Shared Child's Room Reveal

So here were my challenges, I have a small room, with only one wall that was really usable for a bed, because the other two have windows, and then the third has a closet door. I am also trying to create unique spaces for a two year old girl and a six month old boy. Oh, and not spend much money!

Here is how I dealt with those unique challenges:

In order to make the room feel larger I made Lady Lou a bed on the floor. I did this by sanding down and painting two palettes in high gloss acrylic white (I was inspired by this idea). I then had David screw them together and screw on seven casterwheels with brakes. This bed cost me a total of $48. (I also plan on using this as a reading nook couch in the future when Lady Lou is ready for a larger bed.) I then used an existing crib mattress on top. I made the bed plenty wide, this is her first "big girl" bed so if she rolls off her mattress, it is a short five inch fall to her platform.

I used a white twill blanket I had and paired it with a vintage crocheted blanket I found at a thrift store. All of the pictures and items that make up her visual wall I found at thrift stores. I looked for differing textures, colors, and uniqueness.

For Nugget's space I decided on a "mini crib". I decided to go with a mini crib for several

reasons, first of all, almost all of the floor space was taken up by the footprint of the toddler bed and regular sized crib, this was not acceptable. A "mini crib" is actually the normal size of a

crib in any other country but this one:) Most families around the world do not have as much square footage as the normal suburban American family. I went with the modern mini crib by Bloom called the Alma. And we LOVE it! We think it's the nicest piece of furniture we own! It is really good quality, and gorgeous clean lines. They will work till your child is two (or fifty pounds). Their footprint is 19.5" wide and 37.25" long. They are pricey, I found mine on craigslist, unused (If I had to buy it new I totally would have gotten the lime green one:)! I decided to make the mattress from a large piece of outdoor foam (4" thick) from Joann's (because they wanted $250 for their custom sized mattress), and then I bought on Amazon a set of two of the Bloom organic sheets and waterproof mattress cover. I then bought a regular crib sized bumper, but only used two of the four pieces, it worked perfectly! These ideas saved us almost $1,000 rather than purchasing all of these directly from Bloom.

What I ended up doing is placing Nugget's crib where the closet is. But to hide the closet door I covered it with a King size knit blanket (Same as the one on Lady Lou's bed). It gave his space a softness and texture we were missing, and it hid the closet door. I do keep extra baby supplies in this closet, so since his bed is on wheels I just wheel out his bed and I can easily get into the closet. I also love that his crib is on wheels because if he/Lady Lou are sick it is easy to wheel him into the living room so that they do not disturb each other when they sleep!

He also loves his disco ball, and if you notice his string banner is made from Dr. Seuss books.

I added a few things around his crib for visual interest, including this arc I found at a thrift

store that I spray painted a glossy white to give it a more modern feel. (And might give you a hint at what Nugget's real name might be...)

This which just makes me smile:

And the ship wheel that I also found at a thrift store and gave it a coat of glossy white paint.

Their dresser is an antique that I found on craigslist a year ago. And I love it! It has huge drawers that fit everything you could imagine, with sliding drawers inside as well to help with organization.

I think it all turned out really way and is a great mix of old and new, boy and girl, functional and pretty! I think the key to designing a multi-gendered shared room is picking a neutral wall color, defining their places, using basic colors and pieces that are similar in each child's space to draw the room together, and then contrasting in a few bold colors or pieces that represent who they are. I'd love to see some of the rooms or pieces you have done! Please leave me a link, and always check out ShabbyNest for more ideas of great budget saving decorating!

And happy decorating!