How to Create a Wonderful Bedroom for Siblings to Share
Most brothers and sisters benefit from sharing a room, but these tips will help keep the inevitable territorial disputes to a minimum
Anna Tobin
February 3, 2016
Houzz UK Contributor. I am an experienced lifestyle journalist, interior stylist and editor. I regularly contribute to all the UK glossies and the national press and international press and I run www.dontcrampourstyle.com, the blog for people who live in homes that they've physically outgrown. Follow me on Twitter @theannatobin or contact me via www.annatobin.co.uk
Houzz UK Contributor. I am an experienced lifestyle journalist, interior stylist... More
Sharing a bedroom helps children to bond and to quickly learn to compromise. Siblings are bound to squabble, but if you put some thought into how you design their bedroom, you should reduce the tantrums. Here are 10 points to consider if you want to make family life in a compact home a little calmer.
Involve your kids in the design. If you include your children in the design of their room right from the start, you’re more likely to avoid complaints later.
Even young children can help pick out wall art and duvets, but if you want the room to look stylish and grow with them, steer them away from the section of the store or website where the sports and character bed linen is on display.
Even young children can help pick out wall art and duvets, but if you want the room to look stylish and grow with them, steer them away from the section of the store or website where the sports and character bed linen is on display.
Let the children display their individual personalities. Give each child a section of the room to decorate. Each one could get a wall to cover with art, an area by the bed for a rug or a corner of the room to dress with scatter cushions. Try to make sure that everything one child selects complements the other’s choices by giving them an edited selection from which to pick.
Give each child a personal area. No matter how small the room is, try to ensure that each child has some private space. You can accomplish this with individual desks with compartments for special things, as seen in this room, or with separate bookshelves or toy boxes.
Set a few rules. There will be arguments, but to keep them to a minimum, establish ground rules. To help your kids learn to respect each other’s possessions, for example, teach them to ask before using anything that doesn’t belong to them.
To teach them that each has a right to privacy sometimes, ask them to always knock before entering if the door is closed. If you get the kids involved in creating the laws of the room, they may be more likely to adhere to them.
To teach them that each has a right to privacy sometimes, ask them to always knock before entering if the door is closed. If you get the kids involved in creating the laws of the room, they may be more likely to adhere to them.
Allow even very young children to share. Parents who live in small homes often keep their youngest child in their bedroom far longer than they need to for fear of disrupting the older child’s routine.
In most cases, older children adapt quickly and are delighted to share with their little brother or sister. And if one wakes up crying in the night, the other is likely to sleep through the noise. Anyone doubting this should ask friends who’ve already doubled up their children; they’ll probably reassure you that this is normally the case.
In most cases, older children adapt quickly and are delighted to share with their little brother or sister. And if one wakes up crying in the night, the other is likely to sleep through the noise. Anyone doubting this should ask friends who’ve already doubled up their children; they’ll probably reassure you that this is normally the case.
Keep the younger child out of mischief. Allow the older child a place to keep special toys where the pesky younger sibling can’t reach them. A few high shelves or wall-hung storage buckets are all that’s required.
Create a great escape. Everyone needs time on their own every now and then. It doesn’t have to be a custom hideaway like this — it could be a playhouse or tepee or even a homemade fort created from bed sheets. It just needs to be somewhere your little ones can enjoy their own company from time to time and chill out.
Free up floor space. If your eldest child is older than 6 — the youngest recommended age for a top bunk — consider bunk beds. This will provide more floor space for playing, plus most kids are thrilled at the prospect of having bunk beds.
If you’re planning to move or extend the house in the near future to give them each a room, look for bunks that can later be separated into two single beds.
If you’re planning to move or extend the house in the near future to give them each a room, look for bunks that can later be separated into two single beds.
Have a place for everything. Children are messy creatures, and when you have two or more in the same room playing different games, you quickly end up with stuff everywhere. It’s much easier to condition children to be tidy if they know everything has its place, even those annoying little favors they bring home from birthday parties.
In this room, there are shelves for books and games, bins for larger toys and dress-up clothes, and baskets for all those itty-bitty toys, such as Lego.
In this room, there are shelves for books and games, bins for larger toys and dress-up clothes, and baskets for all those itty-bitty toys, such as Lego.
Be creative with the space you have. To get the perfect configuration, it may well be worth employing a custom-furniture designer to make the most of every square inch.
For this room, an architect designed a platform for two beds separated by the roof support. There are storage cubbies to the side of the beds and drawers within the platform.
Tell us: Have you created the perfect sibling co-sharing arrangement? Let us know and share your photos in the Comments.
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For this room, an architect designed a platform for two beds separated by the roof support. There are storage cubbies to the side of the beds and drawers within the platform.
Tell us: Have you created the perfect sibling co-sharing arrangement? Let us know and share your photos in the Comments.
More
9 Pro Tips to Create a Long-Lasting Kids’ Room
Personal Kids’ Spaces: 15 Super Cozy Bedroom Hideaways
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these are great for kids sharing, especially if they crave more privacy. They are called Privacy Pop bed tents.
By all means consider your own convenience when thinking out the kids' room. Some of these beds look like they'd be MURDER for an adult to make up, and probably impossible for a child to learn to make his/her bed.
With bunk beds, there's always the younger child's complaint, 'How come S/HE gets the top bunk?' But they seem to survive the injustice and grow into well-adjusted adults (though this weekend, I listened to two very devoted sisters in their 20s, and the younger made that complaint - just incidentally, she is a strongly competitive/ambitious person: trying to 'reach the top' still?). Two of my nieces had a trundle bed/bunk bed and they slept on the lower areas as the norm and could take turns sleeping in the top bunk if one had a friend sleep over. So no arguments or resentment.
As for younger children moving in with the older child, I've noticed that often the older child not only wakes up when the younger child fusses, the older children I know get out of bed, cover or comfort the younger, and go back to sleep, and the parents only find out about it after it's been going on for some time. Sharing can actually bring out the love and protectiveness of an older sibling.
love these cleaver and pretty ideas...sharing is caring ;-)