My Boy’s Shared Bedroom

Despite the fact that the house we are currently living in is temporary, when the search began about a year and a half ago, I had hoped that we would find a four bedroom home.  I had a feeling that our family would be expanding during our time here and wanted to be sure that there would be room for everyone.

I can tell you from experience, that looking for a house from a distance is not exactly easy.  Pictures can be deceiving, and it’s even more complicated when you aren’t familiar with the area.

When our realtor sent us the information for this house, we were instantly sold.  It was in a great location, a super family friendly neighborhood, and the layout was ideal… the only downside? It only had three bedrooms.

About two months after we moved in, we discovered that we were expecting Theo, and I instantly went into panic mode.  I realize how silly this sounds.  Lots of kids share bedrooms.  My sister and I did off and on while we were growing up, but I was concerned about the dynamic of an infant and a four year old sharing a room.  Would either of them actually sleep?  How would we fit all of that furniture into one room?

My friends, we are living proof that it can be done!

Max and Theo’s shared room is nothing fancy.  In fact, I’m fairly certain that it won’t be featured in Better Homes and Gardens any time soon, but I kind of love the little space that we created for the two of them. It’s an eclectic mix of items from small shops, items that were gifted and DIY’d, and stuff from everyone’s favorite place to shop, Target (I have linked as much as possible at the end of this post)!

For any of you out there who might be in a similar situation, or for those of you who are curious about how a four month old and a four year old co-habitate, I thought I’d share what has worked for us.

You may be wondering where our rocker/glider is.  Well, we actually keep it in our room, because our routine includes putting Max to bed first, then rocking/nursing Theo to sleep shortly after, and quietly sneaking him into his crib.  Max is a great sleeper, and it takes a lot to wake him once he’s down, so we knew this was an essential piece of the puzzle.  Theo is not the best sleeper, and still wakes a couple of times a night to nurse, but thankfully, with the help of a sound machine, Max sleeps right through it.

Theo slept in our room for the first three months… long enough for him to establish a better sleeping pattern, and then we transitioned him into the crib by using the dockAtot, which was also a huge help.

Max is pretty mature and generally understands that he needs to be careful around his baby brother, but I make it a point to keep small toys out of their room.  They have a playroom for those, and it’s just not worth the risk of him throwing them into Theo’s crib. We also use a video monitor to keep an eye on things, which helps ease the little bit of anxiety that I have, even though to this point there has never been any cause for concern.

Now onto the fun stuff…

Max’s room has always been decorated in primary colors, but for Theo, I really took a liking to monochrome pieces.  Since I love navy blue and gray together, this just seemed to work.

Their shared dresser is a thrifted piece that I painted using Benjamin Moore’s Hale Navy.  I added some gold hardware and instantly fell in love.  After topping it with a changing pad, the dresser easily became a changing table too. I added a utility cart on the side to house all of those diapers, wipes, and other baby essentials.

One of my favorite parts of the room is Max’s little reading nook. We have a large library of books, which I love to use as decor, so I had my husband build a couple of book ledges. I use the ledges to house some of our most prized books, but we also have a basket for some our more loved (i.e. beat up) books.

A couple of my favorite pieces of decor in the room came as gifts (because I know someone will ask).  The rocking air plane was a gift from a woman that we attended church with back home, and the Goodnight Moon print was purchased by my Mother In Law, before we were even expecting Max.

Aside from that, I am beyond obsessed with the mobile, that was handmade by the lovely and super talented Lynelle, from TiptoeMeadow, who has so graciously offered a 20% discount off of your orders from now until 8/24/16, with the use of the code Kozy20.

I also adore the milestone chalkboard from Pearhead. It’s our newest addition in terms of props for taking those special monthly photos, and I like to leave it in their room as an added piece of decor.

 

I’m not sure at this point if the boys will continue to share a bedroom once we move into our future home, but for now they seem pretty happy with the arrangement, and I am too.

Sources:

Rug- Rugs USA

Mobile- c/o TiptoeMeadow

Madras Anywhere Chair (similar)- Pottery Barn Kids

Wire Basket- Homegoods

Car Prints (above crib, no longer available)- Ikea

Crib Sheet- c/o KB Cute Designs

Theo Blanket- c/o Little Navy

M & T Pillow Covers- Pillow Fort for Target

Max’s Sheets (similar)- Pottery Barn Kids

Milestone Chalkboard- c/o Pearhead

White Utility Cart- Target

Plaid Throw Pillow- c/o Orange Blossom