A Shared Space for Sophia and Nicolas
I recently asked our Facebook fans to share their decorating dilemmas. Kristin F. had the following to say, “Wrestling with putting a toddler girl and baby boy in the same room for a few years. How to mix genders in decorating, which seems to be especially gender… um… ful.”
After talking to Kristin some more, I learned that Sophia and Nicolas currently share a very purple room that was more appropriate when it was Sophia’s nursery, but didn’t work well as a shared space.
To put together the room, I first started with the bedding. When mixing two sets, it’s important to keep at least one more simple. I chose an aqua palette for the bedding because it works well for both boy and girl, and offered a nice starting point from which to build the room. The bedding I chose for Sophia is from our Easy Breezy Collection, it’s mixable and can grow with her. It also paired well with the colors in our Come Fly With Me Crib Bedding. The nice thing about this set is we also offer it in kids size. Since Kristin indicated this shared setup was temporary, I wanted to show her pieces that would allow the room to transition into a permanent home for either Sophia or Nicolas, no painting or massive redecorating required.
From there, I chose a rug that, again, could work long-term. The pop of green adds to the snappy color palette. And, the rug is super soft and plush, giving a nice play surface for Nicolas while he’s learning to sit, crawl and walk.
Kristin indicated the room was on the small size, so I thought some storage was probably in order. Our 6-Cube Bookcase doesn’t take up much space, but holds a ton. It can start out as diaper and book storage and transition to craft supplies and toys as the kids grow up. Plus, the Top Box Storage Bins add some really great color to the room and make clean up a breeze.
Then it was time to accessorize. This is where you can really personalize the room. If you keep the furniture, bedding and rug more neutral, you can cater to each child’s tastes through wall art and other small décor items. The great thing about this approach is the cost commitment is low, so you can change it out with your kid’s changing taste. I love the idea of giving each child a growth chart, so they can track their growth together. Also, be sure to incorporate some wall art that reflects their interests. This can be anything from purchased prints and family photos to your kid’s own artwork.
It’s also important to allow each child their own “space” within the room. Even if it’s as simple as color-coded baskets to keep their toys apart. After all, no matter how much you love your little brother, sometimes you just want him to stay outta your stuff!
Overall, I think it’s a bright, cheerful space that can grow with the kids and feel like it belongs to them both. I hope I’ve at least given Kristin a few ideas she can incorporate into her kiddos’ room, I know I had fun putting it together.
By Danielle Kurtz
Danielle is the Creative Director at Nod and an over-protective mother of two. She’s also completely obsessed with Pinterest, Twitter and her Kindle, but not necessarily in that order. Danielle loves to craft, sew and crochet, but all her supplies have a layer of dust on them about 4 ½-years-thick, wonder if it's just a coincidence that her oldest kiddo is 4 1/2 years old?