioned can be adopted in a family room, bedroom or homework area of most homes, especially the accessories they chose and how they arranged the furniture.

These designers were constrained by the libraries' budgets, ranging from $2,500 to $10,000; librarian demands for durable furniture; and a look that would please hard-to-please teens.

One obvious problem: All three spaces started out with the usual drab surroundings of beige walls, dark fabrics and fluorescent overhead lighting that many expect of a public library. It's no wonder the target audience increasingly spends more time at coffee shops and bookstores.

"Starbucks is inviting because it has poufy chairs and it's colorful," said 17-year-old Rebecca Ehrenkranz of Potomac.

The teens appointed to the libraries' Teensite Advisory Group said they wanted a place that specifically welcomed them: not secluded or segregated, but not upfront and conspicuous with neon colors, either; comfortable and sophisticated, but not trying too hard to be young and stylish.

With all that input, the designers went to work.