Shared sibling bedrooms is a great way to save on space. With many working parents living in city flats and terraced houses with less square footage, there is a dilemma to accommodate storage and space.
Creating a shared bedroom for your children can feel like a daunting experience. Even more so when you take into consideration each child’s individual style and evolving personalities.
Designing your children’s shared space however doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Here are our tips to overcome common design challenges and create a happy and functional room for your young roommates.
Creating a shared space for a boy and girl
Designing a room for a brother and sister can come with its challenges, however these easy steps below will help you overcome planning a shared room.
Choosing the underlying colour palette for the main elements of the room (wall, floor, furniture) is a good starting point. Colour combos such as white and grey, turquoise and white, or a mix of primary colours, work well for both boys and girls. Your children might be old enough to chime in on selecting the main colour elements of the room, so you can get the thumbs up from each child!
To complement your underlying palette, layer complementary colours and patterns. For example, in a grey and white room, try accenting with yellow accessories. For patterns, lean towards stripes, chevron or solids with large geometric shapes.
Which bed is best for a shared room?
When selecting furniture for the room, opt for furniture with clean lines.
Bunk beds
Bunk beds are a great choice for siblings sharing a room as they take up much less floor space than two single beds.
if you’re pressed for space then (top bunk arguments aside) a bunk bed is the way to go! Bunk beds give you two beds in the space of one, maximising floor space and giving you more room for much-needed storage solutions. Kids love them, and you’re sure to love the practicality! Just make sure you study up on bunk bed safety!
High sleeper beds
Bunk beds aren’t your only option, though! A high-sleeper bed is like a bunk bed with just one mattress, leaving the space below for whatever you fancy. That means if you have a high-sleeper bed on either side of the room, they each get their own area while taking up virtually no floor space at all.
They can each have their own chest of drawers and their own desk that fits neatly under their bed, or if you really want to be the coolest parent in town, you can put a daybed under each high sleeper, with each daybed hiding a trundle underneath! That means sleepovers with not just one, not just two, but four friends plus your little ones! More mess for you, sure, but your kids will be absolutely delighted to become the ultimate hosts.
Separate singles
If you want to keep their beds separate but you’re still keen on saving space – you could have each bed pushed against a wall on either side of the room. If you go for cabin beds on either side, you can tick off their bed and a bit of extra storage in one!
Put a nice big rug in the centre of the room and a daybed or big toy box along the back wall and they’ll each have their own special space, plus the perfect chill-out spot in the middle.
The exciting part of creating a bedroom for your little ones is accessorising and customising design elements to match their individual personalities. Personalise accessories in the room or subtly add gender-specific themes but keep them colour-coordinated.
Divide the space equally
Choose a colour scheme
Naturally, shared spaces can be busier bedrooms. Maximising floor space with more storage and two bodies in a bedroom can make the space feel more cluttered and chaotic. This is why it’s all the more important to design a calming space, and choosing the right colour scheme is the perfect place to start.
A soft lavender or dusty pink promotes peace and tranquillity for sharing girls. Perfect colour choices for boys and mixed bedrooms include sage greens, sea blues and pale yellows, which can help your little ones wake feeling refreshed and well-rested. Don’t forget to coordinate or contrast with bedroom accessories to complete the look.
If you’re not too bothered about a bit of asymmetry, then a two-tone room split right down the middle can look awesome! Even without any special dividers, just painting one half of the room one colour and the other half another colour can make a huge difference and make it feel like they each have a space for themselves. You could go for blue and green, blue and pink, pink and green, purple and orange – the options are endless!
You could also go for a yin and yang effect by swapping the colour scheme for the bedding, so one side has pink walls with white bedding while the other side has white walls with pink bedding, for example.
If you’re working with a smaller room, you’ll want to use colour to open it up and make it feel more spacious. Dark colours and heavy patterns can make a space feel cosier, while light colours create the illusion of space. Go for warmer whites, faded blues and greens or light yellows if you really want to open things up, and choose a room with plenty of natural light!
Creating a shared space for different ages
Sometimes it’s not just brother and sister that you need to accommodate, but a 3-year-old and a 7-year-old. Age difference can certainly add another layer of complexity to room design.
The first thing to consider is the furniture layout. If you have space in the bedroom for two single beds, consider positioning the 3-year-old’s bed closest to the door, as to not to disturb the older child during the night. If you’re tight on space, opt for bunk beds. The 7-year-old can sleep on top while the 3-year-old can bottom bunk.
Bunk beds are great for saving floor space, allowing you to create a play area that both siblings can enjoy. They also make for great sleepover beds.
Floor mats, cushions, and soft larger items are perfect for outlining the area and fun for both children’s play. Place the older child’s toys in accessible storage boxes, but higher than the floor, so your youngest can’t easily reach them.
For example, whether it’s a bookshelf, storage cube or wall unit, place toddler-friendly toys on the lower shelves. Your older child can stand and reach for the basket of Legos on the top shelve.
Our storage units are perfect for tidying away toys. Invest in cupboard doors to hide the children’s things away for an uncluttered and organised room.
Go for a theme they’ll both love
Now, when we talk about theme, we’re not talking their favourite tv show or superhero. We all now these things can easily be outgrown and cause further changes down the line. Simple themes are best and easily add a bit of interest to a room. Think stripes or spots. Rainbows or animals, the sky is the limit when it comes to choosing a theme.
Implementing your theme needn’t mean tonnes of mood boards and styling either. Single feature walls create an impact and wall art can easily be achieved with inexpensive stencils and wall stickers. Alternatively, stick to creating your theme through accessories and soft furnishings. Cushions, toys, blankets, and wall art can completely change the look of a room in a cinch. Better yet, as your little ones grow and their tastes change, these inexpensive items can be upgraded or even upcycled with a little DIY skills time and time again.
Pick furniture that will last
No matter who you’re creating a space for, longlisting furniture is always key. But taking into consideration two little ones sharing a space, durable, high-quality furniture that can withstand double the usage is key to creating a beautiful shared bedroom that stands the test of time.
At Aspace we’re so confident in the quality of our beds and furniture, we sign all of our products with a 7-year guarantee. It’s the longest guarantee you can find for children’s furniture, as far as we know.
Creating storage space for two or more
Finding the space in one room for twice as much furniture and storage is one of the most daunting tasks when designing a shared room. This is where resourcefulness is key. Less is definitely more in a shared bedroom, as is multifunctional and shared design.
As a baseline, selecting streamlined furniture is essential to keep the room feeling as spacious as possible and allow for storage and playing. Bunk beds are always an excellent choice; if one of your children is aged six or above to sleep on the top bunk.
Speaking of storage – under bed rollaway drawers are always helpful in creating more space and can hold seasonal or limited use items. Our Under Bed Storage Drawers work perfectly with all our designs. Storage chests with cushions can be used as a seat to a play table as well as conceal a mountain of toys. A wardrobe with drawers offers plenty of hanging and folding space for both children’s clothes. Take a look at our Charterhouse Two Drawer Wardrobe – perfect for any room design – or our Belvoir Wardrobe which is ideal for a girls’ bedroom.
Shelving is super convenient for toy organisation as it doesn’t take up a lot of space and can be placed above dressers and desks. Similarly, placing a bookshelf at the foot of the bed doesn’t take up valuable space and may even give you another surface near the bed for a lamp.
Regardless of your design challenge, when creating a shared room for your little ones if you stick to resourceful, efficient, fun and creative choices, you’ll no doubt create a bedroom your children will love!
Include built-in storage where possible
Built-in storage is yet another opportunity to save precious floor space. Adding Underbed Storage Drawers to your beds or bunk bed offers a great place to store bulky bedding or a mountain of toys when they’re not in use.
Our bespoke bookcase offering means you can create a beautifully finished storage system in a cinch. Allowing you to maximise small corners and awkward nooks in a bedroom, a bookcase is a perfect place for not only storing your little one’s library but also trinkets, toys and teddies too.
Include space for soft play areas
Soft play is so important for your little one’s development. A space to develop their imaginations, problem-solving skills, and coordination is a great addition to a bedroom. Using our tricks and tips above, dedicating a small amount of floor space to this can transform your children’s shared bedroom into an area they’ll love. Cushions, bean bags and blankets, items you may already have in the house are all soft play essentials.
Maximise floor space with bunk beds
Bunk beds can open up a room’s floor space, essentially cutting in half the amount of room needed for two beds.
We offer bunk beds with both vertical and angled ladders. Vertical ladders save on even more floor space, however, angled ladders are slightly easier for little ones to climb at a young age. For ultimate flexibility, the ladders on all our bunks can be positioned at either end of the beds to configure your room in the most economical way.
If you need any advice or guidance about what furniture to pick for a shared bedroom, contact us, our team will be very happy to help.
Shared Bedroom FAQs
How do you divide a room for kids to share?
There are a number of ways to divide a shared bedroom to allow your little ones their own space within one room. You can create privacy between twin beds with a room divider, this could be as flexible as a curtain or a DIY project. Alternatively, adding canopies or curtains to beds can give independent space within eating into floorspace. A final space saving idea, why not use different colours to visually divide a bedroom? This works particularly well for children with different styles.
When can you move siblings into the same room?
There is no set rule on moving children into or out of a shared room. However do take into consideration sleeping habits, their age and their attitudes towards sharing a bedroom.
What is the best storage solution for a shared bedroom?
For us, clever storage solutions such as bespoke bookcases and underbed storage drawers are the best storage solutions for a shared bedroom.
How can you maximise space in a shared bedroom?
Bunk beds are one of the best ways to free floor space in a shared bedroom. Paired with clever storage solutions, even the smallest of shared bedrooms can become a spacious, relaxing room.
How to make a shared bedroom more private?
Curtains, room dividers and separate storage can all help create privacy in shared bedrooms. As your little ones grow, having space to call their own is important, so considering privacy features in shared bedrooms at the design stage can help avoid complex redecorating further down the line.