Budget Room Design: Gender Neutral Shared Kids Bedroom

Today deserved a brief break (just a few hours) from the holiday content, so we pulled together a shared kids room at three different budgets. Although be sure to come back in a few hours for the full reveal of how we decked out the living room for the holidays.

When we started designing our current home, we had casually tossed around the idea of putting the kids into the same bedroom and creating a totally gender neutral yet still stylish room for them to grow together and play in. I had such adorable dreams of them bonding without us, together. But we didn’t end up doing it because technically we didn’t have to with the space that we had upstairs and I wanted to decorate two rooms (have you seen Elliot’s wallpaper and Charlie’s big boy room?) Ha. They aren’t exactly gender neutral (stay tuned for a whole post about just that). Besides Birdie and Charlie are still unpredictable sleepers and I just can’t take the risk of them waking each other up and having two kids awake at 1 and 3am.

We ended up separating them and then joining the rooms with a jack and jill bathroom. But we decided that it might be fun to pull together a gender neutral shared kids bedroom for those of you who might be in that situation. Or heck, take away one of the beds and it’s just a cute kids bedroom. We went slightly traditional, with a little bit of a country cottage flare, but infused with some practical and modern kid elements that make it a fun bedroom.

The first version is the most expensive… although 5k for a whole room isn’t bad, friends.

Wall Paint | Rug | Twin Bed | Plaid Pillow | Blue Lumbar Pillow | Woven Chest | Quilt | Sheets | Blue Throw Blanket | Desk | Chair Set | Alarm Clock | Sconce | Bear Head | Rabbit Head | Moth Print | Ocean Print | Abstract Print | Accent Chair | Pom Pom Pillow | Yellow Throw Blanket | Side Table | Dresser | Planter | Frame | Lamp

The first one comes in at just under 5k and I love the grey/white/wood and blue combo (how could I not?). There were a few things that we wanted to include in these room variations: 1) a desk/nightstand that both kids could work at, but that also doubles as a side table next to their bed.

When they are younger most kids don’t need a fully functioning nightstand so swapping it out for a desk made the best use of the space while still giving them somewhere to work, draw or play.

2) Storage – not only did we include a large dresser that could be divided down the middle for each kid, but we included big storage chest.

3) While gender neutral is fun it is always nice to give kids a little something that feels their own and is special and personal to them. We brought in two different animals above each bed – you know, bears are boys and bunnies are girls. Right? Joking… but seriously cats are girls and dogs are boys …  (JK and I’m sorry I even have to write ‘jk’).

If I were to style this out I would add some personal photos and accessories/toys to the top of the desk as well as some of their art above the beds to bring in some more “real” elements, but overall I love the look.

Wall Paint | Rug | Twin Bed | Plaid Pillow | Blue Lumbar Pillow | Woven Chest | Quilt | Sheets | Blue Throw Blanket | Desk | Chair Set | Alarm Clock | Sconce | Bear Head | Rabbit Head | Moth Print & Frame | Ocean Print & Frame | Abstract Print & Frame | Accent Chair | Pom Pom Pillow | Yellow Throw Blanket | Side Table | Dresser | Planter | Frame | Lamp

For the second one we cut the price almost in half which I have to say is pretty darn good considering it still retained a lot of the character of the first one. A few notes about the major changes. The lamp – it’s from Target and I have been so tempted to buy it so many times when I’ve seen it there on the shelves. It is such a good shape and will never go out of style. The chair – at this price point I can’t imagine that this is going to be the most comfortable chair you’ll ever sit in, but it has great reviews and has a simple shape that works well in the space. The sconces – these are PRETTY GOOD look-a-likes and although they don’t have the pretty brass details that the first set do, I still love them for this price point.

Wall Paint | Rug | Twin Bed | Plaid Pillow | Blue Lumbar Pillow | Woven Chest | Quilt | Sheets | Blue Throw Blanket | Desk | Chair Set | Alarm Clock | Sconce | Bear Head | Rabbit Head | Moth Print & Frame | Ocean Print & Frame | Abstract Print & Frame | Accent Chair | Pom Pom Pillow | Yellow Throw Blanket | Side Table | Dresser | Planter | Frame | Lamp

The last version comes in at just over $1,900 and I am still very into the look. If you have the budget I would say to splurge on the other toy chests in #1 and #2 but these still do a great job at bringing some warmer wood into the room. I also secretly might like this side table more than the side table in #2. And although the picture doesn’t do this rug justice I do love that it has the varying stripes in it which is slightly different from the stripes in the first two.

Let us know if you have any questions and what you want to see next in the budget room series.

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