Brother/Sister Shared Bedrooms

"The hardest thing to pull off is a bedroom shared by a brother and sister. How do you create a gender-neutral space without ending up with something bland?" - Ohdeedoh

And, I would add, without something disturbingly compartmentalized like this room. Yeesh. Nothing says family harmony like blatant segregation ;)

But, it's tough. In coming up with some ideas for Bedroom 3's next stage, it's really tricky to figure out how to make a room truly personal for both a 5 year old girly girl and a 3 year old little boy. So, I trolled the 'net for inspiration and did some brainstorming. I started out with a few basic points from this article and some of my own thoughts. The rest of this post is kind of like a jumble of notes about what I tracked down. Gets a little random at times, but I was encouraged in the end. Here's the first thing that seemed like it was coming close...

I was drawn to the brightness and neutrality, I think. See, I want our children's rooms to be warm, fun, and personal, but I also want them to fit in with the rest of the house. I don't want to have a bedroom that shocks you when you open the door. We've had very pink bedrooms that didn't go with the rest of the house before. We've even had trees and murals on walls before. But, in this house, I want the bedrooms to retain a little of the mood set in the main living areas. It's a smaller home, and I'd like the spaces to flow. So, I think I liked the white and the subdued foundation.

Although Bedroom 3 isn't as neutral as white, it's still pretty neutral with its blue/gray walls and the white of the window treatments and curtains on the closet. All of that was on purpose, really. After literally months of trying to figure out our design style, I knew I was drawn to the versatile canvas of a neutral backdrop. This first photo of a shared bedroom confirmed my desire for neutrality in Bedroom 3. But, how do you take all that neutrality and make it say HAPPY, FUN, PERSONAL? And how do you do all that for both a boy and a girl?

Another neutral brother/sister room. White, again. But this photo interested me because I started to look for strong, cheerful colors that work in gender-neutral spaces. The dresses are too much for me in this photo, but the tree and birdie on the pillowcases, the blue, yellow, limey-green, and orangey-red stood out to me. Just a little color in accessories really comes out in this room. It's a Swedish room. Do you all like it? I think I'd want someone else to dust it ;)

I like the little pointy star mobile thingy. Note to self: white pointy stars look convincingly gender-neutral. Another note to self: little bits of color in a neutral room really make a big impact.

I really like the brightness and high-contrast neutrals of this brother/sister room. High-contrast neutrals with lots of white definitely fits in with the direction of the rest of the house. Those chairs were really what grabbed me, though. I love black. I just do. Black is just the best ever . It's gender-neutral, too :) And that rug is fun... a little punchy color. But, this room still feels pretty serious to me. Striking, but a little too much like Mama needs it picture perfect. This room is not a happy, warm, personal room in my mind. A touch sterile.

Then, I found this room, and I knew I was getting somewhere. For one thing, I realized that, for me, a warm, personal, happy kids' room means stuff. Collections of stuff. Meaningful, personal stuff. That was a pretty key realization, I think. I want our kids rooms to be their own. I want my kids to show through in their rooms. I like the room in the photo above, and it's pretty gender-neutral (minus the hugenormous white flowers on the rug). Plenty of white, high-contrast neutrals, a little black - there's a pattern emerging here ;) Buuuuuut - still - it was just missing something.

Do you know what it was missing? What would've really made it come alive?

It was missing red :) I love black. And I love red. Just a little bit of each.

Ooooh, with turquoisey bright blues. Okay, okay - maybe I just love color.

Wow. This, dear friends, is a killer brother/sister room. After seeing this I knew red was totally in the picture. Has to be. This room is gorgeous. Still not personal, but - wow. This room with the right amount of personal, kid-centric stuff, would be awesome. Except, I'd rather see white on the beds. That's too much black. Plus, I think it needs...

...polka dots. Red polka dots. Because we have blue/gray walls like in this picture and because this picture totally inspires me. If we took the picture with the black bedspreads and made it less stuffy and impersonal by adding red polka dots and other personal, fun, kid-centric stuff...

... like this, we'd be getting somewhere. Polka dots in moderation, though. They aren't the most gender-neutral trick in the bag. But they are happy. And I like them. I like high-contrast neutrals, lots of white, pops of black, and red, and polka dots.

And I love this blankie. This is quite possibly the happiest-looking little blankie on the planet :)

What about this room? A little crazed? Yeah. Definitely. But, it does have high-contrast neutrals, plenty of white, a little black, and red. One thing's for sure, it has lots of kid stuff. (hi, Mr. Sock Monkey!) It's a little too nutso for me, though. Take the room with the black bedspreads, add a little bit of red polka dots, mix it with this room, and that's just about right. This room livens the black bedspread room up, and the black bedspread room tones this one down. Can you combine the mood of those two rooms in your mind's eye? I think I can. Punkin and Little Dude would totally love it.

From this room and from the cozy blankie, I'm noticing colors again. Lots of colors. I don't think I want a tight color scheme that looks too on-purpose. I think I want to try for lots of those brother/sister compatible colors like bright blue, red, green, orange, and gold in just the right amounts. To make it cheerful and to keep it from being too serious, but also to keep it from looking like a novelty shop. Maybe in vintage prints.

I loved this little bookcase. It could fit into the room I have coming together in my head. See that yellow-gold fabric with the blue wall? The happy colors of the books? The bright blue of the globes? Is this for a boy's room or for a girl's room? I think it could live in both. I'm feeling inspired by this little bookcase :) Picture the slightly elegant room with the black bedspreads loosened up with color, vintage fabric, the polka dot chair, and this bookcase.

Thoughts?