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Struggling with Shared Kids' Bedroom

Erin L
3 years ago

I am struggling with window placement, closet placement, built in design, and furniture placement! Ah!


This will be a kids' shared bedroom for a 3 and 6 year old, but this is our forever home so it will need to grow with their needs. I really don't like bunk beds so I would like to stick with two singles.


How do I make the most of this layout? Thank you!!



Comments (51)

  • Gcubed
    3 years ago

    agree, too many windows. If anything, you want it DARK in the bedrooms! Or you'll be spending money on good room darkening window treatment! Will they be sharing until they move out? If so, I'd get one 3 drawer dresser in-between the beds to share. A wardrobe or dresser on what is currently proposed to be the desk wall. I have a teen/tween who share a room and they are only in there to sleep and store their stuff. No desks- they do work outside. I would make sure there is storage under the beds too (either storage containers or built-in drawers). Easy place to stash out of season clothing.

  • chiefy
    3 years ago

    Just curious, your other post showed 3 bedrooms, why are you planning for your kids to share this one when there’s another room available. Although kids definitely can share a room, to force that in a “forever home” custom build, doesn’t seem like sound planning. (From a person with 2 kids who started in separate rooms, then voluntarily shared for 4 years and are now split again...)

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  • Erin L
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    One of the bedrooms is a home office and we are planning on having a third child in the future so two of the kids will always have to share a bedroom. It’s not ideal but build costs per sq foot are pretty insane in this area and we just don’t have the budget to add on another bedroom.

  • tcufrog
    3 years ago

    I have a 13-year-old son who is a full-fledged teen. He is even as tall as me (5' 7.5") and has a prominent mustache. Even though he has a bunk bed, he absolutely hates it when his brother has to bunk in his room for some reason even for a night. What's your game plan if the older child wants more privacy once he or she gets older?

  • Erin L
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    I shared a bedroom with my sister until college so I suppose they’ll just have to figure it out!

  • suedonim75
    3 years ago

    What's your game plan if the older child wants more privacy once he or she gets older?

    Good lord, siblings have shared rooms for generations.

  • Gcubed
    3 years ago

    As long as there are some “escape” rooms/spaces at home, siblings can share. As I mentioned, my kids basically only use their room to sleep and store stuff (and it’s pretty big). We have a full with a twin trundle (got rude of bunk beds). My tween loves the trundle. I just think you need a little more wall space for clothes/toy storage and less built in desk space. As they get older, you can even move in a portable writing desk or C-table but most young kids don’t do “work” in their rooms . Especially if you have an island, kitchen table, etc

  • PRO
    JAN MOYER
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    You have too much window in the bedroom, and not enough storage. You DON'T need the "built in" now, as part of the initial build. What you will need as they grow, is more closet. Less "homework" desk space. Kids, even now, usually do homework on a first floor and they ESPECIALLY do it there when young, so that you are in ear shot.

    WHERE YOU HAVE THE BUILT IN SHOULD BE CLOSET. For now? where you have closet is a later something you need. or it is nothing.

    As you have it planned? Too crowded. Add the actual dimensions to the bath walls as well. In fact, post the entire floor plan, nobody wants to go back to another thread if you have one. Stay on one thread.

  • felizlady
    3 years ago

    There were three of us girls in one small bedroom for years. As the eldest, I had a twin bed, the other two had a bunk bed. One dinky closet for three! When the boy was born, we moved to a slightly larger house.
    I agree you need more closet and less desk space. You need two dresser drawers for each kid’s folded clothing. If these kids are of different genders, you have bigger problem. At some point they would need privacy. How many bedrooms will you have? Where will the third child be? This may not be a forever home unless you plan ahead for your children’s needs.

  • mainenell
    3 years ago

    You don’t need to walk around both sides of bed. It’s nice, but not necessary. Then put a dresser with double rows of drawers between the beds. This about 12’ wide.

  • Jennifer Hogan
    3 years ago

    I grew up with 2 sisters and 3 brothers (Brady Bunch - 3 girls/3 boys).

    We had a girls room and a boys room and a single bathroom with 2 sinks that we shared.

    Girls took baths at night, boys took showers in the morning. Each bedroom had a vanity with a single sink. 3 older kids left for school an hour before the 3 younger kids.

    The rooms were set up that each child had an equal amount of space for their belongings and we were taught to respect each others space.


    Once we were dressed or got changed after school we didn't spend much time in our bedrooms. My mom expected us to hang out in the family room/kitchen area, watching TV, Reading, playing board games, doing homework, helping with dinner. My dad's office was known as the study.

    It had his desk and 3 additional kids desks and a sofa. It was the quiet room where the older kids went in the evening to do their homework, while the younger ones stayed out with my mom.

    As the older kids went on to college the desks became the study desks for the younger 3.


    At almost 60 years old I seldom go a day without speaking to both of my sisters and seldom go a week without speaking with my 3 brothers. Before Covid we had family meals and gatherings, monthly cards with all 6 of us and our spouses. We were raised together and we are still as close as siblings could be.


    I look back and remember my mom talking on the phone with my 3 aunts every day and going shopping with them and going to lunch with them and them being in our lives and our home on a regular basis. Aunt Ann was at our house almost every evening with her youngest son(s) after her husband died.


    She shared a room with her sisters too and was raised in a family centric home.



    I think we learned to share and cooperate and compromise and those lessons served us well as adults.



    Here is a rough drawing of what our bedroom looked like. (The boys room was a mirror image on the other side of a long hallway.


  • Sue54321 ABC
    3 years ago

    Jennifer Hogan - That’s awesome. I agree. Our four kids had to share close quarters and they are still close and adapted easily to college dorm life as they were used to having people around, compromise and sharing, and noise.

  • PRO
    Patricia Colwell Consulting
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Sharing a room is not the end of the world , you do not mention if boys or girls but in my experience girls need a lot of closet space and boys need a lot of drawer space. I dont think kids need a desk since all the kids i know do their homework sitting on their bed, I think they will need somewhere else to play so a table in that spot will work for puzzles, art etc. I like the layout with the headboards together but I think with a taller wall gives a bit more privacy





    Erin L thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
  • Erin L
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    This is beautiful! Thank you!

  • cd7733
    3 years ago

    I would also plan for using Twin XL mattresses instead of twins. They're 5 inches longer than a twin (same length as a queen/king.) I made the mistake of building a twin length loft bed for my son when he was younger, and he out grew it at 12. The extra length could also come in handy for adult overnight guests. Captain's beds with drawers are great. It's what my son had before moving to the loft bed. Your youngest will need a stool to climb up for a couple of years.


    You may also want to consider removing the short wall and not installing built ins. That way you can have more flexibility of furniture and placement as the children grow.



    Erin L thanked cd7733
  • er612
    3 years ago

    If it's not too late, I would install standard closet doors instead of the sliding ones pictured. PB's Belden Corner Unit (or something similar) would work if you're committed to the builtins. Personally, I'd skip the builtins for more flexibility.

    Erin L thanked er612
  • Erin L
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    I have too many good choices to pick from now! :) :)

  • tedbixby
    3 years ago

    One sink, toilet next to sink, bring shower more towards the vanity and have a walk-in closet and a bit more bedroom space for when friends hang out which probably will be more appreciated as they grow into this space rather than having 2 sinks and a separate shower area. They will just need to learn to be on a schedule to use the bathroom separately.

  • Jennifer Hogan
    3 years ago

    I wouldn't want a room with windows on 3 walls - too limiting.


    I would probably do a closet on a full wall, a big window on the short outside wall and clerestory windows above the beds on the long outside wall


    Thinking that each kid would have 1/2 the closet, a bench seat at the foot of each bed with some storage for blankets/bedding, each has their own nightstand and one long dresser below the big window.



  • Jennifer Hogan
    3 years ago

    Window placement also has to look right from the outside, not just the inside, so my idea may or may not work with the rest of the house plan.

  • melnnoa
    3 years ago

    I would skip the built ins, in two of my kid bedrooms (one for two boys, one for one girl) the sliding closet doors have been removed to make access to clothes, shoes, toys, etc more accessible... although you don’t need three night stands, each child might eventually want their own landing space for water, books, glasses, etc

  • Sue54321 ABC
    3 years ago

    If you do the one larger central nightstand, you can do two small ottomans by the side. The ottomans are flexible - tabletop, movable seating for friends visiting, and if they open up then storage. Also somewhere to throw clothes.

  • felizlady
    3 years ago

    The gender of the children will not matter until the eldest is approaching puberty. Then it will matter a lot. Patricia Colwell Consulting is correct that boys’ and girls’ storage needs will be different.
    Use light-blocking window treatments on the east wall so that sunshine doesn’t make the room too bright to early.
    A desk with drawers and counter space for each child will be useful for quite a while, but if they are free-standing (instead of built-in), there will be more versatility in furniture arranging in the future.

  • RedRyder
    3 years ago

    Get XL mattresses as suggested and skip the built in furniture. Your kids will want flexibility. Your desks may turn into dressers as they start studying in other spaces of the house. Give them more closet space and less windows. They will probably just sleep and get dressed in here if you have large family spaces in the house.

  • skyarts
    3 years ago

    Nice touch to create some privacy for the toilet and shower area. That will be very appreciated.


  • loobab
    3 years ago

    Agree with tedbixby- the whole bathroom needs to be reconfigured.

    One shouldn't have to walk through the toilet area to get to the shower, and kids need a bath!

    Have a combo bath shower, and only one sink.

    And move the toilet closer to the sink.

    I think that will save you some space in there that you can either give to the bedroom, or use in the bathroom for very important storage space in the bathroom.

    Toiletries and beauty products for two girls take up a lot, a lot of room, not to mention the towels.

    Agree with everyone else about too many windows.

    I do think there should be windows on either opposing walls or perpendicular walls to get a cross breeze.

    As soon as it is safe, I would build loft beds for both girls, they can have desks below the beds, or storage, whichever they/you prefer by that time. Or they can have a sofa type seating for them and a visiting friend.

    That leaves tons of wall space for books and toy and game storage and lots of floor space to play, too.

  • Águila Venado
    3 years ago

    bonitos deseños de planos

  • doubletrbl
    3 years ago

    I would leave your layout as it is and perhaps look for furniture that gives you more function. Check out some bed options that have pull out drawers, and/or storage for under the desk area. There are bunk ideas too that have bed up top and storage below although it looks like that might impede with your windows depending on their height. I also agree with putting doors on the closet and then get a good organizer for it rather than a slider that blocks part of the access (fine if it’s not a shared closet, but with two kids; you can rest assured they’ll both want to get in there at the same time.
    Kids grow so fast, and what works now might not be practical for when they are tweens and teens so I wouldn’t sacrifice expensive structural design over the ability to interchange furnishings, which they may want to also interject their own preferences.

  • Mao Arismendi-Pardi
    3 years ago

    My girls share rooms and fight EVERY SINGLE DAY, I shared bedrooms with my sister and it was the same...

  • Mamacita Nikita
    3 years ago

    The house we moved into three years ago had a 3 x 3 closet and small built-in desk next to the door in all four of the kids' rooms. That size closet works ok for the boys but it was ridiculous for the girls. Had to take them out and install built-ins. All desks were removed as they took up too much valuable space in the small bedrooms. The kids have their own small office that they share so there was no need for additional desks.

  • Daphne Earley
    3 years ago

    My kids have shared rooms and love it. I would never though put them side by side for sleeping. It’s too tempting to chatter or fight. We have beds with drawers and has worked like a charm. Sometimes we have set them up feeling like couches with a corner separator and other times moved them to give them separate space. I would skip the built ins and dressers. Our boys now sit next to each other for class on their computers, play music together and hang out. With COVID-19 it has made them better friends. It depends on flexibility. You can make it work and they can love it.

  • thiskidd
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    After viewing some of the comments Including yours Erin, depending on your yard space perhaps a home-office-study space free standing in your yard would be an option for you to free-up the bedrooms and provide an additional sleep option for a teen when company needs to occupy one bedroom. Check out options at Studio Shed, there are other manufactures also who do ADU units which in some areas have tax benefits too. (https://www.studio-shed.com) It can also work as a rental or in-law unit down the road.

    I agree with “decoenthusiaste” turning your desk area into a 2nd closet, and placing their beds along the window either head to head or toe to toe with storage underneath, and maybe moving the desk either out of the room or placing it on the wall where you had the beds. I think having the two beds side-by-side may create a battle zone or make it distracting/difficult to fall asleep next to each other. If more storage is still needed a desk can be placed between two chest of drawers on that wall.

    Hope these ideas are of some help. Look forward to hearing what you decide!

    Enjoy your new home!

  • Melzy
    3 years ago

    I like Jennifer Hogan's floorplan however orientation of the room is critical. East side windows means lots of morning light, not ideal if you've got young children that you'd like to sleep past 6am. West facing windows means afternoon sun which can make for a very hot room to try and sleep in at night. Bedroom windows on the north or south side, whether in the northern or southern hemisphere work best for bedrooms. I'd also look at the bathroom design. I think having a separate toilet is a great idea for kids sharing but needing to walk through it to use the shower is strange. I'd move the toilet to where the sinks currently are and then just a single sink on 1 wall near the shower, also giving you space to hang towels. If you worry the children will both want to use the bathroom at the same time, one in the shower another primping, a frosted shower screen is a simple fix as it allows for some privacy and siblings of the same gender shouldn't have too much trouble with this, my 2 sisters and I certainly didn't.

  • Jen K (7b, 8a)
    3 years ago

    Pleas don't err on gender stereotyping "in my experience girls need a lot of closet space and boys need a lot of drawer space" and "Toiletries and beauty products for two girls takes up space." When you assume their need based on gender and not them as an individual, you don't allow them to flourish. Make everything even and neutral.

  • Lynne
    3 years ago

    I grew up in a small 3 bedroom house, one bathroom, six kids. My sisters and I slept on bunkbeds, no closet, room for a six drawer dresser. We survived and are close. Kids will fight, but they also need rules set. The shower is a great idea. my kids were showering at a young age, and the drain can be covered if you need a couple of inches for a "bath" I would try and have the toilet where the sinks are, in it's own cubby so one sibling can shower when the other needs the toilet. Hopefully the house hasn't been built to the plumbing stage.

  • marylut
    3 years ago

    I am in the group suggesting no built-in counter or desk. With technology and kids doing school work on laptops, they no longer need a desk. K-5 students seem to prefer to do home work in public - like at kitchen table. Older kids seem to sit on their bed or family room sofa to do homework. I am also in the group favoring XL twins if your family is tall. For now, arrange the beds so they have maximum floor space to play. and give them low shelf storage and bins for toys. They will appreciate separate reach-in closets as they grow up. In the bathroom, a door to the toilet and shower area makes no sense and wastes space. Turn the sink 90 degrees so all the plumbing is along the same wall.

  • marylut
    3 years ago

    The kids will need room for dressers, unless you put organizer system with set of drawers in the closet or put dressers at foot of the beds. I had to guess about the windows. If you provide height from sill to floor and window width and placement along wall, I can adjust the floor plan. You can do a shower/tub in kids’ bath, or shower only if your house has a tub elsewhere. You can opt for double sinks or 1 sink and more countertop, or 1 sink and bigger 2nd closet, etc.

  • marylut
    3 years ago

    Captain’s bed with drawer storage for toys and clothes.

  • marylut
    3 years ago

    Storage bench at foot of bed for shoes, toys, sweaters, etc.

  • marylut
    3 years ago

    Wait until kids are older, probably middle school, to put a closet organizer system in the closet.

  • marylut
    3 years ago

    Tall linen tower in the bathroom can store extra bath towels up top, toiletries in the middle, and bath toys at the bottom. You could also do it as a pullout rack if space is tight.

  • marylut
    3 years ago

    In small closet (2” wide by 5” deep) taken from reconfigured bathroom, add built in drawers and shoe shelves for them to share.

  • marylut
    3 years ago

    In the bathroom, mirrored medicine cabinet, recessed if possible, over the sink for toothbrushes, etc.

  • marylut
    3 years ago

    Do bathroom towel hooks instead of towel bar.

  • marylut
    3 years ago

    As they grow, if more bathroom storage is needed, you can hang a cabinet over the toilet.

    Erin L thanked marylut
  • tcufrog
    3 years ago

    I actually like closet organizers in kids' closets as long as they are flexible and can change as they grow. As for bathroom storage, I am a fan of hallway linen closets shared by kid and guest bathrooms. The only things I like to store in those bathrooms are toilet paper and personal care items. The good old fashioned hallway linen closet is a much more efficient storage solution as long as it's organized properly.

  • Sue54321 ABC
    3 years ago

    If you want a desk but there isn’t room, there are floating wall mounted desks. Basically a slender wall cabinet where the cover flips out in a bottom hinge to make a desk.

  • acm
    3 years ago

    i honestly think no kid ever works at a desk in their room. we often still think that way but it just doesn't happen. at any age.

  • mainenell
    3 years ago

    Heck, I don’t think most adults work at a desk at home. We have a desk, but pay the bills at the table. And do the taxes at the table.

  • PRO
    JAN MOYER
    3 years ago

    A desk for a kid is a TOTAL waste of money.

    More importantly, there is too much window in the room. You will spend a lifetime fixing broken shades as they enter the teen years. .......and they will live in a cave tomb if you allow it.

    Eliminate windows, concentrate on closets and the beds.