When two kids need to share a space, what is the best way to decorate their room? I want both of them to feel like their personality is expressed and want them both to have some personal space in the room. Do I need to divide the bedroom into two distinct "rooms" or does anyone have some tips on how I can keep it an open space yet achieve the "separate but together" thing?
I personally really like a room that is divide by different colored walls. So if I had two kids sharing a room, I would put their beds on either end or their desks (in case they use bunk beds) and those corner walls would be different colors. The one corner blue lets say and the other gray (or whatever color they choose). So when you look at the room you can see distinctly whose side is whose. I would allow them to decorate it (with supervision of course) as they saw fit. Maybe one would like animals while the other would like science. My girlfriend had her two kids share bunk beds and she allowed them to decorate the wall next to where they slept only with things that could later be removed. I also thought this was a good idea because then you wouldn't have to worry about repainting.
Choose a neutral color like yellow. Then, choose decorations that can't really be defined by gender such as animals or clouds. Make sure though that they have their own bedside tables which they can freely decorate. This way, they will have the liberty to choose their own decorations.
Nice ideas, H.C. Instead of making the room feel smaller with a hard divider, I can separate with strong color. I like it. This could actually turn out to be very dramatic. It might even make the bedroom look larger, depending on which colors are chosen. Bunk beds do come in handy, but they can still each have some space to call their own.
I think painting different colours is going a bit too far though it creates this atmosphere of separation and would just look kind of weird in two colours. You could ask them if they want it painted in any specific colour. If they are too young then its not use doing it inthe first place, just don't bother. Paint it a generic accepted colour like a warm non intense yellow or pale orange or something along those lines. Its just my opinion.
You can contrast different areas of the room to give each child their own space, although using a cohesive theme that suits both children is usually a better idea. Give them more shared space than solo space, and they'll probably get along better. There are tons of things you can do to achieve either design style, and both can look great and work in a functional manner when handled properly. As long as you're not making the room something that both children hate, then you should be fine.
