Involve your son and daughter when decorating their room, if they are old enough.
Decorating a bedroom for two children to share can be a hassle as each child probably has his own idea of what the bedroom should look like. Extra planning has to go into the decor if the room is for a boy and a girl to provide a space that each child feels is dedicated to him and provides adequate storage and privacy. The end result should satisfy the needs--and some of the wants--of both children.
Instructions
1. Talk to each child separately, if they are old enough, to get ideas on what colors or theme they want to see in their room. Also ask them what they think their brother or sister would like. Look over each list to see if there is a common ground. If not, talk to the kids together to try to reach a compromise.
2. Determine a theme or color scheme that works for both children. Water can serve as the common ground if they both enjoy water-related things, such as mermaids and pirates. Some themes can be combined, such as princess and knights, cowboys and cowgirls or flowers and bugs. Gender-neutral themes include a farm, camp, jungle animals, frogs or a circus. Older children might prefer a simple color scheme such as red, blue and cream; candy apple green and red or chocolate brown with lime green, turquoise or robin's egg blue.
3. Paint the room in the color scheme or with theme-related items. Vertical stripes of varying widths can set the stage for a color scheme. Neutral walls can serve varying interests. Or you may use a common color for both children. For example, paint the lower half of the walls chocolate brown and the top half beige or cream separated by a white chair rail or molding. His side can have blue accents and hers can have pink accents.
4. Place the furniture in a way that leaves open space for the children to play, but also gives each of the kids privacy. Twin-sized beds can be placed on opposite ends of the room with two large bookshelves placed side-by-side in the center. One shelf should face each child, which will give them both privacy and storage space. Paint the back of the shelves with chalkboard paint to give each child a creative outlet.
5. Hang wall decor above the beds to personalize the space for each child. Wood or vinyl pieces can spell out their names or pictures of their favorite things can hang in frames. Another option is to decorate the walls with their own artwork. Hang minimal artwork if the walls are painted with a busy pattern, such as stripes, or a mural.
6. Complete the room with accessories that reflect the personality of each child. Bedding, rugs, throw pillows, lamps and nightlights can complement any color scheme or theme.
Tags: each child, color scheme, both children, chocolate brown, common ground