Decorating A Shared Bedroom For A Boy & Girl & How To Keep The Peace

Hello my lovelies!

Happy Monday!

I know most households run into the situation where two kids have to share one bedroom. That can be a big challenge in itself. A small bedroom now has to function for two kids – their stuff and their personalities. To add a bit more into the mix – the room has to be shared between a toddler boy and a girl!

How do you arrange the sleeping areas to make sure each kid has their personal space?

How do you address the styling need for a boy versus a girl?

How do you make the room imaginative for both kids?

How do you address the storage needs of the room?

How do you make sure there is still room for the kids to play and just be kids?

I was called upon about three years ago by one of my best clients to create an imaginative and well put together space for their toddler boy who was about 2 at the time, and their baby girl who was just a few months old.

She had just a few things on her wish list and left the rest up to me

Using her favorite color palette of purples
The room should not be themey or too babylike/childlike
As much storage as possible
Enough floor space for play. Although they have a game room where the kids all play together, she still wanted some play area in their room
Stylish and imaginative
Cohesive and gender neutral

So I had my work cut out for me in this small bedroom.

Here is where we began

THE BEFORE

Here are a few tips based on what I did for this project that I think will work for any shared kids’ bedroom

Use color to add personality and define each kid’s special space. Here we started with “electric blue” walls as I called them. My client wanted to use purple as the color palette. Adding an interesting paint technique of the bold horizontal stripes brings in a ton of personality and made an interesting back drop for the rest of the space. A touch of blue identified the boy side of the room, and apple green identified the girl side of the room
Make the room fun, imaginative and add a personal touch for each kid – The “alphabet soup” on the walls was a great way for the kids to learn the alphabet. Although the letters were placed at random, it was a good way for them to identify letters out of order. You will notice that on each wall, each child’s name is spelt out in their special color. On the boy side ASHER was spelt out in blue. On the girl side ORLI was spelt out in apple green. The custom upholstered headboards also were created to mimic the shape of Fall leaves, and the custom duvet covers were full of jungle animals that they could search for and identify
Go vertical. This is a great way to add storage to any room. I always try to bring in vertical bookcases into kids’ rooms as storage for books and toys

Create storage from what would otherwise be wasted space – I had the bed and bookcases custom built on site with storage drawers underneath each bed. But I didn’t stop there: I also created storage between each bed with a custom window seat with additional storage inside. This is a great place for story time!
Edit and store stuff outside of the room if possible. You will notice that the bookcases are not cluttered and have just a few of the things they use a lot. For this bedroom, I also commissioned custom built-ins inside the closet (not shown). This is where most of the books and toys they don’t use everyday are kept. They also have a game room nearby for larger toys
Leave enough floor space for play time. Kids love to hang out in their rooms. Even if there are other play areas in the home, they still need a good amount of floor space to play

Art by Duane Cregger

Make it Artful and Inspiring. My clients once owned an art gallery, so they have an appreciation for original art and want to teach their kids how to collect great works by great artists. We commissioned this original piece “Mother and Child” by Virginia artist Duane Cregger. 24×36 oil and mix media on canvas. You can view it on his website here. It does not have to be a commissioned art piece that you use to make the room artful and inspiring. You can have the kids paint their own original works of art and frame them to infuse their personality.

Fun and Interesting Lighting. Kids love to read in bed, so having lots of lighting in the room is great. Instead of going with basic fixtures, it is a great opportunity to bring in fun and interesting lighting. Here I chose a sunburst chandelier to maximize lighting along with 2 wall sconces.

Here are a few more shots of the room

Here you really get to see that adding built-ins are a great way to maximize the space in a room. They are a big investment, but a similar look can be obtained by using modular bookcases from Ikea or Target or Walmart

I went with fully custom bedding in this room, but the same look can be accomplished with off-the-shelf bedding from online retailers like Land of Nod and West Elm etc. Make sure the fabrics are easy to care for

For the headboard and the window seat cushion, I went with fabrics that can be wiped clean. They are kids after all, and you want them to enjoy their space without you having to worry about them ruining stuff.

I personally think that having kids share a bedroom is a great way for them to develop a special bond. It is important however to keep the peace by making sure that each child has their own defined space, packed with their personality.

Do your kids share a bedroom? What is life like?

Hope you enjoy the room tour!

Wishing You Beauty and Inspiration!